Fisker Other, page #17

Auto blog

Destino's VL Automotive merges with GreenTech Automotive

Here's a twist to the Fisker/Destino/MyCar stories we didn't see coming. WM Greentech (WMGTA), the company behind the struggling-but-not-dead-yet MyCar, has merged with VL Automotive, the company that plans to take bodies from the Fisker Karma and repurpose them with a V8 engine. That car will now be part of GTA's new WM Destino brand. That latter idea comes, in part, from former Chevy Volt booster Bob Lutz, who founded VL Automotive with Gilbert Villarreal, an automotive engineer and industrialist. Vilarreal will now become chief operating officer of WMGTA. In a statement, available below, Vilarreal said the merger will let WMGTA get busy making the Destino luxury and that, "I truly believe in the production of the GTA MyCar as a practical, electric transportation solution and an affordable fleet vehicle." The Destino, of course, is neither electric nor affordable. It is expected to cost around $180,000. WMGTA thus has two brands. The GTA division will make practical little EVs like the MyCar. The WM division, on the other hand, "manufactures and distributes energy-efficient super sports cars with internal combustion engine." Now tell us, did you see that coming? WM GREENTECH AUTOMOTIVE CORP. MERGES WITH LUXURY SPORTS CAR MANUFACTURER VL AUTOMOTIVE McLean, Virginia – May 5, 2014 - GreenTech Automotive Corp (GTA), a Virginia-based wholly owned subsidiary of WM GreenTech Automotive Corp. (WMGTA), today announced the recent merger of VL Automotive, an innovative luxury sports car manufacturing company based in Detroit, Michigan. VL Automotive will merge with GTA, a wholly owned subsidiary of WMGTA, which also has a wholly owned subsidiary that produces electric vehicles. After the merger, WMGTA now has its global engineering headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, manufacturing in Tunica, Mississippi, and U.S. corporate headquarters in McLean, Virginia. VL Automotive was founded by Robert A. Lutz, former Chairman of General Motors, and Gilbert Villarreal, automotive engineer and industrialist. Villarreal will join GTA's executive team as its Chief Operating Officer. Before joining GTA, Villarreal served in various engineering leadership positions at the United States Marine Corps, the Boeing Company and General Motors. "This merger will enable WMGTA to ramp up production of the Destino luxury sports sedan while strengthening its electric vehicle division. WMGTA has proven its practical business strategy and sensible approach to product development.

Fisker creditors want a repayment do-over

In February, the Chinese company Wanxiang won control of Fisker Automotive at a bankruptcy auction for a final bid of $149.2 million. The sale meant that Wanxiang would now have to deal with all of the creditors claiming that Fisker owed them money. Those individuals and groups had a combined $1 billion in claims, and they're not happy with how the bankruptcy is shaking out. In April, a settlement was announced that would see those unsecured creditors get back pennies on the dollar. The unsecured creditors are telling the bankruptcy court that they want the judge to take away control of the bankruptcy proceedings from Fisker and implement a new repayment plan. The request was filed by a committee representing the creditors, which said it could have the new plan submitted in a matter of days, if the judge agrees with the request. The committee says there are "unreasonable demands" in the current repayment plan, such as a big paycheck for Fisker's chief restructuring officer, worth $750,000. If the judge allows the unsecured creditors to file a new plan, it will result in the "best possible outcome," the filing said. We admit we're feeling a bit confused and dragged along by the Fisker bankruptcy proceedings. And we're quite sure that the new owners have got to be fed up as well, since they're likely to be in a bit of a time crunch if the company's really going to re-start Karma production next year.

