While American electric car maker Fisker is still treading through some rough waters, owners of Karma models are now watching their vehicles’ resale value take a huge tumble.

Owners of Fisker Karmas are having trouble unloading their vehicles on the used car market, with some not even getting bids over $50,000 on eBay. Recently, a dealer with the Fields Auto Group in Chicago got a top bid of $45,100 for a used Karma – it didn’t even meet the reserve. Compare that with the selling price of over $100,000 and the Karma is looking like the new Delorean.

SEE ALSO: Tesla Model S Resale Value to be Industry’s Best, Says CEO Musk

What’s worse is that Tesla, Fisker’s main American competitor, is promising that its Model S will have the best resale value in the industry. The bigger question is really who wants a used Karma in today’s market? The company itself isn’t sure which direction it’ll be heading in, if any at all.

[Source: NBC News]

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Former Vice Chairman of General Motors, Bob Lutz, has teamed up with Gilbert Villarreal to develop and sell the VL Productions Destino, which is essentially a Fisker Karma without the electric power.

Fisker’s long list of issues has lead to its bankruptcy, but the American automaker had one thing going for it: the Karma was a good looking car. It was a shame that it was built in a cheap fashion and its electric powertrain had more issues than we can count, but the Karma’s exterior was attractive and sported a supercar style. That’s why VL Productions will be using it as a base for its Destino.

VL has obtained 20 Karma “gliders,” vehicles that are missing batteries and an electric powertrain prior to Fisker’s bankruptcy. The Destino, which will be priced from $185,000, will be powered by the 6.2-liter, supercharged V8 engine found in the Cadillac CTS-V with 556 hp. According to Lutz, VL currently has 100 orders for the Destino, many from the Middle East. Current Karma owners have also contacted VL to gauge the cost to convert their vehicles to gasoline powered with the Cadillac’s V8.

VL currently estimates the conversion to run $85,000 to $90,000. Destino deliveries are expected to begin in the third quarter of this year, but that’s contingent on the automaker meeting its own quality standards, plus governmental safety and emissions regulations.

[Source: WardsAuto]

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The U.S. Department of Energy recovered $21 million from Fisker Automotive, the floundering company behind the Karma plug-in hybrid luxury car.

That’s still a far cry from the roughly $192 million in DOE loans it still owes the government.

“Given the obvious difficulties the company is facing, we are taking strong and appropriate action on behalf of taxpayers,” Fisker said in a statement.

Originally, Fisker was granted $529 million in loans, but the government cut that short when the maker’s sales and production faltered.

Automotive News reports that there is a hearing scheduled for Wednesday with a U.S. House panel to examine the maker and its government funding.

[Source: Automotive News]

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Niche luxury automaker Fisker laid off most of its workforce almost two weeks ago, but there could be updates on tap if the brand lasts into the 2014 model year.

A leaked series of images on AutoGuide forum FiskerBuzz and information posted by a forum member suggest Fisker might be offering four new interior color schemes (shown below).

Other updates to the exotic plug-in hybrid could include orange brake calipers, a front lip spoiler and a redesigned infotainment system.

SEE ALSO: The story of Fisker

But those updates might never actually be available because Fisker’s future is looking dim. Reports last week suggested the maker might soon file Chapter 11, not to mention slow sales and last year’s controversy surrounding the cars catching fire.

Meanwhile, the brand’s retail site is still currently trying to sell Karmas from the 2012 model year.

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Fisker recently announced that it was letting go of about 160 of its employees, and now those workers are firing back with a lawsuit against the company. 

The law firm of Outten & Golden claims that Fisker did not provide the 60 days written notice that is required when undertaking mass lay offs or firings. The law firm is going after Fisker for 60 days worth of wages and benefits for the ousted employees. The suit was filed on behalf of Sven Etzelsberger, a former Fisker employee, though it is seeking class action status. 

SEE ALSO: Fisker Lays Off Majority of Work Force

Fisker reportedly told the affected workers that it could not afford to give them severance pay. About 50 Fisker executives were kept on to help find perspective buyers for the company’s remaining assets, though if the lawsuit is successful, those assets may be needed. It seems like only a matter of time until the company files for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

[Source: Automotive News]

It sounds like American startup automaker Fisker is near extinction, as it is being reported that the company has laid off as many as 160 workers. 

The laid off employees were seen leaving Fisker’s head office this morning, many carrying their belongings. More than one of the employees confirmed to Automotive News that they had been laid off, effective as of 8am on April 5, 2013. The employees were given compensation for untaken vacation days, but no extra severance pay.

Fisker will retain about 53 senior employees to help the company find buyers for its remaining assets. The company is fast approaching a late-April deadline to repay a loan to the U.S. Department of Energy for some of the $193 million it borrowed.

