Fisker has car Karma

January 2, 7:00 PMAutomotive ExaminerKyle Busch

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First revealed almost one year ago, the Fisker Karma
is a new generation of coachbuilt hybrid-luxury sports
cars. The Karma is expected to go on sale sometime
around the fourth quarter of 2009.

The exterior of the Karma is a mix of Aston
Martin/Maserati/Mazda RX8 looks. It is sleek and
muscular looking as well as having an extremely
sporty look, especially with the large 22 inch five
spoke alloy wheels. The roof also contains a full-length
solar panel to help recharge the vehicle’s batteries.

The interior in the Karma is absolutely sumptuous with
first class seating for four people to ride in the utmost
comfort.

Powering the Karma are two very powerful electric
motors as the main motivation with a four-cylinder
gasoline engine as a range extender. With the unique
technology that this car possesses, Fisker Automotive
estimates that most drivers who charge the Karma
overnight and commute less than 50 miles per day will
be able to achieve an average fuel economy of 100 mpg.

The Karma also operates in two different power modes,
first is the “Stealth” mode where it operates quietly at
peak efficiency for a total range of about 50 miles. At the
flip of a switch the driver can go to “Sport” mode which
delivers the peak on-demand power and torque in order to
achieve a 0 to 60 mph time of 5.8 seconds and a top speed
of 125 mph. The driver can switch between Stealth and
Sport modes at any time.

The projected price is a bit steep at $80,000. Is this the kind
of car that GM, Ford and Chrysler should have been trying to
build all along at a more reasonable price?

The Big three should be getting on this and gunning for
a price that is about one-third the Karma or about $27,000.

The Big Three should share technology and compete on
design and customer service!

Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He
welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site: www.DriveTheBestBook.com