Fisker could be renamed when production restarts in 2015

The Orange County Register has an update on Wanxiang's plans for Fisker, and it starts with the idea that you would see brand new Karmas back on the road in mid-2015. From there the goals get less certain, the OCR saying the Surf station wagon "could ship in 2016" and the mid-priced Atlantic "might come in 2017." The targets came from an interview with interim CEO Roger Brown as he laid out how fluid the present situation is. The primary certainty, according to Brown, is that new owner Wanxiang is determined to execute on its vision and "build a great car company." The puzzle pieces that make that picture are still being assembled – even the name of the post-bankruptcy company, Fisker Automotive for now, is being debated. No matter what the name will be, Wanxiang and Brown need to establish the blood and bones of a company that can provide what the original Fisker Automotive didn't. Brown said they're looking for a permanent CEO over the next three months, they need to settle on a location for headquarters and increase the staff from the current 25 to the 200 or so necessary to engineering a fully fleshed-out Karma and successive products, and figure out where cars are going to be built. Concerning workers, Brown revealed that, "We've been flooded with people that want to come back." As for manufacturing in the Delaware plant that Fisker Automotive still controls or somewhere else, we've heard there are even odds on US production, but the final answer will probably be delivered by the new CEO.

New Fisker claims 50-50 chance it will build cars in Delaware

As soon as the bankrupt Fisker Automotive started crawling back from the dead, rumors that the new owners would restart production of the Karma plug-in hybrid crawled as well. We've heard that the car would be built in the old General Motors plant the company owns in Delaware, that it would happen in Michigan or that Valmet would get going again in Finland. Nothing official has yet been announced, but Delaware Online is now saying that it's even money that Delaware to play a role in Fisker's physical rebirth. "It definitely makes economic sense to consider [the Delaware] facility" – Roger Brown Roger Brown is the interim president of Fisker Automotive and recently said that there is a "50-50" chance that the Newport, DE will be where the company rises again. "We inherited this situation, and because the facility is one of the assets we purchased, it has ... good bones, it has a paint shop, and you know, it definitely makes economic sense to consider that facility," he told Delaware Online. Before Fisker's bankruptcy, Delaware offered over $20 million in incentives to get the automaker to build cars there. It never did, and a recent settlement agreement does not give the state much of a return on that money. The bankruptcy proceedings are not yet finished, but Brown made what has to be considered a bold statement. In deciding which locations makes sense to restart production, he said that, "if they provide incentives, obviously that would go into the equation; if they don't, obviously that would go into the equation also." The closest that the new Fisker has come to saying where it will restart building cars is in documents that new owner Wanxiang filed with a federal court earlier this year. That three-part plan included restarting Karma production at Valmet, using partner VL Automotive's manufacturing facility in Michigan and then building the Atlantic somewhere. Brown gave a timeline to Delaware Online - new Karmas by August 2015, start building the Surf shooting brake by March 2016 and then add in the Atlantic by the end of 2017 - which would give Fisker time to tool up the Delaware plant for the Atlantic. Brown also said that building with VL Automotive has now been ruled out.

Henrik Fisker designs a chopper for Lauge Jensen [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post incorrectly credited Henrik Fisker with designing the Tesla Model S. While Fisker was contracted for design work early in the development of the Model S, Tesla ultimately rejected his design in favor of Franz von Holzhausen's. Mention of the Tesla Model S has been removed from the list of Fisker's designs below. Henrik Fisker has designed some seriously beautiful vehicles over the course of his career thus far. You'd naturally associate his name with the Karma hybrid that shares it, or maybe the reskinned Mercedes SL and BMW 6 Series he crafted as a coachbuilder, but he was also responsible for such beautiful shapes as the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage, and Artega GT. And now he's turned his attention to a motorcycle. Called the Viking concept, the Fisker-designed chopper is the product of a collaboration with Lauge Jensen, a Danish custom bike shop owned by Lego scion Anders Kirk Johansen. The 660-pound Viking packs an air-cooled 45-degree V-twin engine (built, incidentally in Wisconsin, we wonder by whom) churning out 100 horsepower with a six-speed transmission to propel it to a 130-mile-per-hour top speed and meeting Euro IV emissions regulations. It's packaged into a rather sleek take on the classic hog, the curve of the fuel tank melding into the seat and the rear fender. The Viking is set to be unveiled this week at the Top Marques show in Monaco where Lauge Jensen will watching to see how it's received. Given a positive reception, it could soon join the Great Dane in the company's lineup. Considering that bike already sells for ˆ42,800 (about $60k), and that the Viking would likely command an even bigger premium, that would make for one very expensive chopper. Still, it might be one of the least expensive ways to get your hands on a Henrik Fisker original. Featured Gallery Lauge Jensen Viking Concept by Henrik Fisker View 10 Photos News Source: Lauge Jensen Misc. Auto Shows Fisker Motorcycle Concept Cars Henrik Fisker