SEE ALSO: Henrik Fisker Quits Company that Bears His Name

In March, the founder and executive chairman of Fisker Automotive, Henrik Fisker, announced that he was leaving the company, citing major disagreements with “the Fisker Automotive executive management on the business strategy.” Fisker has also reportedly recruited a law firm, in preparation for bankruptcy filing.

SEE ALSO: The rise and demise of Fisker

There has been interest in the company from several Chinese companies, but none of the deals have come to fruition. A Fisker spokesman did tell Automotive News that there is still one interested party.

[Source: Automotive News]

Who is to say that luxury car buyers aren’t affected by high gas prices? If you want to drive in comfort, style, and have the latest high tech goodies in a car, you shouldn’t have to pay more at the pump for it. Here are our picks for the top 10 most fuel friendly luxury cars, ranked in order of their combined city/highway mpg numbers.

Quite a few luxury cars hit the 29 mpg mark combined. The most impressive of the bunch is the Buick LaCrosse, which manage to get solid fuel economy, despite its bigger size. The Infiniti, Mercedes and BMW vehicles make do with a high-power pairing of a six-cylinder engine and an electric motor, which gives the end result of over 300-hp.

The Buicks use a mild hybrid system called eAssist which pairs a 2.4L four-cylinder engine with a conventional automatic, and a compact lithium ion battery to get its impressive fuel economy numbers.

China’s Geely was expected to finalize the sale of Fisker by mid-March, but the Chinese firm will no longer bid for a majority stake in the troubled American electric automaker.

Geely has turned away due to the obligations Fisker established with the U.S. Department of Energy when the American automaker was granted a $529-million loan. Sources close to the deal said that it included an obligation to restore capacity and jobs at the firm’s Delaware plant. According to the same sources, the obligations were too complicated to handle and the plan’s footprint was too big. A big part of the problem was that it would take a long time to restore employees at the plant.

SEE ALSO: Chinese Volvo Owner Likely to Buy Fisker

Geely was mainly interested in Fisker for access to the Delaware plant, which was previously owned by General Motors. It had hoped to restore the plant in order to boost demand for its Volvo vehicles and was interested in producing Volvo cars there.

The leading bidder now for Fisker is likely Dongfeng Motor Group Co., which put in a final bid offer late last week.

[Source: Automotive News]

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Henrik Fisker, founder and Executive Chairman of Fisker Automotive, has resigned his position at the struggling automaker the bears his name.

In a statement released by the company, the reason for Fisker’s departure is related to differing opinions with the rest of the management team. “The main reasons for his resignation are several major disagreements that Henrik Fisker has with the Fisker Automotive executive management on the business strategy,” reads the statement.

SEE ALSO: Fisker, The Rise and Decline of an American Automaker

Fisker Automotive is believed to be in the midst of a sale to, or major investment by, a Chinese company, Geely, which also owns Swedish automaker Volvo.

An upstart American electric car maker, Fisker Automotive has suffered numerous setbacks and continued product delays during its short existence. The Karma plug-in hybrid, while beautiful, has suffered from everything from battery issues to fires, while the company itself has had its low-interest U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) frozen, while battery supplier A123 recently went bankrupt.

Previous to founding Fisker Automotive, Henrik Fisker was a well-known automotive designer, sculpting many of the modern day Aston Martins as well as the BMW Z8.

It’s no secret Fisker Automotive is in trouble. The maker of premium electric cars is clinging to life by its fingernails. One more setback could send them plummeting into the fiery abyss of financial ruin. Still, even if they roll snake eyes the firm’s founder has more than a few thoughts on what future transportation will be like.

Henrik Fisker is the CEO and lead designer at the company that bears his name. Recently he spoke at a Chicago Auto Show luncheon and during his presentation he revealed some fascinating insights about Fisker Automotive and the car business in general.

SEE ALSO: Fisker Seeks Partner After Tumultuous Year

But interesting observations cannot change the current state of affairs, nor can they eliminate the challenges facing his company. Fisker is in trouble, deep trouble. As reported right here on AutoGuide, they haven’t built a single car in six months, the low-interest loans provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have been frozen and their battery supplier, A123 recently went bankrupt. On top of all that their range-extended-electric Karma sedan has had technical issues including fires.

To combat this steaming pile of bad news, the company is desperately looking for a partner. It’s been reported management is even trying to shack up with the Chinese who have been on a buying spree lately. When asked if he could comment on this topic Fisker said “absolutely not.” His response seems to imply that top-secret, closed-door discussions are underway, but who knows.

BAD KARMA

Perhaps the company was born under a bad star. Looking back, it was founded in 2007 on the eve of the big recession, not exactly an auspicious time to start a business. Almost immediately the company had to react to the devastating economic decline. He said, “(In 2008 we) went into almost hibernation mode.” Despite the challenges, Fisker (the man) was able to drum up more than $1 billion to kick-start operations.

