From Clayton B. Cornell:
This sexy-looking sports car [the Karma], which I stumbled upon at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this week, uses the same kind of technology as the lusted-after Chevy Volt. Both cars use a purely electric drive train for the first 40-50 miles of driving, then switch to a small gasoline engine that recharges the lithium ion battery pack for longer drives. This means that if you drive less than 50 miles per day, you’ll only need to refill the tank once per year.
So how do these cars differ? Well, GM is saying the Volt will run about $20-30,000, while Fisker is asking an arresting $80-100,000. GM has also voiced their confidence that they’ll be the first plug-in on the market in 2010, but a Fisker representative told me they were taking orders for 4th quarter 2009. It’s going to be a tight race, and more competitors are on the way (mentioned in earlier post).
(Read the whole article over at Gas 2.0)
