Accelerate Mpls

I have read all the brochures and online materials, I have seen all the pictures – and the reality is none of that does the Fisker Karma justice.  I could sit here and list all of its specifications, but I won’t.  Mainly because that is not what this post is about.  Many of you have not had the opportunity (yet) to see the Fisker Karma in person.  When you do, you will remember it.  The lines and curves on this car are just gorgeous.

Lets back up a minute.  What the heck is a Fisker and what is the Karma?  Funny you should ask.  Fisker Automotive is a new car brand founded by Henrik Fisker, who is also the current CEO (funny how that works).  He was previously known for being the design director for Aston Martin and the president and CEO of BMW’s Designworks USA.  Maybe that does not mean much to you, but it equates to this: he is responsible for cars such as the BMW Z8 (one hot piece of metal), Aston Martin DB9 and the V8 Vantage (also both hot pieces of metal).  Needless to say, he has a sense of style when it comes to designing a car.

The Karma is the first car from Fisker Automotive.  With demo cars arriving at the end of the year, production should (if it stays on track) start in the very beginning of next year.  The car will be built overseas in Finland initially.  In fact, it will be built in the same factory as some Porsche’s and other vehicles.  In 2012 production will move to the Wilmington Assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware.  This plant was recently purchased by Fisker from General Motors.  With the plant already up to date with tooling and a local trainable workforce, it is an ideal location.  The plant was previously producing the Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT.

One last thing before we get to the actual Karma –  If you have not seen pictures I will tell you that this the car is a saloon.  It will fit two sets of golf clubs in the trunk, but getting in and out of the rear seat isn’t exactly graceful.  Another car is coming in 2012 from Fisker, and it will be a more mainstream, higher volume vehicle.  Currently the project is code named Nina and it will be a midsize sedan.  I was informed it will be about the size of the BMW 5 Series, but with much more usable interior space (read really practical).  The Nina should come in somewhere around $45-48k.  Also coming sometime between the 2012 Nina and 2011 Karma is the Karma Sunset.  The Karma Sunset is essentially a convertible version of the Karma, featuring a retractable hard top.

Upon seeing the Karma in person, I really was stunned.  Yes, from the front it looks somewhat like the Joker from Batman.  It still looks great though.  Some of the design cues from the front translate to the rear and interior.  This gives the car an overall cohesive design.  Each rear fender has a “fuel” door.  On the passenger side is the gasoline, while on the driver side is the plug-in for the rechargeable lithium ion battery pack.  The front headlights feature LED running lights, while the rear tail lights are also LED.  The roof features a full length solar panel to help charge the car and provide cooling for the interior cabin while the car is parked.  I remember the early 2000′s Audi A8s had this as an option on their sunroof.  The wheels are 22 inches (!) and are made from a  lightweight alloy.  The brakes are the same Brembo setup used in the Cadillac CTS-V.  The door handles have a electronic push pad under each handle that you merely push and the door opens.  This is similar in concept to the Chevrolet Corvette and new Cadillac CTS Coupe.  As you can see in pictures, the exterior is just gorgeous.  Some might say breathtaking.  I do suppose some could say it is controversial but I am in the “it is definitely gorgeous camp.”

Ok, I can understand how someone might be mixed on the exterior of this car, but the interior is simply stunning.  This is a whole new take on luxury.  This interior feels so different from all the other luxury sedans out there.  When I think of high end luxury cars (we are not talking small volume cars like the Rolls Royce Phantom), I think of cars like the Audi A8, Lexus LS 460 and many others.  This car is completely different inside.  To be honest, when I got inside of the Karma I felt like I had just stepped inside one of the older Chris Craft boats.  With rich thick leather and real wood, the interior just felt so natural and polished, yet elegant.  Keep in mind this was a pre pre-production car.  The 10.2″ center touch screen, which controls most of the cars functions (A/C, Radio, etc) was stuck in a black loading screen (I’m guessing the software was not ready) and the car could not turn on, though the gauges were lit up and the windshield wipers worked (I checked).  Oh something to note, the engine in the Karma is being sourced from GM – though that is not the only thing.  I noticed both the turn signal/cruise control stalk and the windshield wiper control stalk were both parts bin GM.  In fact, I am 99% sure they are the very same stalks in the Cadillac STS.  Whether these are the exact stalks found in the production sedan is yet to be seen.  Also, the rear view mirror is GM sourced too.  The gear shift level (if you could call it that) has a button on the left that I assume starts the car due to it’s power symbol and the lack of any other power button on the console or near the steering wheel.  The right hand part of the gear shift level is actually a switch that gets flipped into different positions to select your gear (PRND).  Down the center of the interior is the battery pack, but it is packaged beautifully behind glass and leather.  The front seats are downright sporty, comfy and are terrific.  The rear is awkward to get in and out of, but once in the car, the seats are comfortable.  Leg room is acceptable but not amazing.  The roof line does cut into rear headroom.  Overall, the interior is stunning.

