2023 Fisker Ocean on 2040-cars

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Fisker teases Ronin GT four-door before August 3 investor day

Fisker feels it's far enough along in the automaking process and has enough product in the near-term pipeline to hold an investor day. That will come on August 3. Whetting appetites, the CEO teased the Ronin GT that's been in the works for years. We believe this is an evolution of the Fisker EMotion that Fisker talked about in 2018, then a coupe with novel butterfly rear doors, a 400-mile estimated range, and a price around $129,000. What we're seeing now has come out of the Magic Works outpost set up in England and run by Aston Martin's former head of special projects David King. Henrik's caption with the Instagram tease was, "Fisker Ronin, All Electric super GT! Reveal August 3rd! Super fast & space for 5! The ultimate long distance Grand Touring car with an anticipated range of 600 miles!" This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Fyi, that's 600 miles of range on the WLTP cycle. Plenty of distance still, although it's a small climb down from the targeted 660 miles of range we heard about in May 2022.  Fisker only calls this an electric grand tourer in the Insta post. On the Fisker site, the car is called "the world's first all-electric, four-door convertible, GT Sports Car." There's a shut line across the roof, placed where the absent B-pillar would otherwise make itself known. Another shutline separates the center panel from the C-pillar, just where one would expect a three-piece hardtop to separate so that it can fold into the trunk. Assuming this comes to pass, the Ronin will be the first and last entry in the four-door convertible GT market in the U.S., and the only genuine hardtop convertible on sale here (as opposed to the targa setups on cars like the Chevrolet Corvette and McLaren 750S).   In terms of specifications, all that's been announced is that the Ronin will offer "extremely high levels of performance" and serve as "a showcase for [Fisker's] internal engineering, powertrain and software capabilities." The vehicle battery's been integrated into the structure, and active aero is going to play a part. The company's promised to keep the price below $200,000.     Investor Day will also show the production Fisker Pear city vehicle, and we hear the Alaska pickup, based on the Ocean, might make a cameo. Fiskerati reports Fisker having said of the pickup, "that’s really our take on a very unique super sporty pickup truck.

U.S. opens another probe into Fisker's cars, over brake issue

  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened a preliminary probe into 6,813 Fisker Ocean SUVs built in 2023, after complaints that the automatic emergency braking system used in the electric vehicles had activated inadvertently. The regulator said its Office of Defects Investigation has received eight complaints alleging activation of the braking system without an apparent roadway obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Three of the complaints alleged an injury, the safety agency said. NHTSA's preliminary evaluation will look into the scope and severity of the potential problem to assess its impact on safety. The regulator could close the investigation into Fisker without taking any potential action. The probe adds to Fisker's woes as its Ocean SUVs were already under investigation by the NHTSA for three prior incidents. Last month, the safety regulator received complaints that the doors of the company's EVs sometimes failed to open. Fisker had flagged "going concern" doubts in February, followed by delisting of its stock from the New York Stock exchange and the collapse of talks with a large automaker for a potential deal in March. The startup had said in April it failed to make an interest payment of about $8.4 million on some notes due in 2026 during a 30-day grace period. The cash-strapped firm initiated insolvency proceedings for its Austrian unit on Tuesday, as it looks for strategic options to raise money to meet its debt obligations. 

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla hiring new sales executives, A123 focuses on starter batteries

A123 Systems is shifting more of its focus to lithium-ion starter batteries for cars with stop-start systems. The company sees the smaller batteries as a safer, more viable way to bounce back from its recent bankruptcy than by providing battery packs to power EVs. A123 still provides EV batteries to China, and hopes to provide them to Fisker, which is now owned by a mutual parent company, Wanxiang. A123's Detroit facility is currently building starter batteries for Mercedes-Benz, with microhybrid battery production expected in within the next few years. Read more at Automotive News. Tesla Motors Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Service Jerome Guillen is being reassigned to a role in customer satisfaction. After struggling sales in California and China, Tesla is also seeking sales executives for its three major sales regions: North America, Europe and Asia. "Once they are on board, Jerome's focus will be on post- sales activity from delivery to long-term customer care, where he has done an incredible job," says Tesla. For 2014, North America made up about 55 percent of Tesla's sales, while Europe and Asia made up 30 and 15 percent, respectively. Tesla expects those numbers to eventually be distributed evenly, and aims to increase sales by 74 percent this year. Read more at Automotive News. David Noland of Green Car Reports wants Tesla to address a double-pedal problem in the Model S. Noland says that when both the accelerator and brake pedal are pressed at the same time, it can increase the stopping distance, creating unsafe situations. Noland, along with other drivers with large feet, are having problems with this due to the narrow spacing between the pedals. Elon Musk has stated that the Model S limits torque in a double-pedal situation, but Noland's own tests find some inconsistencies. Noland would like to see a change to the firmware to address this problem. Read more at Green Car Reports. Featured Gallery Tesla Model S View 10 Photos Related Gallery 2012 Fisker Karma: Second Drive View 30 Photos News Source: Automotive News, Automotive News, Green Car ReportsImage Credit: Tesla Motors Green Fisker Tesla Green Automakers Safety Electric recharge wrapup