Hybrid Tech just made $65 million from bankrupt Fisker loan

We can now see at least one possible reason for why Hybrid Tech Holdings LLC bought the US Department of Energy's loan to Fisker Automotive last year for $25 million. The purchase is apparently worth $90 million today. The number is part of a settlement agreement that has come out of the company's asset auction which was won by China's Wanxiang Group Corporation in February for $149.2 million. Hybrid Tech said that the secured DOE loan it owned was worth all of that $149.2 million, but the new agreement says that Richard Li's company is due $90 million instead. The rest of the money will be divvied up between the unsecured creditors (who will split $20 million plus $15 million in equity in Wanxiang affiliates) and "priority claim holders" ($8 million). Delaware media has been interested in the case since Fisker bought an old General Motors plant near Newport and now reports that the state does not expect to get a whole lot back from its $20-million investment. Fisker filed for bankruptcy in late 2012. The asset auction is officially known as "In re Fisker Automotive Holdings Inc., 13-bk-13087, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington)."

Wanxiang officially acquires Fisker Delaware plant for $18 million

Perhaps Wanxiang is serious about finally, actually re-starting plug-in hybird Fisker production. One of the first big official steps that The New Fisker has taken, other than putting up a new website, is to buy that old disparaged General Motors plant new Newport, DE for $18 million. Technically, the Delaware plant was included in the Fisker Automotive assets that Wanxiang America won at a bankruptcy auction for $149.2 million last month. What happened last week, according to Delaware Online, is that the plant property was officially transferred to a Wanxiang America affiliate, WX Delaware Real Estate Holding Co. The cost was broken out for the first time and it comes to, you guessed it, $18 million. In a bygone age, Fisker said it could make up to 100,000 Karma electric vehicles a year at the Delaware plant. The California automaker officially bought the plant from "old GM" in late 2009, but never did anything with it, despite Vice President Joe Biden's enthusiastic appearance at the announcement in 2009 (pictured). Five years and one bankruptcy later, we are are curious as ever to see if either the Karma or the Atlantic ever actually rolls off the assembly line there. Of course, the next big step will be to build an assembly line. Related Gallery Fisker Atlantic News Source: Delaware OnlineImage Credit: Rob Carr / AP Green Plants/Manufacturing Fisker Electric Hybrid PHEV wanxiang fisker atlantic delaware fisker production

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."

Fisker will borrow $5M from Wanxiang as interim solution

It may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the approximately $1 billion in liabilities bankrupt automaker Fisker Automotive has against it, but every bit helps. In this case, it's a smidgeon less than $5 billion. That's how much the maker of the Karma extended-range plug-in is getting approved to borrow from its presumed future owner, Wanxiang Group. It's a start. A US bankruptcy court judge said Wanxiang could loan Fisker $4.98 million for interim financing purposes while the China-based company waits to get antitrust clearance from the US government to buy the now-dormant California-based company, Bloomberg News says. Fisker is seeking another $10.5 million in loans via a debtor-in-possession loan. After that, things get real interesting as everyone from the state of Delaware to General Motors to Finland's Valmet Automotive and more than 600 other entities have gotten in line to collect on what's alleged as $985.4 million in debt. Last month, Wanxiang won a bid against Hong Kong-based Hybrid Tech Holdings for Fisker, which hasn't made any Karmas since mid-2012. Wanxiang will pay $149.2 million, including $126.2 million in cash and $8 million in assumed liabilities, for Fisker. The automaker filed for bankruptcy last November and Wanxiang bounced the company back as the The New Fisker this week.

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.