pow

It was originally marketed as a "Grand Sports Tourer" (GST), in the same vein as GT cars designed for high-performance, long-distance driving that emphasize comfort and space, except it's a 2+2+2.

Ally will give you a 0% loan for $7500 until tax time.

The Volt doesn't feel like an econobox. It looks like no other vehicle on the road, its doors close solidly with a thunk, and in electric mode, it provides for an unmatched smooth, silent driving experience. Consumers make decisions based on how much "value" they see in a vehicle beyond cost-per-mile, and to me, the Volt is easily worth its $33,500 price after incentives.

None of the interiors posted above, apart from the one in the STS, are particularly bad. They're just different. An S-Class will never have a swoopy, stylized interior because its target audience and function is business. An Aston designer, on the other hand, can take more risks. Rolls and Bentley are confined by tradition, though the Roller does have a more contemporary interpretation of tradition. Porsche, like Mercedes, is business-like, but with lots of sport thrown in. The Fisker doesn't look "manufactured" because it's a simple, low-volume coachbuilt car without the Porsche's standardized cutlines and complex injection molded panels. All of them are fantastic; it's just a matter of preference.

IMO, this is the most concept-looking production car out there. It helps it was designed from the ground-up to be a Fisker Karma, so it has none of the compromises typically associated with a mass-produced production vehicle built on a shared platform. The pure-electric Tesla Model S is more conventional looking, and it will be shipped a full year after the Karma.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/21/2012-fisker-karma-first-drive-review-road-test/ Just the driving impressions part, because I'm sure you've read enough about the engineering, design, etc.

http://www.automobilemag.com/green/reviews/1102_2012_fisker_karma/index.html

http://www.insideline.com/fisker/karma/2012/2012-fisker-karma-first-drive.html 2012 Fisker Karma First Drive A Premium, Range-Extended EV That Could Be a Legitimate Alternative to a Porsche Panamera By Matt Davis, European Correspondent | Published Feb 20, 2011 Back in 2007, we cautiously admired the choice by Henrik Fisker and longtime business partner Bernhard Koehler to completely change their business model. Instead of rebuilding BMW and Mercedes convertibles through Fisker Coachbuild, the partners instead dove headfirst into the eyebrow-raising Fisker Automotive, a company that would be dedicated to building electric cars of its own design. After the usual ups and downs of an automotive startup, Fisker showed up at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show with its eye-popping Karma sedan concept. Now, three years later, we're in Southern California to drive the first pre-production examples of what will be the 2012 Fisker Karma EVer (i.e. electric vehicle extended range). Eco, Eco, Eco... The Fisker Karma grabbed the "Eco" label early and ran with it. It's a big reason why the company was able to attract a substantial amount of private investment, not to mention a cool $529 million from the Department of Energy. Much of the latter was earmarked to fund Fisker's purchase of GM's former Delaware plant that built the Kappa-architecture roadsters and will, by the end of 2011, be building units of the lower-priced Fisker Nina. Every single supplier and associate Fisker Automotive deals with is, in one way or many, a green-obsessed company. These include the free-range sustainable Scottish leathers used in the EcoSport to the wood trims sourced from existing sunken and fallen Michigan timber to the optional metal-flake metallic paints that get their sparkle from recycled material. More importantly, Fisker is touting the Karma as the first pure-electric luxury car. It's powered by twin 150-kW electric motors and a lithium-ion battery pack. As with the Chevrolet Volt, there's a GM-built four-cylinder engine onboard to keep the Karma on the road even after the initial battery charge is done. Fisker is promising a 50-mile EV range and a 300-mile range extended capability. Green Track Time After a little track time with the Karma, we can report that owners who have the gumption to push their car toward a sportier drive will be rather pleased. The double-wishbone suspension with its forged aluminum arms and self-leveling rear dampers puts the Karma near the top of the sporty premium four-door class in terms of handling characteristics. Some credit also goes to the exceedingly long 124.4-inch wheelbase, wide front and rear tracks and 22-inch Fisker "Circuit Blade" wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 performance tires. During our initial laps, we left the powertrain in the default "Stealth" or full-EV mode, which cuts the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder gasoline engine out of the equation completely. Power is limited, but Fisker says it can still go from zero to 60 mph in 7.9 seconds despite its nearly 2-ton curb weight (a final number isn't available yet). Top speed in Stealth mode is an energy-conserving 95 mph. For this phase of the drive, our only gripe was that the Karma didn't feel as solid all around as its German and Japanese competitors. A Maserati Quattroporte came to mind in this difficult-to-quantify part of the argument. Wind noise and road noise, however, are very well contained overall. Some smaller wheels might help out in the ride quality department, too, but according to Fisker's engineers, a change in that direction would bring the center member of the steering mechanism a little too close to the ground. A set of 21-inch all-season tires is as small as they're willing to go. And Then Comes Sport It is when we arrive in Sport mode via a single pull of the left steering-wheel paddle that some good things happen. And a couple not-so-good things. The first thing we notice is the sound of the 2.0-liter turbocharged GM Ecotec inline four-cylinder engine. The 255-horsepower, direct-injected power plant is mounted longitudinally in a front-midship position and is reasonably quiet. At least initially. Then we dip into the throttle a little more to experience the Karma's "Sport" mode, the one that Fisker says will deliver a 0-60-mph time of 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 125 mph. Suddenly, it sounds as if the Ecotec engine is sitting in the passenger-side footwell. They're not exactly the kind of noises we expect from a $100,000 luxury sedan. It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise, as the exhaust exits for the Ecotec engine are positioned just behind the front wheels. "We are aware of this concern," says Koehler, "and we have on order an all-new muffler to help deal with this." Fisker adds, "We envision customers spending over 80 percent of the time on average in Stealth mode around town." If the sport noise remains, though, they'd better hope people stay in Stealth for 99 percent of the time. This is not a question of a poor extended-range engine choice, but of incorporating it better. Numbers Are There Cracking the magic "400" at 403 hp from the two 201.5-hp JEE electric motors was of major image importance to the 2012 Fisker Karma's credibility. It all hits the road differently than internally combusted horses, as the momentum is right there under your foot immediately. Fisker also likes to point out that the Karma has 981 pound-feet of torque, a number bested only by the Bugatti Veyron. Thankfully, the Karma also features vented Brembo brake discs — 14.6 inches in diameter up front with six-piston calipers and 14.4-inch discs in back with four-piston calipers. They stop things as if hitting a wall of wet cement, so we were able to late-brake with almost no fading by the final hotter lap. No carbon ceramics will be offered, partly since, as Fisker tells us, "they cost nearly one-sixth the price of the total car." And, as a parting bit of goodness, the tail end lets go predictably and smoothly whenever such constructive letting-go serves the line through the curve. We're now eager to get this thing fully track tested with full numbers. The Fisker School of Design So the Karma doesn't always sound refined. Thankfully, it always looks refined. It's more attractive than the 2008 showcar and buyers will feel suitably unique compared to the other four-door executive grand tourer sedans out there. We expect plenty of buyers to pony up the $95,900 base price for that alone. All the exterior panels on the Karma are made of either aluminum — including the hood and outer door panels — or molded resin composite as on all four fender panels. The supersize 124.4-inch wheelbase (almost 10 inches longer than on a Porsche Panamera) is the exterior's most notable dimension and the 22-inch wheels bookend the look quite nicely. No antennas or little fins are visible since satellite and GPS receptors are concealed beneath the composite rear deck lid. The 52.4-inch height definitely helps the car's impression as a capable performer, and we never once banged our head while getting in or out of the front or back. Interior finish and materials quality are exceptional for this class and there is no cabin more ecologically conceived as this. The steering wheel is a tad overdone, though the thickness of the wheel itself is just right. Central to the cabin's controls is the standard 10.2-inch interface created with Visteon called the Fisker Command Center. All audio and climate controls are housed in the system, as are all general system tools and diagnostics. The touchscreen functionality appears fairly straightforward, although our interaction with it was limited. But Will It Catch On? Surprisingly enough, the 2012 Fisker Karma is in an admirable state of readiness just 37 months out from its concept debut. There are key NVH issues to deal with, but everything else is market-ready. "Most of our other-brand shoppers," says Fisker, "are coming from Mercedes. They really enjoy the feeling in Stealth mode around town especially." There is clearly a niche of wealthy early adopters out there who want this car, given the 3,000-plus pre-orders for the Karma. We can see people cross-shopping the Fisker with a $95,000 Porsche Panamera S Hybrid, or the base Panamera at $74,400 and 4S at $94,700. Then again Henrik Fisker says, "Many of these customers will have these other cars already in their garage and simply wish to add something unique and at the leading edge of green innovation." He could be right, but if Fisker doesn't muzzle that exhaust note, those customers will surely wonder if being that far ahead of the curve is worth it.