The power will come from a battery pack with a 50 mile range.  Beyond that 50 mile range, the 2.0 liter turbo range extender engine kicks in and produces 260 horsepower.  This motor is sourced from GM and is the same engine used in the Saturn Sky Redline and the Pontiac Solstice GXP.  The total range between the battery and the gasoline engine is 300 miles.  You can forget range anxiety –  this is a series hybrid just like the upcoming Chevrolet Volt.  That means the gas engine is in no way driving the wheels. Rather, the engine is connected to the battery which powers the two electric motors connected to the rear wheels.  We will get into all the technical stuff in another post some other time.

The cars sticker price before tax rebates is $89,000 and change.  I know there is a government tax rebate and certain states (I think Minnesota does) also has tax rebates on qualifying vehicles.  The dealership here, which is the one and only one for the state of Minnesota has pre-sold and took deposits for 3 Karmas.  I was told varying numbers for how many total cars the dealership has pre-sold, but the most common number I heard was 17.  Not bad at all.

So what are my final initial impressions?  Well, I can not wait to get my hands on a production model.  Considering I did not get to drive or start this one, and the infotainment system did not work, I cannot give a full impression post.  I can say it does not feel “kit car” in anyway.  The interior is just ridiculous (in an amazingly good way).  The exterior I love, but some will not.  This is for sure a legitimate automobile with a company that I frankly hope succeeds in many ways.  As for the Karma, I’ll see you soon!

After taking time to digest everything I wanted to share some experiences from the MAMA spring rally.  MAMA is the Midwest Automotive Media Association,  a non-profit group that brings automotive journalists and public relations people together. A quick recap: the spring rally was a two day event spanning a Wednesday and Thursday.

Getting right into it, we were first unleashed onto the track at Road America Raceway on Wednesday morning after a quick breakfast and safety seminar.  During breakfast the various manufactures in attendance gave quick speeches about what they had brought with them for the rally.

Once we were unleashed we had choices; cars were lined up and each car had a sticker on the windshield stating either “road” or “track”.  If a car had a track sticker we were allowed to take it on either the public roads or the track.  Cars with road stickers were not permitted on the track.

Some things to note about the day: we were asked to keep stability control on at all times in the cars.  They were trying to avoid people over-reaching their abilities and wanted to minimize any damage or injury that might occur and while this most likely hindered some people’s lap times and severely hindered some autocross times, it was fine because part no major incidents occurred.

I focused much of my attention on the track in the early morning.  I drove everything from the Mazda RX8, Audi S4 and Mercedes Benz C63 to the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec.  I instantly found the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0t R-Spec underwhelming.  I was not in love with the manual, it felt slightly mushy and the shifts were not clean and crisp.  The engine needed to stay high in the revs to keep going around the course.  When I asked the Hyundai rep about this he admitted that this was too much track for the car and went on to state that the car is better in shorter track scenarios.  I can easily believe that.

The new 2010 Audi S4 was just tackled the track.  I set all the settings to dynamic mode and took off.  I loved the six speed manual transmission in that car.  Through the corners, the car felt much more neutral then the last generation with the heavy V8, though I will admit I do miss the V8 exhaust from the previous generation S4.  The car pulled itself through the corners pushing power to different wheels with the sport differential in the rear.

