Fisker: No misuse of federal loan - Says money spent in US

[cyberpj]

Source: Delaware Online from The News Journal

Electric carmaker Fisker Automotive insists it is not using any part of a $529 million federal loan to fund manufacturing operations in Finland, where a contractor is building its first product, the $100,000 Karma sedan.

Fisker, which plans to build its second line of hybrids in Delaware, responded Friday to an ABC News report that suggested the company was misusing the loan, issued by the U.S. Department of Energy.

About $359 million of the loan is set aside for development of Fisker's upcoming Nina line in Delaware. An additional $169 million is earmarked for Karma design and engineering.

snip-

"Not a single dollar of the DOE loans has been, or will be, spent outside of America," the company said in a statement Friday, adding that it has created hundreds of jobs at supplier outposts and Fisker locations in California and Delaware.


Read more: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20111022/NEWS/110220325/Fisker-No-misuse-federal-loan?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

[NYC_SKP]

1. That's good news but I really wish the $$$ had gone toward a more affordable and efficient car...

..

Because who the fuck can afford this $100,000 beast?



:shrug:

[Firebrand Gary]

3. Ugh, that car is not part of the line that is being built in the US.

Just saying.

[cyberpj]

4. US production is for a model called NINA - planned for $47,500

The Nina remains on track for late 2012, but deliveries of the car to customers won’t begin until mid-2013 when the assembly plant is fully on line, and that this has always been the plan. The $47,500 compact sports sedan is being produced at a former General Motors facility in Wilmington.

Similar to the way that the Chevrolet Volt operates, the Nina will be able to run on battery power for an undisclosed distance, or by using a small four-cylinder engine that Fisker is buying from BMW to generate electricity for longer trips. Fisker expects to build 100,000 Ninas a year for sale in the United States and abroad, creating at least 2,500 jobs in the process.

[Firebrand Gary]

5. This should make you feel a little better though.

The Chevrolet Spark is expected to run between 18-22K, it is widely expected to dominate the EV market upon its release. Look up the website when you get a chance, its pretty cool.

http://spark.chevrolet.com/geneva-v1/en_US/index.htm

[NYC_SKP]

6. Thanks for that...

I've got over 100K on my 2007 Prius and, at $26,000, it was quite an investment as it was.

Why Fisker couldn't have STARTED with the Nina is beyond me...

:hi:

[cyberpj]

7. Husband and I are now on our 3rd Prius - proud owners since 2001 (when they had a trunk)!

We LOVE our Prius'!
AND their commercials!
:hi:

Husband has a LONG commute so he drives the new one up to 90,000 or so then hands it off to me because I drive very little.

When he was ready to buy our 3rd, last year, I wasn't even ready to give up the first one yet - it was still running beautifully - but we got a great resale price on it so, yeah, we're pretty loyal for life now.

One thought I had on why Fisker may have started with the luxury cars is that the profit they make on those will help them expand the others(?)

[NYC_SKP]

8. Fisker approach resembles Tesla, starting with a high end entry.

It could be that the first models have to be so costly that only really rich people can buy them, so why not let them be the guinea pigs.

But as for the profit motive, I think selling much higher numbers of a more affordable car could be an equally successful approach (unless it's a lemon idea).

I've driven a Volt and been a passenger in a Tesla roadster (wow!) and the Volt sux. Too big, heavy, over-designed.

Even the Fisker NINA is $47,000!

Can't someone make the equivalent of an Austin Healey Sprite with electric and a petrol backup for closer to $17,500?

:hi:

[Firebrand Gary]

9. Sure.

I am super happy that all of the automakers are coming out with the EV. I am absolutely going with the Spark, the I3 from BMW is smoking hot as well and has a very reasonable price. However I am going with American all the way!

[dkf]

2. Geez that's more than some houses nowadays.

Will it run for a lifetime?

[naaman fletcher]

10. money is fungible

news at ll.

[formercia]

11. Building cars for the 1% with our Tax Dollars.

Even their low-end model is worth as much as our house.

[DissedByBush]

17. It will roll downhill

Expensive car technologies always do.

Antilock brakes, fuel injection, airbags and other such technologies debuted on cars such as the Mercedes S-class, and some years later they're standard on even the lowest-end cars. Other formerly high-end expensive tech like stability control, computer navigation and parking assistance is now in relatively affordable cars.

Even integral crash safety used to be a high-end Mercedes thing, now in ever car.

[quakerboy]

12. Isnt the economic point of something like that

that it should balloon? We the people invest in you so you can get it up and running, and hire lots of individuals from we the people over the years, thus providing worthwhile return?

Its nice that they are doing R&D here in the US, and allegedly spending the money we loaned them on that. But the point was the sustainable jobs, not a temporary deal. If that was all we wanted, we could have just sent checks to some of our own citizens.

[No Elephants]

13. Bingo.

[No Elephants]

14. Bingo.

[No Elephants]

15. $169 million for design and engineering? Ouch!

[DissedByBush]

16. Fungible

Millions going to development of the Nina line and Karma design are millions that didn't have to be spent having the cars made overseas.

[Scruffy1]

18. Toyota spent a billion to get the prius to market.

At the time they said that is what it costs to bring any totally new model to market. I would give these start up companies about zero chance of succeeding since they are under capitalized, have no dealer network, nor any of the other infrastructure of the major manufacturers. There only hope is to sell enough high mark up expensive vehicles to recover some of the costs until they get their volume up. You really need to sell a million cars to recoup the start up costs. American Motors was a classic example of a wrong size company. As far as contracting work out all auto companies
have always done this. A classic example is Ford's relationship with the Dodge brothers.