Fisker Automotive

I liked Jamie G\'s review of Fisker (found here: http://www.chubbybrain.com/companies/fiskerautomotive/reviews/jamieg). I share with him his belief that this could be a great company, the Karma itself is beautiful, and I also agree with him that the hybrid-electric approach is a smart approach for 1st generation electric cars. <br /> <br /... More >>

I liked Jamie G\'s review of Fisker (found here: http://www.chubbybrain.com/companies/fiskerautomotive/reviews/jamieg). I share with him his belief that this could be a great company, the Karma itself is beautiful, and I also agree with him that the hybrid-electric approach is a smart approach for 1st generation electric cars. <br /> <br />But a lot of Jamie\'s concerns with Fisker are similar ones I shared about Tesla, which surround the problem of the infrastructure required to make consumers confident in an auto manufacturer. In other words, does Fisker\'s lack of a strong dealer and service network limit their opportunities? I think it does with Tesla, and I think it does with Fisker as well. <br /> <br />But Jamie\'s review made me think of a problem specifically as it relates to Fisker. And that\'s the decision to go with the hybrid-electric engine. <br /> <br />It\'s interesting to hear that the Chevy Volt model (hybrid-electric engines) is leading the way for Electric Vehicles Version 1.0. This makes lots of sense. For one, it pushes the distance ranges of these cars to ridiculous levels, ones that current hybrid-gas engines could never match. <br /> <br />But isn\'t this a bad thing for these niche vehicle makers? I mean, for all of the talk about the engineering prowess and technological feats that Fisker (and Tesla for that matter) offer, the wave of the future is going to follow a model made semi-popular by General Motors? <br /> <br />And if that\'s the case, then what is Fisker (and Tesla) competing on? I guess it would have to be design. <br /> <br />I recognize that I am probably oversimplifying things greatly, but this does suggest to me that Fisker is vulnerable to quality manufacturers. GM probably is not a quality manufacturer, but Mercedes is. And that\'s who Fisker has to compete with. <br /> <br />With Mercedes coming out with their own Electric Vehicle in 2010, behind a trusted brand, a strong dealer network, and vast experience in the manufacturing business (Fisker is a designer, not a manufacturer), I just don\'t think that the future bodes well for Fisker Automotive. <br /> <br />Specifically, its goal (Tesla\'s too) is to sell 15,000 vehicles. I think this is a pipe dream. <br /> <br />But does that mean Fisker will be unsuccessful? No, Fisker can and will be successful. But it would be better by licensing its technology to a luxury automaker (Porsche, BMW perhaps). In this way, it could leverage the Gordon Murray Model (see my review here: http://www.chubbybrain.com/companies/gordonmurraydesign/reviews/brendyl) which provides an easier way to make a difference in the auto-sector without requiring the extensive dealer networks. <br /> <br />BOTTOM LINE: Fisker has created a beautiful product but lacks the infrastructure to become a mass producer. It should seek out creative ways to leverage its design and technology, because the lack of infrastructure will limit its opportunities. << Less

You probably know this if your reading this, but we need to start somewhere..<br /> <br /> First off, let's call this a 4-door car or a passenger car if you must (perhaps even "saloon" if you're feeling British). Just don't call this a sedan. Remember the Polaner All-Fruit commercials from several years ago? "Would you please pass the jelly?". All-Fruit in the commercial is apparently NOT to be called Jel... More >>