I did not take the time to properly set up the Mercedes Benz C63 or the E63 before hitting the track and this hindered some of the fun.  I did not tinker with all the settings, thus the car was not to my liking.  The paddles did not seem to do what I wanted them to do, the steering was not how I predicted through the corners, and the E63 was just simply hard to place in the corners.  You really need to play with the settings to get these cars to your liking and I did not take the time.

For the road portion I took out the upcoming Suzuki Kizashi Sport with the CVT transmission.  The paddles responded nicely and overall, the car was very nice.  The slightly more aggressive exterior body kit is welcomed and the larger wheels and tires looked great.  This was no barn burner but it went well enough.

The Rolls Royce Ghost was another trip all together, hitting near illegal speeds in no time. The interior of the new Rolls Royce Ghost is just plush.  Everything is made of quality materials.  I determined if I can ever afford a house with carpet as nice as the floor mats in the Ghost, I have made it.  The umbrellas in the doors have ventilation ducts that dry them, giving the ability to put away the umbrellas wet (coming in quite handy when Jeeves picks you up at the gallery opening).  Speaking of Jeeves, this car is much smaller then the Phantom (though still quite large) and many owners may prefer drive it themselves instead of having a chauffeur.  Sorry Jeeves, you’ll be taking the other car.

I also took the new Ford F150 Raptor with the 6.2 liter V8 out on the roads.  This big truck finally seems to have the much needed motivation to move like it should.

You know what they say, it’s not a party until a tree falls on an Aston Martin Rapide.  If nothing else, many people will remember this from the 2010 MAMA spring rally.  Upon getting back to our hotels (tired and stinky from being in the sun all day) it started to downpour and I mean a torrential downpour.  Within minutes of the rain hitting, hail rolled through.  The chunks of hail were about the size of a pea.  Of course, my thoughts quickly rolled to the millions of dollars worth of cars sitting outside of the hotel and the track.  Once the storm passed, I walked to dinner.  As I was walking everyone was heading to the parking lot.  I asked why and they only could utter something about a tree and the Aston Martin.  Uh oh, that is not good.  To my (and everyone else’s) horror, a pine tree had fallen on the Aston Martin Rapide.  We lifted the tree off as they backed the car out from under it.  Upon closer inspection, the passenger side mirror was gone, the hood was dented, the windshield broken and the worst part was that wood had gone through the windshield and into the dashboard, more then likely ruining the dashboard. Not good.

Thursday morning we had an autocross course set up next to the track.  The Ford Fiesta was a ton of fun due to its handling.  The new 2011 Ford Mustang V6 was much better then I anticipated.  The Mercedes Benz C63 was a beast though the E63 was a boat through the course, mainly due to it’s size.  Its power was what pushed it through.

The rest of the morning was spent off roading in everything from Range Rovers to the Ford F150 Raptor 6.2.  The Raptor 6.2 was my first vehicle I took off road and its size made it a handful.  The course was somewhat tight in some areas and I had to back up to make some corners.  The truck handled everything like the beast that it is.  After going through the course in the Raptor, I decided to go for something a bit smaller.  The new 2010 Range Rover Sport was next up and this thing was ridiculously nice.  Something crazy to note is that the Range Rover Sport was also labeled Wednesday as a track car.  This vehicle was put through its paces both on the track and off road.  Not many vehicles can be pushed through the track one morning and then stuck onto an off road trail the next.  I was curious as to how the stock 20 inch wheels and tires would handle the off road portion seeing as they had been used on the track the morning before.  To my surprise, the Range Rover Sport (I should not have been surprised) was an off road machine, shrugging off everything I threw at it.  Driving the Range Rover next was a very cool experience.  The all digital gauge cluster is really useful.  Being able to change what is displayed based on what you are doing comes in handy when off road.

The entire experience gave me the opportunity to drive many different cars in varying situations throughout a two day period.  The track portion was a blast, as was everything else.  The people were friendly and inviting.  Sitting and having lunch with two gentlemen from Consumer Reports lead to quite an interesting conversation.  Everyone from freelancers to Cars.com writers were in attendance.  Overall it was a great first experience and I look forward to whatever the next MAMA rallies should bring.