Consumer Report’s review Death Toll for Fisker?

After having their shiny new Fisker Karma shut downcompletely after 200 miles on the odometer, Consumer Reports was finally ableto finish their testing and write a complete review on the vehicle. If you've ever had issues with your navigation unit or engine control module, you know how frustrating it is to try and solve weird electrical problems. Consumer Reports couldn't even begin testing on the Karma before battery issues bricked the car in their parking lot. Their summary after getting it back from the shop: not good.

While the design is lauded as “simply stunning,” thegasoline engine when activated is noticeably loud. Its heavy 5395 pound bodydoesn’t help the handling department, and the touch screen has a grayscale lookand requires so much menu flipping it “makes MyFord Touch look like a brilliantdesign.”

During testing, after they got it back from the shop ofcourse, the speedometer and energy meter display disappeared when driving, ontop of having several other rogue warning indicators appear during the week.These included the ESC, ABS and brake warning lights. There is also anintermittent warning tone and light that indicates an overheating situation;the warning lamp illuminates, then instantly turns off. 

Oh, were you using these? Sorry.

 What’s more troubling is that Consumer Report’s experiencewith the Karma is not isolated. Only 500 have been shipped and there arealready dozens of complaints in all available outlets, with a range ofsometimes mysterious issues.

One person couldn’t put their car into drive, tried toreboot the system several times to no avail, and had a technician come out anddo a hard reboot. While this finally enabled the car to get into drive, theperson then drove their kids to school and became stranded in the schoolparking lot with the same issue – even after a hard reboot, the car would not beput into gear.

One customer reported that their Karma required a completelynew differential with only 1000 miles on the odometer because of a worn-downcoupling between one of the motors and the wheels.

By far the most disturbing report is of a Karma owner that hadtheir vehicle shut down completely while driving 35mph – all of the lights onthe dash illuminated, the brakes would not work, and they had directionalcontrol of the vehicle only. While the other issues are indeed irritating andnot acceptable for any brand new vehicle, paying $108,000 for a death trap isoutrageous.

 With all of this information pouring in, there are many whohave stood up for Fisker, saying that any brand new vehicle from a brand newmanufacturer with new technology is going to have birthing pains. They alsostate that in order to keep up with strict deadlines in order to receivefunding, some of the details in making the Fisker had to be rushed.

I don’t know about you, but funding or no funding I don’tfeel rushing to get something out the door is ever appropriate when lives areat stake. While I understand this is a new company, selling a vehicle that isnot completely developed is not only dangerous to consumers, but very damagingto the company’s image and future.

Hopefully Fisker will address these issues (there havealready been two recalls on the Karma), but either way no one could getme to purchase one of these buggy, albeit beautiful, deathtraps.

Push to Start, Push to Park, Push to Drive?

It’s again the week that brings us the latest in tech fromthe CES convention in Vegas and the latest from the automobile industry at theNAIAS in Detroit. But this year the lines between the two seemed to blur asautomobiles took a prominent spot at CES and technology was booming at theDetroit Auto Show. We’re not just talking about your standard car stereo or car navigation system; almost every automaker introduced better-than-ever entertainmentsystems that connect the driver like never before.

Chevrolet, Toyota, Audi, Hyundai and Ford are among the manyautomobile companies that have recognized the growing importance of technologywhile driving. Chevrolet’s “MyLink” offers wireless phone compatibility whichcan link your calls and address book directly to the vehicle. The car alsooffers wireless streaming of music from your phone including the use of Pandoraand other music apps. Toyota’s “Entune” offers the same features, but also hasbuilt in apps including Pandora, iHeartRadio, Bing search and more. AudiConnect will feature a pop-up 7-inch touchscreen display, connected wirelesslyand automatically to your phone to access a multitude of features. The knob bythe driver’s side can scroll through screens and text, making it easier tooperate than a traditional display screen. With this system you can store andtrack flights, view and play your phones entire music library, get news,weather and gas prices, and even create a Wi-Fi hotspot in the vehicle! Almostevery new model offers a remote-link app for your cell phone which allows youto unlock, lock, sound the alarm, and sometimes start your vehicle fromanywhere in the world. The days of car keys are slowly becoming a thing of thepast.

Almost nothing excites me more than the progression oftechnology, especially when it comes to entertainment. For years thecapabilities of our phones and other gadgets have exceeded that of our vehiclesand it’s about time these features were incorporated into our cars.  I wonder how long it will be until our carsare the ones doing all the driving; they can already park themselves.

I Wanta, The F&M Evantra

Do you happen tohave a trip planned to Tuscany anytime soon? If so, go ahead and add another destination to your Navigation System.  Enter in the town of Pontedera to your listof stops and pay a visit to F&M Automotive. While you are there you may want to purchase a new ride, lose yourNavigation Unit and got lost on the Italian roads, because F&M has producedsomething to rival the other Italian greats.

Look out Ferrari,Lamborghini and Vespa, there is a new Italian indulgence entering the arena.Faralli & Mozzanti, better known as F&M, have unleashed theEvantra.  The Northern Italian Company hasoutdone themselves with this handmade creation. The car boasts a 3.5-litre flat-six engine that comes in either a 329hp naturallyaspirated version, or a high performance twin-turbocharged 587hp version.  The high performance version can go from zeroto 62mph in 3.7 seconds.  By the way, italso looks remarkable.

This project wasfirst known as “Mugello,” but later changed to Evantra.  Evatnra is the name of an Italian goddess ofimmortality. With the dangerous speeds that you can reach in the Evantra youbetter hope that you are indeed immortal.

F&M will onlymanufacture five of these bad boys a year and the first one will roll out inabout six months. They have not mentioned anything about pricing yet, althoughI’m sure that it won’t be cheap.  You mayjust have to hang on to that rental Fiat with the navigation system.