You probably know this if your reading this, but we need to start somewhere..<br /> <br /> First off, let's call this a 4-door car or a passenger car if you must (perhaps even "saloon" if you're feeling British). Just don't call this a sedan. Remember the Polaner All-Fruit commercials from several years ago? "Would you please pass the jelly?". All-Fruit in the commercial is apparently NOT to be called Jelly, just as I believe the Karma is not to be called a sedan. The word is just too drab and not fitting because Fisker Automotive's entry into the market (the Karma) is a BEAUTIFUL automobile. Henrik Fisker was the designer for Aston Martin's Vantage and DB9 as well as BMW's Z8. Bits and pieces will remind the observant enthusiast of these cars as well, such as a long snout, the elongated kidney-esque grill of the BMW and the wide haunches of the Aston Martins. It also feels to me a little like a four door TVR Tuscan (Travolta's car in Swordfish). Notice how I didn't say it looked like a Tuscan "sedan". Did I mention it was beautiful?<br /> <br /> What works<br /> <br /> A fully electric car with a little gas engine to solve the only deal-breaking problem for electric cars: range. I love it. This is the Chevy Volt in a nutshell and it seems others want to emulate this model as well. A series hybrid (as people are currently calling them) is probably the best bridge technology to fully electric until battery technology becomes good, (like 15-20 years in the future good). A 225-mile range is fine for a sports car like the Tesla, but limiting the range on a passenger car (even to 225 miles) is a deal breaker, which is why the Karma, a passenger car, is designed this way. The additional weight of two passengers most likely would kill the range anyway even if it had as many batteries as the Tesla.<br /> <br /> My concerns<br /> <br /> This all seems so great to me. Good management, beautiful car, deadlines being met, overall a fantastic idea..but something just doesn't seem right. This general rush into the electric car market feels like the rush into the touch screen computer market in the early to mid 90s. So many nimble new companies, so much VC money, so much promise, so much that seemed to be great but ultimately failed to capture the market. For touch screen computers and organizers, companies failed to see what consumers wanted beyond the "cool-factor" and potential benefits of using a pen based device. Lots of companies were coming to the plate in a hurry and striking out just as quickly. This begs the question: "Is the Karma an Apple Newton, (an utter failure) or a Palm Pilot, (the device that opened up the pen based arena)?" Does anyone know if Jeff Hawkins is planning on making a car? There will undoubtedly be a Palm out there, but there will be a few Momentas as well. <br /> Beauty and intrigue alone won't sell cars. (Think Lamborghini in its pre-Audi days with beauty, lots of demand, lots of performance, but a LOUSY dealer and service network that brought them to the brink of collapse.) Certainly any small car manufacturer today has more resources, most notably the computer and Internet, but this doesn't solve all woes. I think the Karma will fail to capture a 15,000 vehicle per year projection especially because of an isolated dealer network and tougher economic times ahead. This will be a problem when it's counting on revenue from a relatively large-scale production. Yes, they've sold out in the first year, but who is servicing these cars? Is there going to be a true dealer network or are there service centers in place besides a small scattering of sellers in California and NYC? Also, as of September they were still lacking about half of the VC money that they projected they needed. Will they be able to continue to get capital in this economy in an already cash hungry industry? <br /> I wonder if servicing is an issue that electric car companies are really thinking about. Tesla was trying to charge an $8000 out of area service fee but later amended that to "get the car here by yourself". And there are only a handful of Teslas. If you\'re going to put 15,000 cars on the road I think you\'ll need some sort of significant service network. I sometimes take my car to a shop down the street if I need some minor service, but I wonder how these new electric cars will be diagnosed. Will they have some sort of OBD plug in? Will mechanics be required to get a degree in computer science? A dealership infrastructure is an important resource for a new car owner, and how much inconvenience is someone willing to incur on a $100,000 passenger car? If GM is a partial owner of Quantum will the cars be serviceable at GM dealerships? In addition, the Karma has an internal combustion engine that is going to charge the batteries, so unlike the Tesla, it will need oil changes, and it will need mechanical engine service. I would be surprised to see a line of Karma owners outside Jiffy Lube. Thank goodness for a range extending gas engine, since with 15,000 of these on the road, at least some percentage will be at least 47 miles away from a dealership.<br /> <br /> Break down<br /> <br /> I think the series-hybrid is actually a great idea. I think it will remain important even with battery technology becoming better. But I believe ultimately the Volt (if GM gets its act together) will be the Palm. I still don't understand how Quantum is partially owned by GM and the Karma has the battery technology needed and the Volt doesn't. Perhaps this represents the dramatic price difference? I have lots of questions and perhaps this fuels some of my doubts.<br /> I would love nothing more than to be wrong about these upcoming problems, but it all seems too good to be true. I admire that deadlines are being met. I like the orchestrating of resources rather than an integration approach (Tesla is doing this too). But something just screams Apple Newton to me when I want this to be a Palm Pilot. I foresee problems with batteries, service and some wild card yet to be determined. And I'm not trying to sound like a psychic I'm just thinking that many cars, especially entirely new platforms with great engineering have issues. It's just normal. I think there is great potential here and I want to believe in ultimate greatness but I think there's going to be some substantial projection that misses. I hope that the good management keeps it from falling over, but I'm skeptical that it will have the resources (dealer and financial) to handle even one inevitable recall. With 15,000 cars out there and a minimum of dealerships, a recall would be no small feat for a small startup. I'm giving them 4 stars because I like where they're going and it seems to be well run, but this rating comes mostly from the heart, not as much the brain. I just hope it works out, as I would love to have my own Karma when my wallet is a little thicker and a Karma dealer is just 5 miles away.<br /> <br /> << Less