CAR AND DRIVER 2012 Fisker Karma - First Drive Review We finally get our hands on Fisker's gorgeous plug-in hybrid sedan. BY DON SHERMAN February 2011 Three years and a billion investment dollars after the Fisker Karma rolled forth as a stunning plug-in-hybrid concept, it’s finally ready to rock as a stunning production car. All in less time (and for far less money) than GM needed to produce the Chevy Volt. The Karma’s recipe calls for sexy design stirred with a heap of sustainability. We had faith in the styling part of the concoction: While growing up in Denmark, Henrik Fisker inherited from his father a deep appreciation for American cars of the Sixties. Upon completing formal design studies, he put his rearing to excellent use. Warming up for the Karma, Fisker designed the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9 and V-8 Vantage—all of which stand tall next to any Corvette or Eldorado. As for sustainability, in the Karma it means consuming no petroleum for the first 50 miles and interior trim that bows to Mother Nature. Indeed, the very idea of sustainability permeates Fisker’s business plan, which is backed by venture capitalists and government agencies. On the heels of the low-volume, $100,000 Karma, there will be a more affordable car, the Nina, also built around earth-friendly technology. The hope is that these two plug-in hybrids will give Fisker global reach as a viable carmaking enterprise. The Karma lays a good foundation. Up front there’s a 260-hp, GM-supplied four-cylinder engine spinning a mighty generator. Next in line is a 21-kWh, American-made lithium-ion battery pack. Twin AC motors straddling the rear axle deliver 402 horsepower to the differential. The propulsion system, the Brembo brakes, the 22-inch cast aluminum wheels, and the aluminum suspension components are supported by an aluminum space frame stitched together with 260 feet of welds and a thousand or so rivets. The Karma’s aluminum skin is finished with a solar-cell roof, a composite decklid, and plastic bumpers. Like the Nissan Leaf, the Karma is always electrically driven; the gasoline engine powers only the generator. Slip into the elegantly tailored driver’s seat, engage “stealth” mode, and you can motor sedately to the future with little more than a hum from the powertrain. Tugging the “sport” paddle to the left of the steering wheel brings additional energy to bear. When the gasoline engine kicks in to supplement the battery pack’s wattage—to trim the 0-to-60-mph run from a claimed 7.9 seconds to 5.9, or to add 250 miles to the driving range—the extra thrust is accompanied by the whistle of a turbo spooling up, the snarl of angry exhaust gas, and a resonant boom or two. Bent on fulfilling its mission, the generator set keeps growling even when you ease off the accelerator. The Karma’s initial surge is sufficiently potent to avoid damnation as a slug. But the physics conspire against it keeping pace with other $100K sports sedans. In spite of the joys of low-rpm electric torque, the realities of a curb weight well above 4000 pounds and only one gear ratio mean that mileage is where this car excels. Until the EPA weighs in on that subject, we can only guess that the Karma will land slightly below the Volt’s ratings of 93 equivalent mpg (MPGe) in electric driving and 35 mpg city and 40 highway with the engine running. Handling is a subject we can address with more confidence. The Karma’s steering is endowed with real road feel and linear turn-in response. The ride is supple, and there’s minimal body roll when you fling the wheel; the low-mounted, 600-pound battery pack makes for an effective keel. Even though the rear wheels carry 53 percent of the Karma’s mass, there’s understeer awaiting those who visit the borderlands of grip. The brakes are calibrated to convert excess momentum into the maximum amount of charging energy without inflicting pedal weirdness. Considering its low-slung and curvaceous flanks, the Karma provides surprisingly easy entry and cozy accommodations for four grown-ups. A 10.2-inch screen replaces the usual forest of tiny infotainment buttons with audible, visual, and tactile responses to touch commands. Trim is a cut or two above the $100,000 norm, thanks to fine detailing and lovely custom touches. The top EcoChic edition is an animal-free showcase of high-end textiles, faux suede, and rescued California wildfire hardwood. Fisker claims to have 3000 deposits in the bank. Some of those who’ve plunked down the cash are doubtless atoning for past turbo-V-8 sins, but others may be less altruistic, simply drawn to the sexiest fenders ever draped over an American sedan. Whatever their motivation, they’ll get a beautiful, luxurious machine that goes easy on the guilt. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/11q1/2012_fisker_karma-first_drive_review

