You may have already read our detail of the huge government grant that went to Fisker Automotive for its construction of their new electric sports car.  Well, what just came out in the Wall Street Journal is a bit of explanation as to the WHY behind it.

See, Fisker Automotive has a major name backer behind it; you may recognize the name  when I tell you it’s Al Gore.  That five hundred and twenty nine million is going to Fisker so they can build “a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000″.

Naturally, Fisker cars are also backed by a whole lot of celebrities who all, interestingly enough, voted Democrat in the last election.  Fisker defends itself by saying that most technology starts out pricey, but eventually becomes affordable, and cites flatscreen televisions as an example.

Yes, this is true, but generally we don’t pay foreign flatscreen makers tax money to build them in the hopes that, one day, we’ll get to BUY THEM!  Oh, and those five thousand jobs that Fisker mentioned?  From the look of it, they’ll be in Finland rather than in the United States.

My disgust is palpable.

Tags: electric cars, electric roadster, Fisker, fisker automotive, Tesla, tesla motors

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It seems that the government isn’t done lending out money just yet as it was recently announced that they have lent half a billion dollars to Fisker Automotive for work on their forthcoming plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Fisker reportedly has two plug-in hybrids in the works; a $90,000 one entitled the Karma (pictured above) and the much more reasonably priced Nina at $40,000. There’s no telling when the Karma is set to hit the road but with this new round of goverment funding Fisker hopes to have the Nina in the hands of consumers by 2012.

Even better, Fisker hopes that with the introduction of the Nina will come up to 5,000 new jobs, something this country desperately needs.

Tags: fisker automotive, funding, government, hybrid, Karma, loan, nina, Plug-in

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Fisker Automotive is less than a year away from debuting its new Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan, definitely one of the more exciting looking cars on the auto show circuit. Fisker plans to have its Karma on the roads by November and a sizzling convertible version by 2011. Fisker is already looking ahead to develop a third version of the Karma, as well as a new low cost model.

Fisker has succeeded in getting investors to pump another $85 million into its operations, with the funds to be used for the development and manufacture of the Karma, as well as new models. Fisker is also seeking an undisclosed loan amount from the Department of Energy (DOE), to use for the low-cost model as well as the refurbishing an existing U.S. factory to build the cars.

Tags: fisker automotive, hybrid, Karma, Plug-in

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Toyota seems to be readying its plans to expand its line of hybrid cars. The Japan-based auto manufacturer has revealed plans to sell a tiny, battery-powered car in the U.S. by 2012. The Toyota FT-EV concept car can be recharged at various electrical outlets.

From the looks of it, Toyota is not about to let General Motors leave them behind. And with the growing demand for new electric and hybrid cars still in the air, Toyota will be using these factors to come up with great concept cars that can run on alternative sources of energy.

Toyota is readying the FT-EV as alternatives to gasoline expand. They range from plug-ins, including a version of Toyota’s Prius and GM’s Volt, to electric cars from Nissan Motor Co., Tesla Motors Inc. and Fisker Automotive Inc. Gasoline prices, which set a record in the U.S. last year, and pressure from governments to trim carbon dioxide emissions, are driving demand.

(Source) Bloomberg.com

Tags: alternative sources of energy, alternatives to gasoline, auto manufacturer, battery powered car, carbon dioxide emissions, Concept Cars, electric cars, electrical outlets, fisker automotive, gasoline prices, General Motors, hybrid cars, nissan motor, nissan motor co, Prius, tesla motors inc

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