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Henrik Fisker opens up about EVs

Danish car designer Henrik Fisker is an interesting figure in the automotive world. After heading up design at Aston Martin he created the initial design for the Tesla Model S before launching Fisker Automotive. There, he created the Karma range-extended electric sports car. As we all know, the company eventually went bankrupt, leaving Mr. Fisker's future in question. Now he's back on the scene with his $230,000 supercar, the VLF Force 1, which debuted at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Interestingly the V10-powered Force 1, along with VLF's V8-powered Destino, is a huge departure from the green machines for which Fisker was responsible not too long ago. If that makes you curious as to what's going on inside the talented head of Henrik Fisker, you're not alone. Thankfully, Fisker has opened up to Tech Insider, discussing his thoughts on EVs and the future of the automotive world. While Fisker was part of the EV revolution – in his words, showing that "electric cars can be beautiful and exciting and fun to drive" – mass adoption has been slower than he originally predicted. The field is still too limited, with not much available in terms of what people want to buy. The driving range, too, is a huge obstacle to EV uptake, but that is slowly improving. "The choice for consumers is still fairly limited, but in my mind there's no doubt electric cars are here to stay," says Fisker. "It is going to be a growing segment and it will continue to grow." Fisker, however, is bearish on hybrids, despite their popularity. In his opinion, "electric cars will take over a lot of hybrids quicker than people think now." In an interesting prediction that defies more commonly held beliefs, hybrids don't have a place as a transition to EVs anymore. As infrastructure grows – along with battery capacity – people will "jump straight from gas to electric rather than make the transition to hybrid which is what a lot of car companies are betting on." It's an interesting point of view, to be sure, especially coming from a man who just recently took a pretty big leap from electric cars back to supercars whose fury is fed by fossil fuels. Take a deeper look into the mind of Henrik Fisker in the piece from Tech Insider. Related Video:

Fisker brings new Ronin, Alaska, Pear, and Ocean Force E to 'Product Vision Day'

With the Fisker Ocean reaching customers and a so-far successful first wave of media drives, company CEO Henrik Fisker took the stage in Huntington Beach, California last night to go over the products that are part of Fisker, Inc's second chapter. These are the Pear city car, which Fisker expects to be the company's best-seller; the Ronin four-door convertible flagship, produced in limited numbers; the Alaska pickup, built on an extended version of the Ocean's platform; and the Force E off-road package for the Ocean, available as a factory option or a dealer-installed kit after purchase. The CTO was also there to discuss the new Blade processing platform that will make all of the company's in-car tech dreams come true and debut with the Pear. We'll start with the Pear. It's built on a new SLV1 platform, an acronym Fisker said stood for "simple, versatile, and volume." We're not sure what the L is for, perhaps light, based on the claim the Pear uses 35% fewer parts than an equivalent city car. Engineers achieved this with measures like producing a single symmetrical armrest piece that fits all four doors. Parked on stage next to an Ocean, the Pear is clearly smaller, but it doesn't look at all small. We'll need to see it in the open with other objects for reference to understand the sizing. There were neat design elements like the giant windshield, the concave hatch glass attached at the top to the spoiler, a flash glass panel arcing over the roof at the rear three-quarter, and a taillight that formed an oval around the backlight. The hero car also had a roof full of solar panels.  The way the CEO talked about Pear features, the target audience of urban dwellers moves in packs that need places to store lots of stuff and maybe sleep. "Everything in the dash is about storage," he said, revealing an instrument panel with a central screen surrounded by recesses, some of the recesses topped by rubber straps that secure goods. He didn't demonstrate the front trunk, which he called the front boot in UK English, then shortened to "froot." He did demonstrate the Houdini trunk. When an owner wants to load the rear bay, the hatch glass disappears into the lower metal portion of the hatch, then that lower potion slides down into the bumper. A neat piece that doesn't need room in a tight parking spot, takes a lot longer than opening a hatch, though.

Karma will build engineering, sales offices near Detroit

Karma Automotive, the successor to the Fisker brand of high-end extended-range plug-in vehicles, appears to be looking to plan its rebirth in the heart (or the lion's den, some would say) of the US vehicle industry. The company, which was acquired out of bankruptcy by China-based Wanxiang in 2014, is planning to build its engineering and sales offices in Troy, Michigan, Automotive News says, citing the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The $3.6-million development will house as many as 150 workers. Karma officially changed its name from Fisker last year, as the Fisker moniker is affiliated with the coach-building company run by Henrik Fisker. The automaker is slated to unveil its new vehicle, called the Revero, by the end of the year. That car is expected to be somewhat similar to the original Karma, including its sleek design, the use of a 2.0-liter engine, and 33-mile all-electric range. No price for the new model, which is expected to remain firmly in the luxury sector, has been disclosed. Karma will receive $450,000 from the Michigan Business Development Program in order to help build the facilities in Troy. Karma also has a 556,000-square-foot vehicle-assembly plant in Moreno Valley, CA, about 65 miles east of Los Angeles. The former Fisker Automotive, which had been based in Orange County, CA, was founded in 2007. The company had plans to make a second model called the Atlantic, and once estimated that it could make 100,000 vehicles a year. FisKer Automotive produced its $100,000-plus vehicles until 2012 before going bankrupt. Wanxiang acquired Fisker for $149.2 million, beating out Hong Kong-based Hybrid Tech Holdings in an extensive bidding war. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Fisker Karma: Second Drive View 30 Photos News Source: Automotive News-sub.req. via Crain's Detroit Business Green Fisker Electric Detroit Michigan karma karma automotive revero