Elusive sports electric car might finally be sold in the US

After a semi critical article in Popular Science, which accused Fisker Automotive, the producer of the much vaunted electric Karma car of exaggerated secrecy, a quasi release date for the elusive car is announced today by New York Times.

Fisker Automotive finally closed on its $528.7 million Energy Department loan April 23, and now the biggest item on the to-do list is to actually produce its $87,900 plug-in hybrid car, the Karma, by the end of the year.

Fisker was founded in the summer of 2007, and many people have been eagerly anticipating the Karma. And why not? The car is undeniably attractive, with a compelling environmental story and (at least on paper) rip-roaring high performance. Henrik Fisker, the chief executive, is also a charismatic figure. But just months from the car’s debut, very few people outside the company have driven it. (The crown prince of Denmark got a Karma ride to a climate conference.)

Popular Science wrote about the Karma in its May issue, calling Fisker’s secrecy “worrisome.” The magazine also posed questions and noted that the company “is on its third battery supplier in three years.” In the positive column, the article cited “a highly respected founder, attractive prototypes and a half-billion-dollar loan.”

via Fisker Karma: Ready to Roll? – Wheels Blog – NYTimes.com.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Fisker feeling flush after fresh funding (businessgreen.com)
• Fisker Karma, World’s First Premium Plug-in Hybrid, Coming to Miami (eon.businesswire.com)
• Fisker Goes on Tour (gotryke.com)