Fisker Karma To Return Mid-2016 Under Elux Brand
If you were hoping to pick up a new Fisker Karma, not so fast. The PHEV won’t be out until mid-2016, and it won’t be a Fisker, either.
Reuters reports parent company Wanxiang Group, which bought Fisker at a bankruptcy auction last year, will drop the Fisker name when the Karma hits the showroom, whose brand will now be called Elux.
As for the delay, Wanxiang is looking for a production site to build the PHEV, sources stating that it won’t be assembled in Finland, where the original Karmas rolled off the line. Pricing is expected to begin at $135,000, 20 percent higher than the $116,000 for the original top model before production ceased in 2012.
The Elux Karma’s looks are expected to to rely heavily on Henrik Fisker’s original design for the PHEV, with Wanxiang said to be investing “millions” into updating the technology to bring the car up to par with similar vehicles that have emerged over the years.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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This is just such a terrible idea all the way around. Yes, the Fisker Karma is widely agreed to be a good-looking car, but that's where the positive statements end. Who in their right mind, besides an avid car collector, is going to pay $135,000 for a car with 7-year old technology (at best) and more baggage than than an airport tractor? Let's recall that the Fisker Karma could go just 32 miles per charge, after which the gas generator guzzled fuel at a rate of 20 MPG. So less EV range than a Chevy Volt, a higher MSRP than a Tesla P85D, and worse fuel economy than a Ford Mustang GT. If I were in charge of Wanxiang, I would have chucked the Karma into the scrap heap and tried to start fresh with whatever these is to the Atlantic (the second Fisker vehicle). I am a huge green car fan. I think Tesla is awesome, I love the Chevy Volt, and if I had the money I'd probably own a pair of BMW i8s. But if you gave me a Fisker (or Elux, I guess) Karma, I'd sell it for parts...because that's all its really worth to me.
It might be a good idea if they made it a regular ICE car instead. Then they could cheaply bring it up to date, and maybe not have to ruin the good looks. Being up close to one of these, you realize how massive they are, and truly carry a lot of presence wherever they are. Even at a car show surrounded by race cars and Lambos, people were all over the Karma instead.
That pic was Justin Beieber's ride - only know that because he was in some incident in LA while driving it and the story noted it was a chrome covered Fisker.
The Fisker is a lesson in why a car built without a designer is better than a car built without an engineer. It was giant on the outside, but tiny on the inside. It's reason for existence was a hybrid system that delivered indifferent energy consumption. The looks dropped the jaws of goobers, but they compromised every utilitarian aspect of the car. Bob Lutz wanted to recycle the design with conventional power, which is conclusive proof that Bob Lutz is the most overrated person in the auto industry, perhaps even more so than the guy that changed BMW's meaning to Bowel Movements on Wheels.