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New Fisker Karma spare parts coming soon

It's easy to fall in love with the Fisker Karma based on looks alone. Figure in the luxury interior, electric drivetrain, and the convenience of the extended range, and it's hard to fault anyone who took the plunge and plunked down their hard-earned dollars for this swank green machine. Things go wrong, sure, as they do with any vehicle, but when the company goes bankrupt and you can't get the parts to get your car running again, let's just hope you really like the way it looks in your garage. Fisker's new owner, Wanxiang, has some welcome news. "The Fisker team is settling and still negotiating with over 300 suppliers," says Linyun Frank Qi, Fisker Coordinator at Wanxiang America, in a note to the Fisker Owners Club. "Most of them are good to go now which means we will soon have access to all the parts and also means you will soon have access to them too." Qi says he had an accident of his own in the company show car, which is still in the shop, so he can empathize with other Karma drivers. Wanxiang, a highly profitable auto parts company, bought Fisker earlier this year, along with its battery supplier A123 Systems. The company says it has grown the Fisker team from 20 to 80 people in recent months. The news that parts will soon be available could also be evidence that Fisker is closer to beginning production of the Karma again. Fisker bought an old GM plant in Delaware as part of the deal to purchase the company, and has said that there is a "50-50" chance of building cars in the state. It also wants to build a second model beginning in 2017.

Former Fisker CEO has some advice for Tesla Motors

Former Fisker Automotive CEO and ex-Chevrolet Volt vehicle-line director Tony Posawatz has some words of caution for Tesla Motors. The long-time automaker executive questions the California automaker's long-term viability – and gives some praise – in a talk with Benzinga, which you can listen to below. While the all-wheel-drive D that Tesla unveiled earlier this month in Southern California wowed a packed crowd, Posawatz (starting at around minute 4:45 in the interview) says Tesla would've been better off taking the resources it expended toward that Model S upgrade and directed them towards speeding up the development of a more affordable plug-in. Perhaps a number of investors agreed, since the company's stock fell the day after the D was announced. Posawatz says Tesla has been over-reliant on the sale of ZEV credits. Posawatz also says that Tesla has been over-reliant on the sale of zero-emissions vehicle credits in California for its earnings and questions whether the automaker will ever work at a large enough scale to sufficiently drive down costs and make consistent profits. Tesla CEO Elon Musk would take issue with this characterization. Posawatz first made his mark in the plug-in vehicle world when he was the vehicle-line director at General Motors for the Volt extended-range plug-in from 2006 to 2012. Later that year, he joined extended-range plug-in maker Fisker Automotive as its CEO, though quit that job during the summer of 2013 as the company was descending into insolvency. He joined the Electrification Coalition this past March. News Source: Benzinga Green Chevrolet Fisker Tesla Electric PHEV Tony Posawatz

The New Fisker website goes live, says Karma warranties limited to $2,000

If there's any question where Wanxiang hopes to take the remains of Fisker Automotive, just take a look at The New Fisker, a fresh official website for the bankrupt automaker. While the text available there hedges about just when and how the company will restart production, it is clear from the pictures that the company is ready to make the Atlantic PHEV concept a reality. The site even says, "Hello Future. Meet the Atlantic." But, for now, The New Fisker is more about the nitty-gritty details about how to convert the brand from a troubled mess into something people will want to spend money on again. Reassuringly, the site doesn't shy away from the automaker's disappointing past with this timeline, which includes the good and the bad from the past seven years. As for the future, Wanxiang is talking about restarting Karma production "as fast as possible," (maybe at Valmet, maybe Delaware, maybe somewhere else) as well as introducing new Fisker models, the Atlantic, Surf and Sunset concepts that we have seen before. The new Karma could be better than the old ones, since Wanxiang says it will use the long production break, "to improve on Karma and give the customers the outstanding experiences they deserve." The New Fisker says Karma warranties will only cover "a maximum of $2,000 per vehicle." If something goes wrong with an old Karma on the road (like, say, breaking down before you put 200 miles on it), will it be covered by warranty? Sort of. Wanxiang says it is bound by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware sale order to an Asset Purchase Agreement that limits the company to a total of $400,000 for warranty coverage, and a maximum of $2,000 per vehicle. The New Fisker apologies for the situation - "We understand if you are an owner and paid good money for your vehicle, $2,000 is not what you bargained for or expected. ... We are already hard at work discussing ways that we can make this a better experience for all current Fisker owners and hope to bring better news to each owner in the near future" - but that's all you can get today. We're reproduced The New Fisker's current FAQ below. Note that there is no mention of the Destino anywhere, despite the ties between Wanxiang and Bob Lutz's project. Are there any plans for new Fisker models? We are excited about the Karma and truly believe we can launch the Atlantic, Surf and Sunset in the future.