Lutz + Fisker = Dr. Kevorkian + dead

Bob, sometimes you crack me up. You are correct of course, the grill will hurt fuel efficiency a little bit, but really people are willing to give up a little fuel economy for style. I think the db9 fisker designed got 15 mpg combined, much lower than the karma. The elephant in the room, is the thing that makes elephants trample the ground, the weight. 5300 lbs, which hurts electric fuel economy, which hurts electric range - 32 miles epa much lower than was anticipated given the battery pack size. The weight also means drivers may more often dip into using the ice for acceleration as 0-60 in all electric mode is a respectable 7.9 seconds, but not fast enough for the class. By comparison the 60 kwh tesla S goes 0-60 in 5.6, the performance model 4.4 seconds. Those things, electric range and acceleration were engineering disappointments.

The big thing that hurt the company though was shipping cars with quality problems, instead of waiting for them to be fixed.

From a political point of view, I can't understand why the DOE has not canceled the loan yet. It seems the only reason Fisker exists is because of US government money. I don't think the company could have attracted investors without it, and is currently in default of terms. The announced recipients of the first cars Leo De Caprio, Justin Bieber, and Al Gore don't look like they need government money to get their dream car, but seem to have the pull to get whatever they want, even if its an American designed built in Europe that is not quite as refined or close to efficient as a volt. Now the strings attached to taking more of the money seems to be the hang up of fisker staying a going concern.

 

The karma will probably get better mpg's with the LT1 in it than it did with the hybrid powertrain. And it might not catch on fire.

 

^ And it would probably run better than that Renault v6.

 

Fisker hires bankruptcy team after worker furlough

 

Fisker Lays Off Most Of Its Employees; Is This The Final Blow?

Fisker Automotive Lays Off 75 Percent of Workforce | News & Opinion | PCMag.com
says

Hmm... can 160 people but they need 53 executives?

 

I hadn't noticed the Photoshopped logo at The Entire Fisker PR Team And Other Fisker Employees Will Be Laid Off In 15 Minutes until someone else mentioned it.

 

DeLorean's engines are in the rear and the Texas company that has taken over has made an electric version: The Electric DeLorean | DeLorean Motor Company

Someone else privately did a conversion as well.

Mine sits prettily next to my Prius for nice sunny days where I don't feel as bad getting 8mpg to 12mpg in the city.

 

Fisker Hit With Federal Lawsuit After Massive Layoffs

Is The Answer To Fisker's Woes The Most Obvious One? was from much earlier this week. You gotta hand it to Jalopnik for humorous writing.

 

VC Firms Expected To Take A Billion Dollar Bath On Fisker | The Truth About Cars

 

+1

PrivCo | FISKER AUTOMOTIVE'S ROAD TO RUIN: Original Exclusive Documents Detail How a "Billion-Dollar Startup Became a Billion-Dollar Disaster": 2 of America's Smartest VCs - KLEINER PERKINS & NEW ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATES - & Others To Lose Over $1 Billion Dollars In "The Largest Venture Capital Investment Debacle in U.S. History"
I'm sure al gore didn't lose much of his investments, does anyone know how much in fees he took for this fiasco. It was the investors that the Kliner Perkins got to put money into this company, and all of them should have known it was a big risk.

The investor that I am most worried about is the DOE, since we all pay for it. Grr. I'm sure Kliner Perkins used the loans to get more money from other investors, and of course took their management fees. Why the DOE invested, and I use this term loosely, in seed money for two kliner perkins ventures is beyond me. To be fair to other venture capital firms, Kliner Perkins Government subsidized start ups have really killed the firms investment results.

 

The government ATMV program was designed to help advanced technologies. They knew that these were high risk loans and set aside 7.5 Billion for loans that went south.

The loan is also first creditor, so while there is 129 Million outstanding, it will also get the bulk of whatever is recovered, possibly all of it.

 

ATMV was not set up as venture capital, it was to lower the costs to these companies. I don't think the loans to Nissan or Ford were high risk at all.

DOE-Loan Programs Office » Our Projects

The loans to solyndra and fisker though were first round venture capital seed money, with one important difference. If these companies were profitable, the government would only get its money back, while the venture capital would be paid. If these companies lost the money the govenernment would lose the money.

In Fisker's case, if the company did well Kliner Perkins would make the money, if it did poorly the us government would lose the money. Public risk, private return. The money was given to fisker for US jobs, but they were only at the stage to manufacture in Finland. Atlantic money was used on the karma. Kliner Perkins used the government loans to raise more venture capital.

 

Which is why the loan was halted and they only got 129 million.
These were loans, and in the case of Fisker gave the government 1st place at the table. Much lower risk than the venture capitalists.

The original loan program was to develope advanced technology. Yes, large companies got the loans to move their own advanced tech areas forward. And smaller, and start up companies got some loans as well.
The government will make back their money plus interest, and true, venture capitalists stand to profit more, but when Fisker goes bankrupt and the government gets some/most/all of their loan, and the venture capitalists get none/none/almost none, of theirs, you ask them who took the bigger risk.

 

U.S. takes $21 million from Fisker as automaker misses payment| Reuters

 

Risk adjusted return was extremely negative for this loan. It was really venture capital, except with a large risk of default and not possible reward of large gain. The loan was really other people's money (us taxpayers) that increased the possible reward (leverage) of the venture capitalists money with no dilution to their equity. No bank would ever do this, without a very high interest rate.

True the politically connected VCs only collected their fees and at least one a car, they likely lost any money that they themselves put into the venture along with their investors. When they made the bet, the odds were for a payout, which is quite different than the US taxpayer.

At least the government is taking back $21 Million of the $192 in defaulted loan. Fisker also acted against members of the US government, in blocking a US corporation from buying A123, and helping put it in the hands of a Chinese company.

The money was supposed to go to employ people in a plant in delware (Joe Biden's state), but fisker only produced cars in finland.

 

It pisses me off.

Fisker Karma buyers qualify for tax credit 3x more (based on the battery size) than PiP. Efficiency and overall package matters. It is not the battery size.

 

Bob Lutz wrote this: Bad Karma: Should Fisker Get More Federal Aid? - Forbes

 

So much bad information in one short article.