Consumer Report’s review Death Toll for Fisker?

After having their shiny new Fisker Karma shut down completely after 200 miles on the odometer, Consumer Reports was finally able to finish their testing and write a complete review on the vehicle. If you've ever had issues with your navigation unit or engine control module, you know how frustrating it is to try and solve weird electrical problems. Consumer Reports couldn't even begin testing on the Karma before battery issues bricked the car in their parking lot. Their summary after getting it back from the shop: not good.

While the design is lauded as “simply stunning,” the gasoline engine when activated is noticeably loud. Its heavy 5395 pound body doesn’t help the handling department, and the touch screen has a grayscale look and requires so much menu flipping it “makes MyFord Touch look like a brilliant design.”

During testing, after they got it back from the shop of course, the speedometer and energy meter display disappeared when driving, on top of having several other rogue warning indicators appear during the week. These included the ESC, ABS and brake warning lights. There is also an intermittent warning tone and light that indicates an overheating situation; the warning lamp illuminates, then instantly turns off. 

Oh, were you using these? Sorry.

 What’s more troubling is that Consumer Report’s experience with the Karma is not isolated. Only 500 have been shipped and there are already dozens of complaints in all available outlets, with a range of sometimes mysterious issues.

One person couldn’t put their car into drive, tried to reboot the system several times to no avail, and had a technician come out and do a hard reboot. While this finally enabled the car to get into drive, the person then drove their kids to school and became stranded in the school parking lot with the same issue – even after a hard reboot, the car would not be put into gear.

One customer reported that their Karma required a completely new differential with only 1000 miles on the odometer because of a worn-down coupling between one of the motors and the wheels.

By far the most disturbing report is of a Karma owner that had their vehicle shut down completely while driving 35mph – all of the lights on the dash illuminated, the brakes would not work, and they had directional control of the vehicle only. While the other issues are indeed irritating and not acceptable for any brand new vehicle, paying $108,000 for a death trap is outrageous.

 With all of this information pouring in, there are many who have stood up for Fisker, saying that any brand new vehicle from a brand new manufacturer with new technology is going to have birthing pains. They also state that in order to keep up with strict deadlines in order to receive funding, some of the details in making the Fisker had to be rushed.

I don’t know about you, but funding or no funding I don’t feel rushing to get something out the door is ever appropriate when lives are at stake. While I understand this is a new company, selling a vehicle that is not completely developed is not only dangerous to consumers, but very damaging to the company’s image and future.

Hopefully Fisker will address these issues (there have already been two recalls on the Karma), but either way no one could get me to purchase one of these buggy, albeit beautiful, deathtraps.

You Can Brick Your 109k Tesla Roadster

It's always a bummer when your Air Conditioning Parts or AC Compressor quits out on you - you're stuck in the heat for a few days while you order another one and have it installed. It is a decently easy fix though, and (depending on where you shop) a not-so-costly repair. Other repairs are more expensive - as a few Tesla Roadster owners found out when their lithium-ion car batteries died and discovered a replacement runs $40,000.

 Yes, you read that right. After placing a $5000 deposit and then coughing up an additional $104,000 a few hundred people have driven home in a fully electric Tesla Roadster. The batteries that are used to power the Roadster are not unlike the ones used to power your cell phone - rechargeable, and apparently, once flat dead they cannot be revived.

Some technology enthusiasts will recognize the term "bricking" - it means when a piece of technology is rendered completely unusable, making it about as useful as a giant brick. Five Tesla Roadster owners so far have discovered that not only can they brick their Roaster, but the only solution is to purchase an entirely new and un-discounted battery from Tesla for 40k.

Surely, with such dire consequences it must be really difficult to brick a Tesla, right? Unfortunately, the parasitic load from the cars subsystems will render any unplugged Tesla a brick in time. With a full charge, that might take up to six weeks or so, but if the battery was already run down it could take as little as one week. Even plugged in, if the voltage going to the car isn't sufficient it can brick anyway as one unfortunate Tesla owner found out.

Insurance won't cover it, either. Tesla is no better - they specifically state in their terms upon buying the car that they are not responsible for "neglect" of the battery. You would think Tesla would recognize the danger here and go to great lengths to warn customers about this issue, but it is markedly absent from any of the paperwork and manuals given to new Tesla owners.

Given this information, buying a Tesla leaves you open for a huge un-insurable liability. There are those who want to go green while maintaining serious style, but with $40,000 in the balance, is it worth it?

Ugly Electric Cars

When it comes to environmentally friendly and my car, the only thing I do is make sure I pass emissions.  That means having 02 sensors and catalytic converters that work. I would love to do my part and buy an electric car but, come on… have you seen those things?


Electric cars have always looked like they drove down the ugly driveway, and ran over every crack on the way down. Car designers usually state that the looks are due to making the cars as aerodynamic as possible. This might be true, but I am sure they think about aerodynamics with every car and they don’t end up looking like these awful things.  Let’s take an ugly trip through the history of electric cars.

PAST: It started with the EV1 back in 1996.  GM was brave enough to be the first large automaker to design an electric car, but that does not mean they should have.  The most hideous aspect of the EV1 is the back end.  The covered rear wheels and the shape of the trunk make it look a Sudafed.  I don’t know whether I am supposed to drive it, or take two in the morning.

PRESENT: The most popular electric car is the Toyota Prius, but it did not avoid the ugly electric car genes. Some of you are probably saying to yourselves, “The Prius is not that bad!” Quit it, you are fooling yourself.  Take another look at it. A Prius looks like a Civic’s ugly little brother. Somehow the Prius has gotten past this.  It has reached the level of being so ugly it is cute, like a Pug.  (Note: The Honda Fit is also ugly because it looks just like a Prius)

FUTURE: GM wants back in the hideous electric car race.  They have been displaying the Chevrolet EN-V around the globe at auto shows.  EN-V stands for, Electric Networked-Vehicle.  I actually don’t know if I can call this thing an ugly car, because it looks more like a helmet than a vehicle.  Every time I see it I think of Master Chief from the video game Halo.  I wonder if you drive the thing with an X-Box controller instead of a steering wheel.