REPORT: Fisker developing $39,000 plug-in hybrid

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:59:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Fisker, Electric

Fisker Karma - Click above for high-res image gallery

According to a report from earth2tech.com, Ray Lane, an investor with Kleiner Perkins, has let slip news that Fisker is developing a new plug-in hybrid automobile to slot below its planned Karma sedan with a base price of just $39,000. No indication is made whether that price would be before or after the $7,500 federal tax rebate it would likely qualify for.

Kleiner Perkins is one of the major investors in Fisker Automotive, so there's reason to believe Lane has knowledge of the inner workings at the young automaker. Earlier, company CEO Henrik Fisker said that the automaker was looking to the Department of Energy for a loan of an undetermined amount in order to build a lower-cost plug-in automobile.

We haven't recieved word that Fisker's DOE loan was approved, so we're not really sure where the funds to develop the new machine will come from. In any case, the Fisker Karma isn't slated to go on sale until late 2010, so the lower-cost PHEV very likely has quite a ways to go before it hits the pavement to do battle with the likes of the Chevy Volt. Thanks for the tip, Jon!

Gallery: Fisker Karma

[Source: earth2tech]

REPORT: Fisker developing $39,000 plug-in hybrid originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NY Times jumps the gun: 2009 Ford F-150, others revealed!

Alex Nunez — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:29:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Budget, Hybrid, Sedan, Performance, Truck, Dodge, Ford, Mitsubishi

Click image for a look at the other model debuts by the NYT

The Old Grey Lady has officially kicked off the Detroit Auto Show 24 hours early, and they brought some party favors for all their readers to boot. The New York Times' Automobiles section has a Detroit preview article (dated 1/13, incidentally) in its feature spot. No longer under wraps are the 2009 Dodge Ram, 2009 Ford F-150 Platinum, Mitsubishi Concept-RA, Ford Verve sedan concept, and the Fisker plug-in luxo-hybrid, as all are featured prominently in the piece's accompanying new vehicle gallery.

The biggest fish in the tank are the two full-size trucks. While Chrysler inadvertently gave us a sneak preview of the Ram last month, Ford has kept the new F-150 well under wraps until now. The model pictured is the tip-top-of-the line F-150 Platinum, in case you were wondering. As for the others, the snazzy blue Ram Sport is looking good to these eyes (more on the '09 Ram here), while the Verve concept looks to be a slightly tweaked version of the one shown in China, updated with a coat of red paint and a modified fascia (note the differences in the foglamps). The Mitsubishi Concept-RA has us hankering for a new Eclipse, while the shapely Fisker PHEV looks like a green vehicle we'd be more than happy to pilot daily. You can read the Times' full preview here. Team Autoblog will assemble in Motown starting tomorrow, but it looks like the fun's begun in earnest already.

[Source: The New York Times]

Gallery: New York Times reveals Detroit '08 new models

NY Times jumps the gun: 2009 Ford F-150, others revealed! originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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