Karma News: Fisker's New Karma To Be Built In California

[FAPTurbo]

California's affinity for technology, style and perceived environmental consciousness appears to have earned it some Karma.

 

China's Wanxiang Group has announced plans to build the Fisker Karma luxury sports sedan in Moreno Valley. The 555,670 square foot Greater Los Angeles Area manufacturing facility is slated to create 150 jobs.

 

“California's natural beauty, trend setting, technology, and environmental focus are perfectly aligned with our Karma re-launch,” said Fisker's chief marketing officer, James Taylor, adding that the company "believes in the quality, work ethic and competitiveness of manufacturing in the United States.”

 

The plug-in hybrid Karma won accolades for styling, but financial difficulties caused the company to file for bankruptcy in November 2013, only to be purchased by Wanxiang in February 2014. The Hangzhou-based automotive parts giant also acquired battery manufacturer A123Systems in late 2012.

 

Fisker's move comes on the heels of another Asian automaker's decision to build vehicles Stateside. Geely-owned Volvo has just announced a $500 million manufacturing facility in South Carolina, and several states are vying for Land Rover's business, a brand which has been owned by Tata Motors since 2008.

 

Source: Autofile.ca

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[David]

Interesting, but the style is old and the product missed the window and I think there will be other players with less expensive options but that give more for the money. 

 

I do not understand why it is taking them so long.

[Drew Dowdell]

I don't find the styling to be old at all.   So few people have actually seen one that it doesn't matter the age. 

[oldshurst442]

The body lines on the Karma are timeless. It has the bulges and curves in all the right places. Coke bottle designs never get old. As with the long hood short deck, which the Karma implements it quite well.

Seeing one in person makes your jaw drop.

Pictures dont really tell how sexy this car is. And in pictures, the car IS sexy...its just that seeing it in person...the sexiness of the Karma is multiplied by 1000.

 

The Karma in my humble opinion, is the greatest automotive design (actual production model)in the new milennium. 

 

So....the Karma deserves a second chance....its failure had nothing to do with the looks of it...

[Drew Dowdell]

The body lines on the Karma are timeless. It has the bulges and curves in all the right places. Coke bottle designs never get old. As with the long hood short deck, which the Karma implements it quite well.

Seeing one in person makes your jaw drop.

Pictures dont really tell how sexy this car is. And in pictures, the car IS sexy...its just that seeing it in person...the sexiness of the Karma is multiplied by 1000.

 

The Karma in my humble opinion, is the greatest automotive design (actual production model)in the new milennium. 

 

So....the Karma deserves a second chance....its failure had nothing to do with the looks of it...

 

The pictures also don't show how large the car really is.... it's really long. 

[David]

 

The body lines on the Karma are timeless. It has the bulges and curves in all the right places. Coke bottle designs never get old. As with the long hood short deck, which the Karma implements it quite well.

Seeing one in person makes your jaw drop.

Pictures dont really tell how sexy this car is. And in pictures, the car IS sexy...its just that seeing it in person...the sexiness of the Karma is multiplied by 1000.

 

The Karma in my humble opinion, is the greatest automotive design (actual production model)in the new milennium. 

 

So....the Karma deserves a second chance....its failure had nothing to do with the looks of it...

 

The pictures also don't show how large the car really is.... it's really long. 

 

The car is long and actually reminds me of the 70's corvette with the long body and haunches over each wheel.

 

To each his own but I still see an old body style. Wether it sells or not the public will decide!

[oldshurst442]

The last time I saw one in person was 2 years ago.

I dont remember how long it was, I was in awe in how gorgeous it looked. So I was more mesmorized by its curves rather than observe its overall length and size.

 

Telsa really is the leader in this class. So, it be interesting to see how the pubilc will react again...because the Model S also is kinda old now. And we see quite a few of them...

 

Hopefully Fisker and its new partners dont botch the production of it like they did the first time around.

Edited June 19, 2015 by oldshurst442

[David]

Agreed, Fisker better nail this one out of the ball park coming back in to take on Tesla and other companies as more and more introduce pure Electric auto's.

[balthazar]

$135,000 ?!?!?!?!? What the hell ever happened to 'empowering the people under the boot of Big Oil' (or whatever the hippie war chant was)? Good gravy that's pricey.

 

I don't dislike the Fiskar's look, I would like to see more pics and one in person. It is slinkier than the Tesla, IIRC. But at that price and being the #2 banana on the market, it'll be interesting to see if China can make it work.

[Robert Hall]

Oddly, I saw two Karmas in traffic this week...a dark red one and a white one..still a beautiful car, IMO.  The 4dr Corvette that never was...

[daves87rs]

Still good looking....will be interesting to see how it does....

[bobo]

I saw a Fisker on the freeway yesterday. When I saw the car up close and inside at the LA Auto Show a few years ago, I was not impressed. It seemed to have a kit car build quality about it.

[ocnblu]

Needs LSX power... the only thing that could redeem it.

[balthazar]

I don't believe I've ever seen a Fiskar in person. Surprising, given this area.

Wiki says about 2450 were built.

[Drew Dowdell]

I saw a Fisker on the freeway yesterday. When I saw the car up close and inside at the LA Auto Show a few years ago, I was not impressed. It seemed to have a kit car build quality about it.

 

On the interior, this is definitely true. I wonder if the new ownership is going to be upgrading that at all. 

They do drive fantastic though, and the sound they make is like a UFO.

[ocnblu]

It died a well-deserved death the first time around.  I sincerely doubt the Frankenstein version will come alive on the sales charts, even with the Chinese jumpstart to its nads.

[David]

Add the supercharged V8 from the corvette and you have a real contender though pricey.

[FAPTurbo]

I hope Wanxiang will use A123's prowess to make the Karma a fully electric vehicle. As the ELR has shown, range-extension is viewed as an inferior good - a compromise - among the luxury set. 

 

If the Karma has an electric range similar to a Model S, the gorgeous design may just be enough to sway Tesla buyers to opt for Fisker instead. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I hope Wanxiang will use A123's prowess to make the Karma a fully electric vehicle. As the ELR has shown, range-extension is viewed as an inferior good - a compromise - among the luxury set. 

 

If the Karma has an electric range similar to a Model S, the gorgeous design may just be enough to sway Tesla buyers to opt for Fisker instead. 

 

They should probably offer both. 

[FAPTurbo]

 

I hope Wanxiang will use A123's prowess to make the Karma a fully electric vehicle. As the ELR has shown, range-extension is viewed as an inferior good - a compromise - among the luxury set. 

 

If the Karma has an electric range similar to a Model S, the gorgeous design may just be enough to sway Tesla buyers to opt for Fisker instead.

 

They should probably offer both.

 

Probably, but I doubt that'd really be optimal for the sake of costs and manufacturing efficiencies. 

 

With Tesla's open-source patents, Fisker could smartly work in a way to charge the Karma using Supercharger stations and assist with the capital costs of the system's expansion and maintenance.

 

This not only eases range anxiety concerns, but it'd be a smart PR move for both brands to conjure up a friendly rivalry in the name of changing the industry. Also, I'm sure a Karma owner will be fielding plenty of queries from Model S owners at each station, which could mean higher sales. 

[Drew Dowdell]

Tesla charger compatibility would be a huge boon to Fisker.