Fisker lays off 75 percent of employees

[timothymoore]

The Atlantic was supposed to be produced in a former General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) plant in Delaware -- something that was announced by the company and Vice President Biden in 2009. But the Atlantic has never gone into production as Fisker has struggled to replace financing from Department of Energy loans.

More recently, Fisker Automotive's battery supplier, A123 Systems, was forced into bankruptcy and taken over by a Chinese buyer. A123 halted battery production which has forced Fisker, in turn, to halt production of the Karma.

Fisker has also suffered a number of other setbacks, including bad reviews of its automobile and car fires. Recently, a number of Karmas burned at a New Jersey port following flooding due to Hurricane Sandy. The Karma is built in Finland and therefore must be shipped to the US. An insurance company refused to pay for the damage.

On a more optimistic note, the company had recently hired Tony Posowatz as president and chief executive. Posowatz formerly worked at General Motors where he was largely responsible for the creation of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in car. Fisker also recently hired Joel Ewanick, formerly head of marketing at General Motors and Hyundai, to head the automaker's marketing efforts.

"I think they're in a really rough position right now," said John O'Dell, a 'green car' analyst with the automotive Web site Edmunds.com.

Even if Fisker somehow solved all its financial problems immediately, the company would still be weeks away, at least, from being able to build and sell cars again to generate income.

"This is pretty close to a death knell for Fisker," he said.


http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/05/autos/fisker-lay-offs/

[Jimmyvonviggle]

A piece of advice to Henrik Fisker; if someone invites you into a hotel room for some "financing", I would avoid going.

[thirdmanj]

A piece of advice to Henrik Fisker; if someone invites you into a hotel room for some "financing", I would avoid going.

:hysterical:

[Jonathan]

In one of the clips, he mentions the car being really heavy. Hmmm, I've heard that somewhere before. The specs on the Fisker Karma say it weighs 5,300 pounds. Yep, that's heavy. Not quite as heavy as the DeLorean though... the heaviest car ever made (as I was quite convincingly told at a car show one day) coming in at a whopping 2,900 pounds or so.

[Rich]

As Fisker Automotive circles the drain it seems clear that the DeLorean unit production record will lock in safely ahead of that of Fisker (1200 cars). Unless there is a massive infusion of money and they somehow source a battery system it looks like its all over but the auction. Bricklin, DeLorean, and (probably) Fisker all started with a vision and then ended for various reasons.

[Farrar]

Not sure if Jalopnik counts as "news," but if you're interested in op-ed reading, there's another perspective on the bankruptcy filing (http://jalopnik.com/why-a-fisker-bankruptcy-is-the-only-way-to-save-fisker-470878739) there.

(Note: it's not a long article.)

[louielouie2000]

Anybody else seen a Fisker in person? I've seen a couple here in Austin. They may look quite ugly in pictures, but they are actually gorgeous cars in the flesh. Very low, wide, & swoopy. I think it's unfortunate when any startup car company dies, especially an American one. But the Karma just didn't live up to being either a sports car or a fuel miser, which was supposed to be it's combined aim. Like DeLorean, Fisker had one chance coming out of the gate, and didn't hit the intended mark. I really hope Tesla makes it in Fisker's stead.

[DMCMW Dave]

I think it's unfortunate when any startup car company dies, especially an American one..

Did you consider Fisker an American company?

[Farrar]

Anybody else seen a Fisker in person?

I saw a white Karma once around here. I agree, it was a pretty sweet-looking car on the road. Naturally, I only saw two thirds of it, from the rear.

[Dangermouse]

I have seen several around Atlanta. I find them to be a very attractive car and for some reason they make me think of whale sharks.

[DrJeff]

I liked the exterior, but the inside was like a suede bomb went off. And the suede colors were hip European varieties. I was keen until I saw the inside.

[Rich]

Did you consider Fisker an American company?

I wasn't the person claiming that it was an American company but thought it was. They did outsource the car assembly to Valmet in Finland.

Based on your question I checked the Fisker Automotive website to find out. The answer from them is "American".

Their HQ is in California.

Their website has this on their FAQ page:


Tell me more about Fisker Automotive, Inc.
Fisker Automotive is an American car company, founded in 2007, committed to producing electric vehicles with extended range (EVerTM) that deliver uncompromised responsible luxury. The company is designing and developing the world’s first line of premium plug-in electric hybrid vehicles representing the company’s firm belief that environmentally responsible cars need not sacrifice passion, style, or performance. Fisker Automotive is a global company that is redefining luxury for the modern sports car buyer.

[Michael]

Did you consider Fisker an American company?

Americans, (just like you and me) paid for it:wave2:

[SoCalDMC12]

Anybody else seen a Fisker in person?

Yes... I visited a dealership and examined one up close. Beautiful car, but interior packaging was pretty tight for such a large car. Rear seat leg room was particularly bad.

[Rich]

Yes... I visited a dealership and examined one up close. Beautiful car, but interior packaging was pretty tight for such a large car. Rear seat leg room was particularly bad.

++ on this.

We have a dealership within 10 miles of us here. I've seen the car from every angle and been inside it, too.

Objective notes:
- It is indeed a big car - outside. It's just shy of the length of a BMW 7-series, longer than a 5-series. It is 3 inches wider than a 7-series, both not counting the mirrors.
- It is a tiny car - inside. With just 89 cu.ft. of EPA interior space + 7 cu.ft for luggage it falls in the Subcompact class in the US. This is where the rear passengers do NOT get a Porsche Panamera experience.
- The luggage capacity of 7 cu.ft. is a joke for a 4-door car with that footprint. EPA size class is smaller than a Chevy Sonic 4-door and larger than a BMW 128i 2-door.

Subjectively the car I saw had noticeably large panel gaps. It is pretty from some angles. The front end is hard to take for some of us.