Or this. 403 hp and 981 lb-ft of torque. Coming to dealers soon.

2003 Murano? Still an amazingly fresh-looking vehicle.

For all the talk about the Regal, I do have to say it's arguably the best-built vehicle made by GM right now. Its door close with a solid thunk, the sheetmetal seems thicker than most, and the interior materials are generally high-quality. The nicely grained, low-sheen leather doesn't seem like typical GM leather. Its build quality puts the CTS to shame, IMO.

I wonder if it'll get a lean NOx trap (Jetta TDI) or SCR urea injection (Passat TDI). Part of the reason why the larger, heavier Passat TDI will get better MPG than the Jetta TDI is because of SCR, which doesn't require the engine to burn off the stuff trapped in the DPF. At the moment, the Jetta TDI doesn't get much better fuel economy than a Cruze Eco manual. Let's hope GM tunes it for economy rather than performance.

There's something about this powertrain that under delivers. A similarly porky Tiguan automatic cute-ute with just 200 hp and 207 lb-ft is faster than this...

It's kinda disappointing how they replaced the hot i-VTEC screamer from the old Si with a normal large-displacement four-cylinder from the Accord. Sure, it makes more torque and costs less to build, but it's also less distinctive. Normal uplevel compact cars already have such engines - Corolla XRS, Forte Koup SX, Mazda3 S, etc. BTW, the MPG figures for Civic Hybrid is combined 45 MPG, not highway. Otherwise there'd be no point to buying the Hybrid when the HF is so close.

Are you sure the battery was completely depleted? The EPA rating for the Volt in extended-range mode is 35/40 MPG; the highest I've ever seen anyone get was close to 50 MPG. Did you reset the trip computer? Also, the Volt is supposed to maintain its SOC in extended-range mode, not recharge it with the engine-generator. It's more efficient to recharge with electricity than gasoline.

Avenger would make a nice Jetta, Kizashi, or even Cruze competitor. Not sure how it's priced in the real world, but it appears to now have the goods to compete against those cars.

No more obnoxious than a big, red "POWER" button.

Everything is different. The pillars are thinner, there's no longer a front "triangle" window in the sedan, and the greenhouse is different (almost a Hofmeister kink now).

While it looks similar to the old car, it has an all-new exterior and interior. Trouble is, they made it uglier. What's with that jacked up ride height? I wouldn't be surprised if it lost IRS. Like VW did for the Jetta, I suspect Honda is trying to make the new Civic more profitable and cheaper to build.

Colorado interior always struck me as an Isuzu interior for some reason... I could have sworn it shares a steering wheel with an Axiom or Rodeo.

If you want to save money, just stick to conventional paper filters but change less often. CR and DOE both have done tests concluding that dirty filters, while having a tiny effect on performance, has no effect on fuel economy for modern vehicles.

I'd happily take this over an RX or even X3.

Wonder if it'll come with a bed cap and windows so they can import it as an "SUV" and avoid the chicken tax...

Thanks for the pictures! The changes are impressive. It's interesting to see the few remnants of Mercedes left in these cars: the window switches, active head restraints, keys, and gear selector path.