Friday, December 30, 2011

Is it Karma if Al Gore's Electric Cars Cause Fires?

And we're not talking about the car-b-que prone Chevy Volt here.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
(Karma is the name of the car!)



After confirming that the A123 battery in the Fisker Karma has a battery safety issue and then figuring out a way to fix the problem, Fisker and the NHTSA have announced an official recall for 239 Karmas. The official reason for the recall is that:

Within the high-voltage battery, certain hose clamps may have been positioned incorrectly during assembly. if positioned incorrectly, the battery compartment cover could interfere with the hose clamps, potentially causing a coolant leak from the cooling hoses.
Consequence: If coolant enters the battery compartment, an electrical short could occur possibly resulting in a fire.


Fisker Motors was the recipient of an Obama administration approved federal loan guarantee of $529 million, to build cars in Finland. From October 20th.:
The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty -- and pricey -- cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore...


Is it just me, or is the electric car just not ready for prime time yet? At least the 1% will have something stylish to drive on their way to Occupy Wall Street rallies!

Fisker is more than a year behind rolling out its $97,000 luxury vehicle bankrolled in part with DOE money. While more are promised soon, just 40 of its Karma cars (below) have been manufactured and only two delivered to customers' driveways, including one to movie star Leonardo DiCaprio. Tesla's SEC filings reveal the start-up has lost money every quarter. And while its federal funding is intended to help it mass produce a new $57,400 Model S sedan, the company has no experience in a project so vast.


Well, the Obama administration has a lot of experience in doing things half-vast!
Just three words, think: Solyndra on wheels!

Cross posted at Say Anything

1 comment: