2012 Fisker Karma Eco Standard Sedan * Only 6,604 Miles * 403hp Hybrid on 2040-cars

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Will Bob Lutz's VL Automotive really offer V8 conversions for Tesla Model S?

VL Automotive is closely tied up with Fisker. The company's first product, the Destino, is a converted Karma and the Destino Red Concept, just unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, is the same hardtop Karma convertible that Fisker showed in 2009. So, what a surprise it was to see that Bob Lutz, who owns half of VL Automotive, is ready to convert a brand new electric vehicle: the Tesla Model S. A gas-powered Tesla? Say what? A gas-powered Tesla? Say what? That's at least one way to read this short article in The Detroit News. There's not a lot of context and a distinct lack of details, so we're left wondering if maybe Lutz just meant that Model S owners can buy a Destino. You can read the exchange for yourself here. What we do know is that Lutz said that VL Automotive has already sold nine Destino conversions. The cars cost $200,000, up from the previous estimate of $180,000, and well above the $116,000 max price tag on the original Karma. For your money, you get a 6.2-liter V8 taken from a Chevrolet Corvette that puts out 636 horsepower and can beat the 135-mile-per-hour top speed that the Karma has. Lutz said that all could add up to sales of around 200 or 300 Destinos each year. Featured Gallery VL Destino Red Concept: Detroit 2014 View 21 Photos News Source: The Detroit News via Green Car ReportsImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Green Detroit Auto Show Fisker Tesla Electric Hybrid PHEV vl automotive destino

Recharge Wrap-up: Fisker owner Wanxiang owns a lot of US real estate, carmakers gaming EU emissions system

Wanxiang Group says it might now be China's largest corporate investor in American real estate. The owner of both Fisker Automotive and battery company A123 Systems, and parts supplier to Mazda and Chrysler, Wanxiang has invested in over 60 projects in the US since 2010. Returns on those investments have been "very, very, very" high, according to Wanxiang America President Pin Ni. "We can invest in clean energy, auto, real estate or anything, but the key is pegging it well to the economic cycle," says Ni. Read more at Bloomberg. Cars sold in 2014 in Europe are exceeding 2015 targets for emissions, but not necessarily for the right reasons. The cars produce 2.6 percent (or 123.4 g/km) less CO2 than cars sold in 2013, which is nearly 7 g/km less than 2015 targets. Unfortunately, these results are influenced in part by manufacturers taking advantage of flaws in the EU testing procedures for better results. Real-world fuel economy is about 31 percent less than official ratings. "These figures need to be treated with extreme caution," says Greg Archer, clean vehicles manager at Transport & Environment. Most of the measured improvement is being delivered through manipulating tests, not delivering real-world improvements. We need the new test to be introduced without further delay." Read more at DieselNet, or from Transport & Environment. Ballard will supply fuel cell modules for eight hydrogen-powered buses in China. Shipping later this year, the FCvelocityTM-HD7 power modules will power buses in multiple Chinese for cities. "We are now beginning to see meaningful evidence of growing demand for clean energy mass transportation alternatives in China, including both buses and trams," says Ballard President and CEO Randy MacEwen. "This demand is being driven by a pressing need to address China's challenging air quality issues, for which fuel cell technology is seen as an emerging option." Read more from Ballard in the press release below. Ballard Inks Deal to Supply Next-Generation Fuel Cell Power Product For Eight Buses in China April 15, 2015 Vancouver, Canada – Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLD) today announced that it has received an order from a Chinese customer to supply its next-generation FCvelocityTM-HD7 power modules for 8 buses to be deployed in a number of Chinese cities. Ballard expects to ship all of the modules in 2015.

Did Katy Perry really just buy five Fisker Karma PHEVs for her employees?

We'll admit it, this is a strange little story. California Gurls singer Katy Perry was apparently so smitten by the California automaker Fisker that she bought five of the company's plug-in hybrid Karma for members of her staff. Reports say that she spent $500,000 dollars on the cars. Of course, this might all be nonsense. Everyone is saying that the original source for the news is the Daily Star, but there's no such report on the DS website. Then there's this obviously wrong quote from "a friend" of Perry's: "They are completely electric and top of the range in car luxury but she hates the smog in the air in LA. In total she spent over half a million dollars on the cars and now her conscience is clean." Karmas are not all-electric, of course, and if all it takes is money to erase your conscience, then we say well done, Ms. Perry. So we have to wonder if this isn't some elaborate prank designed to draw new celebrity attention to the Karma, since it's been a while since Justin Beiber had his own chrome Karma dreams. Or maybe people are just making things up. Either way, we like the idea of the Perry watching Paranoia and thinking, "I should get that status symbol for my posse."