But Fisker didn’t just want to build cars; as he put it, lots of companies already do that. “Where is the white space?” he asked. The answer, to him, was an unlikely place: sustainable luxury vehicles.

This nascent sliver of the market is an interesting segment to bet on, but according to Fisker there are “enough different models to choose from” today. He also said the world doesn’t need another conventional car and that the luxury-electric segment is smaller and easier to compete in.

“How do you go up against all of these big brands? How do you go up against Coca-Cola?” he said during his roughly half-hour-long speech. Unfazed by the seemingly insurmountable task of starting a brand-new car company he concluded, “It is possible to challenge the big, established brands.”

He cited companies like Red Bull, Dyson and Virgin Atlantic, firms that are directly competing with monolithic corporations like Coca-Cola, Hoover and British Airways. To him, creating a new car company from scratch was challenging, but possible.

THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR

What makes it so hard to get started in the car business? Fisker touched on many of the difficulties facing automotive entrepreneurs. One major hurdle they have to clear is government regulation, which isn’t necessarily a problem on its own, but it takes a literal dumpster-load of cash to meet safety and emissions standards.

To start a new car brand he said, “you need hundreds of millions (of dollars),” hardly chump change. Of that money tens of millions get eaten up just meeting regulations. The best way to make a small fortune in the automotive industry is to start with a large fortune.

Another monumental problem established brands don’t have to deal with is creating a dealer network. “We need to think about building an infrastructure,” Fisker said.

THE ROAD AHEAD

With the four-door Karma, Fisker wanted to build a really special car, something different. He said people tend to get excited about vehicles from the 1950s and ‘60s because of their design. In keeping with that he said, “We made a car that was a lot more sculpted, a lot lower.”

With classic rear-wheel-drive proportions the Karma is certainly an attractive vehicle. And it’s got the brawn to match its beauty. Under the custom coachwork lurks a lithium-ion battery pack and an electric motor capable of delivering 959 lb-ft of torque to the tires! A small gasoline engine works as a range extender. It can power the car when the battery is depleted. Think of the Karma as a platinum-edition Chevy Volt.

Moving inside, the cabin is trimmed with what Fisker referred to as “antique wood.” The use of reclaimed timber means no trees were harvested to spruce up the car’s interior (no pun intended, either).

When asked if the company would ever build non-electric cars, cars powered exclusively by internal-combustion engines Fisker said no way. He’s focused on EVs, which he believes are the future.

Despite the company’s tenuous position Fisker seems optimistic about what’s ahead. He mentioned the environmental minister of Saudi Arabia owns a Karma and they aren’t even sold there. Additionally, when the first Fisker dealership opened in Dubai they delivered 12 cars on day one.

“In the future we’re still going to have sexy, beautiful cars” he said. But what’s unclear at this time is whether Fisker Automotive will be a part of that future.

GALLERY: 2012 Fisker Karma

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Earlier this year, we reported that Fisker seemed desperate seeking strategic partners in China, and now it appears that the struggling American automaker could be selling a major stake to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Geely, which owns Volvo, appears to be the perfect suitor for Fisker. The Chinese firm is very serious and passionate about Fisker and its technology, according to an individual close to Fisker. China is also making a strong push into alternative fuel cars to help build its green technology sector, which is clearly lacking, seen in the recent pollution issues.

SEE ALSO: Fisker Seeks Strategic Partners in China

Along with Geely, Dongfeng Motor Group Co. is also rumored to have a bid in. It is believed the offers are between $200 to $300 million. Fisker appears to prefer Geely, and the sources also noted that the Chinese automaker has already sent a team of engineers to America to evaluate Fisker’s electric technology.

[Source: Reuters]

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Fisker seems to be falling on hard times, and a new report suggests the brand might be on the market with Chinese firm Dongfeng Motor Corp tossing a $350 million offer into the ring.

The deal would see Dongfeng acquire 85 percent of Fisker according to an un-named source connected to Bloomberg. That same source also said Fisker is looking for bids by February 6.

Official information is still unavailable, but the troubled plug-in hybrid luxury manufacturer is likely running out of options. Production of the floundering firm’s sole vehicle – the Karma – halted near the end of the summer last year and has yet to resume.Contract re-negotiation with workers at the Finnish plant where the Karma is built caused the initial pause, but problems with battery maker A123 forced the manufacturing flatline to continue.

Fast forward to today and production is still shuttered while Fisker seemingly teeters on the brink of failure. The Dongfeng deal could provide enough cash to keep Fisker on life support while paying off the $200 million in U.S. government loans it still owes.

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[Source: Bloomberg]