You might remember Fisker. The company had once threatened to upend Detroit with a sleek, eco-minded sports carand then crashed in a blaze of mismanagement and bad luck. Jenkins was supposed to resurrect its only product, the Karma. That drive on the Rim of the World Scenic Byway, during his first weekend at the company, crystalized just how difficult it would be.
He called in the thermal team for a blunt conversationone of many. Three weeks after the weekend jaunt, the thermal folks had reworked the airflow through the front of the car, a simple fix the original engineers had overlooked as they raced to market in But it was just one of hundreds of issues Jenkins and his teams had to identify.
In , environmental consciousness was hip, but electric cars were somewhere between lame and nonexistent. Henrik Fisker thought things could be different. In , he went solo with a plan to bring luxury and style to the world of EVs, and charge a premium for it. The next year he unveiled the Karma. Unlike the Volt, it was freaking gorgeous, with curves that made it look like it was formed from a single piece of gently melted metal, and could pull zero to 60 in as little as 5. As the American auto industry crumbled, Fisker offered a new way.
Fisker pledged to start production within 18 months. And while he would begin with the luxury market, he wanted to build affordable electric cars for the masses within a few yearsthe same thing Elon Musk was trying to do with Tesla Motors. For a while, it worked. Usher gave one to Justin Bieber, who wrapped it in chrome.
DiCaprio took the first delivery in August As the Karma went from concept to reality and kept missing deadlines, the headlines soured: Poor reliability!
For instance, accents carved from reclaimed wood to leather seats crafted using up to 85 percent of the cow's hide rather than simply the choicest parts.
The Fisker Karma is said to be destined for driveways later in ; however, whether it will become a common sight on the road or simply another chapter in the history of the automobile remains to be seen. Hybrid vehicles are changing the way drivers think about performance. Horsepower and torque numbers still play a role, but gone are the days of bigger is always better. Instead, drivers have to look to how power systems are paired and how they work together.
The power plant of the Fisker's Q Drive system -- a Quantum Technologies plug-in hybrid system that was specifically developed for Fisker Automotive -- is two horsepower electric motors working through the car's rear differential. These motors draw their power from a manganese-based lithium-ion battery pack producing an open circuit voltage of about volts. The Karma's charging strategy includes an on-board generator hooked to a horsepower, 2. The Ecotec engine is produced by General Motors and used by several car companies.
Global statistics indicate pollution from cars is highest during short commutes and typical around-town errands. In addition, most Americans and Europeans -- about 60 percent -- drive their cars fewer than 50 miles per day. For almost all cars, the engine and emissions control system needs to be at a specific operating temperature to function at its peak effectiveness.
During a short drive, like in the case of local errands and most daily commute driving, the engines simply don't reach that critical operating temperature.
However, the Karma's battery pack will operate the vehicle for a range of about 50 miles The batteries have an estimated life of 10 to 12 years, and the charging cost is relatively small. Fisker spokesman Russell Datz estimated charging the batteries in the Fisker Karma would cost the gas equivalent of about 25 cents per gallon. As the battery runs down, the system will kick-in the engine to drive the generator and provide additional power to the electric motors.
According to Fisker, this proprietary system will be used in all future models and products. But what does all this mean for the driver? Continue reading to find out. The Fisker Karma relies on lithium-ion battery technology for its electrical power storage. Lithium-ion batteries offer several advantages over traditional lead-acid batteries that we see in most cars today. For starters, Lithium-ion batteries offer a higher open circuit voltage, meaning they can take more juice flowing through them than traditional batteries.
They also don't suffer from the tendency among rechargeable batteries to charge less and less over time -- otherwise known as the "memory effect. Lithium ion batteries come in a bewildering number of shapes, sizes, types and voltages, and battery manufacturers believe cracking the code to making a truly effective battery could usher in a new energy age. Because of this, battery makers keep the chemical secrets of their batteries as close as alchemists once did about the secret to transmuting lead into gold, or in the case of battery makers, electrical gold.
One of the advantages of using an electric motor to power a car is that they produce maximum torque the very instant they begin working. This is unlike gasoline engines that need to ramp-up to several thousands of revolutions per minute before producing their maximum torque.
For hybrid car makers, electric motors are perfect for reducing emissions and maximizing mileage. Cars generally use the most energy to begin rolling after a standstill. In other words, the most gas is needed to produce the torque necessary to get the car rolling. To see how the reborn electric compares to the original, we headed out the the company's Moreno Valley HQ and slid into the tenth prototype of the newly rebuilt production line shipped over from Finland.
Our test drive revealed the car mixes the charm of its predecessor with much-needed improvements. Most importantlyand this was not a guaranteeit didn't break down in the first half hour. The market's gotten crowded since This sedan sports a 2. More From Fisker. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Fisker Ocean electric SUV promises a very inexpensive monthly lease.
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