Most people believe that the automobile revolution is over, but do not tell that to the people at Fisker Automotive. The brainchild of Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler, Fisker Automotive was founded in 2007 with a goal to revolutionize the American automobile industry and is doing so.
Using a different approach to design, Fisker created the first premium hybrid electric vehicle on the market, the Fisker Karma. The Karma provides the driver the ability to plug in or fill up with gasoline providing some relief at the pump to its drivers.
Being the first true electric luxury vehicle on the market, the Karma has little impact on the environment and is able to compete with most luxury performance cars. With the simple shift of a paddle, the Karma can go from electric Stealth Mode to fuel powered Sport Mode.
In Sport Mode, the Karma uses a 260 HP 4 4-cylinder injection motor. The motor provides enough power that the Karma can accelerate from 0-60 in 6.3 seconds. In Stealth Mode, the Fisker Ever technology uses an electric generator to power the duel electric motors. The Karma has up to 50 miles in electric driving and once the electric battery is depleted, it switches over the gas engine for another 250 miles.
The Karma’s features are as revolutionary as the company that created it. The design team was inspired by the calming nature of windblown sand dunes and their inspiration shows in the fluid design of the dashboard. The command center has an easy to use touch screen which manages the automobile’s audio, navigation, iPod, Bluetooth and climate control systems.
The wood trim used in the interior of the Karma is guaranteed to be 100% recovered wood. No living tree was used as a source for the wood, with the wood coming from either the bottom of Lake Michigan or fallen, rescued wood from California wildfires.
Fisker also found a way to conserve energy with the automobile’s lighting. By using Bi-Xenon head lamps and low energy LED lamps throughout the vehicle, very little energy is actually used to light the car. The Karma also features the largest solar glass roof ever designed for a production vehicle. By using the solar roof, the Karma receives 200 additional driving miles annually.
