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.

Why Are Many Diesel Cars Not Available in the U.S.?

With all the talk today about fuel efficiency and reducing emissions, you would think that more diesel powered cars would be available for purchase in the United States. Along with O2 Sensors, Air Fuel Ratio Sensors, and new ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, new diesel cars are not only very clean but get excellent gas mileage.  So why don’t we see more of them?

Diesel powered cars are popular around the globe, especially in Europe where diesel gas is often less expensive. There are many European car makers that produce diesel cars for their European markets, but they seldom make it to U.S. shores. This is mostly due to automakers reluctance to bring diesel cars to the U.S. because of low demand. 

2012 VW Passat

Diesel cars do not have the best reputation in America. Twenty years ago (or more), diesels were noisy, clunky, and produced a thick cloud of smoke whenever you pressed down on the gas pedal. They also rarely passed emissions testing, especially in ultra-strict California. Today’s diesels are worlds apart from their ancestors, but the poor qualities associated with them persist in public minds. 

In addition to already poor attitudes toward diesels, the great qualities of new generation diesels are often overlooked. Despite getting similar gas mileage and often better emissions than hybrid vehicles, it’s usually the hybrid sector that gets the most press for being green.  This is in spite of the fact that the batteries used in hybrid vehicles are full of toxic and carcinogenic materials that are downright hazardous to obtain. Chalk it up to good marketing on behalf of the hybrid car industry, and a lack of marketing dollars spent on pimping diesel cars as the new ultra-green hybrid alternative.

2012 Audi Q7 TDI

The last major obstacle in an increased demand for diesel cars here is the heavier tax levied on diesel fuel. Typically the price of gasoline is about 18% federal and state taxes – with diesel fuel it’s about 25%. This is due to outdated tax code and results in higher prices for diesel fuel at the pump: although owners may get much better gas mileage, they are still paying more per gallon. This can offset the benefit of fuel efficiency to the consumer.

With gas prices soaring, public attitudes are beginning to come around. In 2012 VW released the Passat, Jetta, and Golf TDI, BMW released both 3 Series diesels and the X5 XDrive 35d, and Audi released the A3 TDI and Q7 TDI.  If this trend continues we may get a decent selection of diesel engines available in the U.S., and if we’re lucky, new legislation to make taxes on diesel vs gasoline more fair. With greater awareness of the benefits plus some serious marketing push by automakers, more diesel-powered cars can definitely be in our future.

Green Hybrid.. Military Vehicles?

When you typically think of "green" in the auto industry, things like O2 Sensor, oxygen sensors, and hybrid cars like the Toyota Pruis come to mind. I bet the last thing you would think of is the Army's all-terrain Clandestine Extended Range Vehicle (CERV), and yet here it is:

The advantage of going hybrid on a vehicle like this is not only to save gas (getting gas in the field in Afghanistan can cost upwards of $400/gallon... think about that next time you're at the pump); this vehicle can also run in silent (fully electric) mode for up to 8 miles. Combined with it's diesel engine it maintains the ability to go up 60 degree grades and reach a top speed of 80mph.

These capabilities make it extremely versatile: running a diesel engine at 3am isn't the best way to go unnoticed in stealth operations. The silent mode on this vehicle can sneak up on terrorists faster than a Prius when you step into the crosswalk. Plus there is admittedly some novelty to having a giant machine gun mounted to the top of a hybrid vehicle.

Fiskar Karma hybrid-electric vehicle.

This vehicle is part of a larger effort to save money and help the environment without sacrificing power and usability for soldiers in the field. It is being produced by Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide (QTWW), the company that makes the Q-Drive, the 400 hp drive train of the Fisker Karma. If you  haven't heard of the Fisker Karma, here's a few details to fill you in: a claimed total range of 300 miles (483 km), the first 50 miles (80 km) of which is on tailpipe-emission free electric-only charge, and it looks absolutely amazing.

There was a time where it was difficult to even get pictures of CERV's, but as the Army has entered one to be on display at the Chicago Auto Show it seems the times are changing. The 25% better fuel economy this hybrid offers not only saves money, but enables military personnel to go longer without filling up. Time will tell if these become a permanent installation in the military, but it certainly seems a step in the right direction to save money and increase utility for today's soldiers.

The 2012 Plug in Toyota Prius

Toyota is one of the largest car manufacturers on the planet and they continue to be thanks to innovations and forward thinking. The Toyota Prius has been a sales explosion due to the great mileage and trendy nature of being green but the car also has lots of features to make it more efficient. The Prius incorporates a number of new technologies such as electric steering rack and drive by wire throttle. The Electric rack and pinion is more efficient than a fluid based system since it eliminates the need for the whole pump system. The drive by wire is an electric system that controls the throttle making millisecond adjustments to reach peak efficiency.

This year Toyota has expanded the Prius line to more than just one car but a family of automobiles that are hybrid or complete electric. The Prius family will consist of the original Prius with 3 different options, the hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and then a complete electric. There are also new versions of the car that are being released as well, a 5 door hatch back bigger than the original and also a sportier 3 door car too.

Toyota has been expanding their empire and even though there have been some serious natural disasters that have slowed down the production they still seem to be holding their own. The production of most of the Japanese based car companies has been somewhat lacking since the tsunami but it is good to see that they are starting to get back to normal production. Normal production means that their lives are getting back to normal and that is what we all want to see.