Fisker Atlantic Plug In Hybrid Unveiled As Challenges Mount

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While Fisker is certainly proud of its Atlantic offering, as well as its first generation luxury Karma, a growing cloud of issues the automaker has faced recently overshadow the moment. Most immediately, the company faces challenges over needing to replace battery packs and modules in its vehicles that were supplied by A123 systems. This comes on the heels of a major embarrassment a few weeks back in which Consumer Reports ended up with a dud of a Karma for its highly regarded automotive reviews, prompting the hastened need for the testing vehicle to be replaced.

image via Fisker Automotive

Also of concern on the Fisker radar has been employee layoffs, U.S. Department of Energy loan challenges and word it may not make use of a Delaware plant to build the Atlantic in.  To Fisker’s credit, it hasn’t entirely been raining cats and dogs. The company looks to be doing well raising venture capital funds and has been responsive to both the A123 battery issue as well as a safety recall from last year.

In summary, as Cnet puts it so well, “Fisker will need fire on all cylinders as a business to get its high-end green machine in front of consumers.”

“Fisker Automotive is transitioning from a start-up automaker to a fully-fledged mainstream car manufacturer and the Atlantic is a crucial milestone in that process,” said Tom LaSorda, CEO Fisker Automotive, in a statement. “We have a long way to go, but in the near future Fisker intends to deliver this exceptional American-designed, engineered, and manufactured vehicle to showrooms worldwide.”

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Posted on April 4th, 2012 · Comment ↓

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Posted in Hybrids, Transportation

  • rabid robert

    Electric cars ars a smart idea; but a very smart idea is to make one

    the average American can buy.

  • Mdcrawfish

    We’re still very early in the development of electric cars. They are still too expensive for what you get. This is a nice looking car. I wonder how involved the oil companies are in preventing further development. They have a lot to lose if we move in this direction. 

    • markmedown

      I don’t think the oil companies are too concerned. It would be years to convert to electric vehicles that it would have a significant impact on the oil companies.

      • Nz_brian

        Like when an oil company, Chevron iirc, brought up the patent for automobile metal hydride batteries and promptly forces Panasonic to shut down and disassemble its plant making batteries for Toyota’s Rav-4E, a popular all electric being sold in California some time ago. Why all electric vehicles had to wait for Li-on batteries to come to market.

  • steelers153
  • Vascopolis

    I DON’T UNDERSTAND…

    Ecconomy? Your gasoline goes to zero and your electric bill skyrockets…
    Clean Air? Trade off (low) auto emmissions for massive coal fired, oil fired and atomic power plant emmissions and dangers which ZERO OUT ANY GAIN.
    Reduce depency on oild ??? NO WAY, instead of burning a gallon in the car, you burn a gallon at the power plant.

    AND, currently, as gas stations are prevalent, and charging stations are not, you “waste” electricity getting to a charging location out-of-the-way.

    So…………. WHY?

    • LEAF owner

       As an owner of a Nissan LEAF, I can tell you that your electric bill does not skyrocket.  The electric car is vastly more efficient.  For the first 1000 miles, I drove at 4.6 miles / kWh.  So I used approximately 217 kWh of electricity.  Including distribution, my electric bill as approximately 13 cents per kWh.  Which comes to about $28.26 of electricity to go 1000 miles.  For comparison, my old Honda Accord got about 25 MPG which means that 1000 miles would have been about 40 gallons of gasoline.  At $3.50 per gallon, that would have cost me about $140. . . .

      So it is not a wash — it is not the equivalent of burning a gallon at the power plant or a gallon in the car.  Not to mention, most charging is done at home in the evening when the power would be wasted anyway.  There is very little traveling out of the way.

      The savings are real.  The efficiency is real.  The emissions benefits are real.

      P.S.:  You’ve never driven out of the way to find a cheaper gas station?

  • rickster

    This Fisher Karma vehicles are a little retarded proposition 100K+ price tag….20 mi electric….and 0-60 in 6.4 sec…for 100K.. this is as fast as a 20K gasoline car…+ the risk to catch fire due to the a123 batteries……..on the other hand the car looks good….but they need to learn from tesla…..