Fisker Karma Boasts 100 Mpg "Annual Average." Huh?

Anything over 30 mpg offers diminishing returns, anyway. My comparison question is "how much do I save if it uses no fuel at all?" Whether it is 100 mpg or 150 mpg or 1000 mpg, you're not talking about much difference in annual fuel savings. One errant blip of the throttle takes you down from 150 to 100 in an instant. Fuel cost per year, 15k miles, $2/gallon: 30 mpg: $1000 50 mpg: $600 100 mpg: $300 150 mpg: $200 1000 mpg: $30 So if I'm gonna jump into a 100+ mpg car that costs me $40k or more, forget it. The higher mpg might give you bragging rights, but no real savings.

I think it is obvious that anyone buying EREVs/PHEVs/BEVs with any range at all, at this stage of the game are not doing it for financial savings. I am certainly not in the target market and won't be looking at one of these. But thank the FSM for early adopters who will buy these and move technology forward and prices down. If I had money, I would love to own a beautiful and unique car like the Karma.

Hi - Russell Datz here, from Fisker Automotive. Good to see TTAC readers want to keep manufacturers honest. As some of you note, our 100mpg annual estimate assumes a mix of battery and gas-engine power. But this is in no way deceptive. Running only on batteries, the car uses no gas and has no tailpipe emissions for 50 miles. Running on engine only, we estimate the Karma will get more than 30mpg - an excellent rating for a car its size. Figuring owners will on a daily basis drive slightly more than the full battery range, and then recharge, the 100mpg annual average is viable. Is this best case? Yes. Will there be variances? Of course. Is the Karma a perfect solution? No. But we are doing our part to move things forward and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Thanks.

I have no problem if you actually include the other measures. It is just when a largely meaningless blended number is quoted alone that I get annoyed. When that blended number is used alone, I do feel it is deceptive. This isn't unique to Fisker, just about every PHEV/EREV maker does this and AFAIK, GM is trying to force this nonsense on the EPA. This seems to be the nature of marketing. Hide the facts, hype the fungible. EV Range plus charges sustaining MPG are the numbers I would want. Love the Karma BTW. It has replaced a Tesla as my "lotto winnings car". But here in the real world where my company went Chapter 11 and the restructure plan (massive layoffs, no severance) is imminent, my 1999 Ford ZX2 (Escort) will have to serve a while longer... and after that I will have to consider what parking is like at the new Cardboard Box I am living in. ;) But wealthy early adopters go nuts. This is a beautiful, economical and unique vehicle.