Detroit, Check Out This Radical New Karma

(CBS)  On a test track in Southern California, a radical new car is getting its first workout. The zebra stripes camouflage it from competitors, but these are the first pictures of the Fisker "Karma," the brainchild of designer Henrik Fisker, who's trying to succeed where Detroit so far has failed, CBS News business correspondent Anthony Mason reports.

"The vision is to do a high performance, luxurious, sexy-looking car which gets better miles per gallon than the Prius," Fisker said.

The Karma is a plug-in hybrid. It can go 50 miles on an electrical charge before a gas engine kicks in to power its lithium ion battery.

"The average driver will get something around 100 miles per gallon," Fisker said.

The Karma's top speed is 125 mph. The initial price tag: $80,000. But within a few years, Fisker hopes to produce a $40,000 version of this lean, green machine.

It's got other earth-friendly features.

"The entire roof's a solar panel," Fisker said. "Actually it's the first curved solar panel in the world."

The Danish-born Fisker, who was a designer at BMW and Aston Martin, then owned by Ford, grew frustrated by the bureaucracy at the big car companies … so he started his own.

"We don't have the overhead that plagues a lot of the large car companies. And we can move extremely fast," he said.

Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January, the Karma is scheduled to become the first plug-in hybrid on the road late next year - well ahead of Chevy's Volt.

For all the debate over whether the U.S. government should bail out Ford, GM and Chrysler, consider the biggest investor in Fisker is the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. They've poured nearly $60 million into the car.

When the U.S. rescue package is discussed, the California-based Fisker is never mentioned.

Should the government be giving them some of the money?

"I think they should actually, because we are pioneers," Fisker said. "We are coming out, leading the way and showing how it could be done."

Small, nimble and fast - in the future the American auto industry may need to look a lot like Fisker.

[roach9703]

Gee this looks too much like success. Do you really think the government will be interested?

[jsd330]

Sure the Japanese hybrids will be cheaper due to their government keeping the yen arificially low against other currency''s and subsidies.Give Fisker a whole bunch of our tax dollers and you will still be paying $40,000 for his Karma. He''ll probobly move his plant to the Pacific rim, like everybody else is doing. Oil money is paying for his R&D, and the only ones who will be able to afford it will be the oil rich nations.
Whatever happend to cars powered by natural gas and propane ? they are cleaner, go father then battery and no battery disposal problem. Putting a propane or natural gas tank in a car is no more unsafe then a big battery. They use propane to run forklifts in wharhouses and factories and gas company''s power a big majority of their vechicals with natural gas.

[nolalou]

And, BTW CBS, nice provocative title for the article, like rubbing "Detroit''''s" nose in "it", eh? Do you think this $80k vehicle is going to be the mass hit "Detroit" needs? Or even it''''s downscaled $40k version? Not a chance. The plug-in hybrid will never sell in the mass market at $40k in today''''s dollars. Pigs will fly before that happens.

Posted by Dan400Man

I think the point to be taken from this company, and similar companies, is that more money should be invested in future technologies so we see these kinds of cars at affordable prices. Yes, more research has to be done on batteries, etc.
In addition, T. Boone Pickens idea of using natural gas should be explored.
None of these technologies may be ready in the short term, but in the long run a solution is needed as an alternative to the gasoline engine.

[dan400man]

And, BTW CBS, nice provocative title for the article, like rubbing "Detroit''s" nose in "it", eh? Do you think this $80k vehicle is going to be the mass hit "Detroit" needs? Or even it''s downscaled $40k version? Not a chance. The plug-in hybrid will never sell in the mass market at $40k in today''s dollars. Pigs will fly before that happens.

[dan400man]

1) Won''t ever buy, much less drive, a car named Karma.
2) ROI on a $40k car way, WAY too long, even when gas is $4/gallon. This is why GM''s Volt will be an abject failure as a vehicle produced for the "mass" market. How this is even still on GM''s drawing board, given all of the other alternatives out there and the ROI associated with this car, is beyond me. Someone''s smoking too much happy weed in the RenCen.

Otherwise, kudos to Mr. Fisker for innovating and leading the way to the future, along with other small startups doing the same type of thing with "alternative" vehicles. This particular hybrid concept (drive strictly on electric first, then gasoline after batteries can''t generate power) should have been the first hybrid concept developed. The current hybrids do relatively little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but the electric-first hybrid, once it becomes affordable, will be the game-changer we''ve been waiting for.

[cyberus-2009]

I have a concept for the plug-in/hybrid concept car designers ....

.... quit trying to make them all sports cars that do 100+ miles per hour top end and instead make them affordable to more people

[frankie2fing]

Part 1 of 2

The federal government has no right to use OUR money to bail out any company. That''''s what chapter 11 is for. It''''s not our fault that the CEO''''s give themselves sinfully high salaries. Or bonuses that could pay the mortgages for 10 homes.
The first financial institution to get bailed out voted themselves a super bonus, with OUR money! Let them sink and crash. It''''s time for new blood. The corporate world has a disease that only a blood transfusion can get rid of.
Posted by softtail2005

On the face of it, this idea sounds good. But the government created this problem. It started in the 70''s when we started removing the tariffs which protected the manufacturers in this country. This, coupled with the state sponsored corporations in the far east, Japan noteably, but others too, destroyed the domestic electronic industry. This ''monopoly'' then gave these countries more money to attack other industries (also state sponsored). The dominoes clatter down to this date. Now the automakers are under attack by this international corporate war.

[frankie2fing]

Part 2 of 2

And the government continues to make it easy for them. And so have we. In the pacific rim countries, they are taught in school NOT TO BUY U.S. GOODS! We on the otherhand will only buy the cheapest without regard to country of origin. The government needs to reinstitute tariffs (other countries have them, contrary to public belief otherwise) and we need to support the corporations here that are doing it right. Otherwise the results will be the destruction of this great country without a shot fired.

[softtail2005]

The federal government has no right to use OUR money to bail out any company. That''s what chapter 11 is for. It''s not our fault that the CEO''s give themselves sinfully high salaries. Or bonuses that could pay the mortgages for 10 homes.
The first financial institution to get bailed out voted themselves a super bonus, with OUR money! Let them sink and crash. It''s time for new blood. The corporate world has a disease that only a blood transfusion can get rid of.

[ddaryl1]

Who calls a car "Karma" anyway? Is this a Hindu car?

Posted by bracemic --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Obvioulsy you never heard about Earl... In fact my entire religous belief system is based upon Karma...

as for naming the car Karma... its actually a cool name for such a vehicle... Hopefully they can get the price down sooner then later with a solid 6 + year warranty.