Good Karma?
Fisker Karma
hybrid
The Fisker Karma made its debut at the
Detroit motor show in January. This latest vehicle from
Fisker Automotive has survived a legal challenge from rival
sports car maker Tesla over claims that Fisker had held back
on designs he was contracted to prepare for a forthcoming
Tesla product.
Tesla had alleged that Fisker kept his best ideas, which
instead turned up on his own car, the Karma. However,
earlier this month an arbitrator found in favor of Fisker,
instructing Tesla to pay fees and costs of $US 1.14 million.
Ouch!
Images of the Karma - which we first saw in design sketch
form in June - have surfaced just weeks after Porsche
launched its Panamera, a similarly sleek four-door sports
tourer, and two months after Maserati launched its updated
but still wonderfully delightful four-door, the
Quattroporte. Even Lamborghini has got in on the four-door
game with its Estoque concept car. Can we expect a four-door
Ferrari or Bugatti? Out of all these, the Karma has the
worst frontal treatment, almost as bad as the Japanese
Mitsuoko Orochi.
The Karma has a plug-in hybrid petrol-electric engine
supplemented by regenerative braking (a KERS system).
Optional roof-mounted solar panels can be fitted to help
recharge the car’s batteries and run the climate-control
air-conditioning, and Fisker even offers solar panels you
can fit to your home or garage to reduce the amount of
electricity needed for recharging.
The plug-in electric motor alone has a range of 100 km,
extending significantly when used in conjunction with the
petrol motor. Between the two they propel the Karma to 100
km/h in 6 seconds with a top speed of about 200 km/h.
The Karma is expected to go on sale in the US late this year
for about $US 116,000.
Car stolen recently?
I was chatting to the MD of Holiday Car Rental
the other day and asked him if he had any troubles with
Toyota Fortuners in his fleet. “Don’t keep ‘em,” was his
reply, “they’re the most stolen car in Thailand.”
Live
deterrent
I was aware that they are a very popular vehicle, but I
hadn’t realized just how popular! A little research showed
the five most likely ways you can lose your car,
particularly now that ‘hot wiring’ doesn’t work with newer
vehicles. So here are the most common ways the kamoy gets
your car.
1. Burglary and theft of the car keys - Still a very popular
means for stealing cars. Often where the keys are left out
on hall table, kitchen worktop or hanging on hooks in the
kitchen or hallway.
2. Leaving the vehicle with keys in and/or engine running -
Examples - clearing windscreen or early visit to newsagent.
Visits to the re-cycling point at the supermarket
before/after shopping.
3. Identity theft - Criminals steal the identity of an
owner, then use forged or stolen documents to obtain
duplicate key.
4. Selling the car - Criminals ask to take a test drive and
drive off whilst owner is getting in or getting out of the
car. Another ploy is making ‘payment’ with forged banker’s
draft.
5. Lifestyle criminals - This is where the criminals carry
out surveillance on the car user and takes the best
opportunity to steal the keys. Example, car owner leaves
keys in a bag or on table or in jacket pocket unattended in
the pub. (And where do you keep yours, when you’re down at
Jameson’s?)
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned that Harry Ferguson
is remembered for the tractor and the four wheel drive
vehicles but he was also famous for something else in
Ireland. I asked what was it? Harry was the first man to fly
a plane of his own construction in Ireland. This was done in
Belfast in 1909.
So to this week. Why was a Packard tourer disguised as a
police open Lincoln in Chicago, and when?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Have you got
‘comprehensive’ cover?
It has been alleged that a UFO wrecked a wind
turbine in the UK. If this is really the case, and you can
check at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lincolnshire/7817378.stm,
what would happen if a UFO destroyed your car? Would you be
covered?
Beware
of UFOs
Normal UK car insurance (which does not have to cover damage
from deranged motorcycle taxi riders) does cover many
bizarre accidents. Amongst the potential disasters that are
covered by normal comprehensive policies, are:
Monkeys wrecking the car on a drive through a safari park.
A block of frozen urine dropping from the sky and striking
the car.
Ditto a meteor.
Crashing into a grand piano left on a hairpin bend of an
Alpine pass (this one assumes the insurance includes
European cover).
A kangaroo, on the hop from the local zoo, jumping over the
car and wrecking the roof en route.
A mastermind criminal, operating from a satellite in
geostationary orbit, holding the city council to ransom by
taking over the traffic lights and causing gridlock in the
streets, during which chaos the car is smashed.
And, a UFO crashing into the car. However (and here’s the
first usual insurance ‘get out’ clauses), if the UFO causes
an accident by attacking the car, with, say, a photon
torpedo, then that would be considered an act of war, and
thus would not be covered. Similarly, if an intergalactic
war led to Armageddon and resulted in the car being damaged,
it would not be covered either.
“It gets more complicated if a UFO hits a wind turbine,
causing a rotor blade to shear off which then crashes into
the car,” says Gerry Bucke of Adrian Flux Insurance
Services. “In that case, the car driver’s best hope is that
the UFO pilot’s policy is completely up to date, as it would
be simplest to make a claim on the alien’s insurance.
Otherwise there may be arguments as to who is responsible
for the damage to the car… In the worst case scenario,
though, the car would be covered by our policy - it’s just
that a claim on it would affect the driver’s No Claims
Bonus.” (And I did not make any of that up!)
Ford flexes its muscles
In all the gloom and doom in the auto industry in
North America, have you noticed that Ford have not had their
hand out, like GM or Chrysler? The Blue Oval may not be in
all that great shape, but Ford is definitely not down for
the count, and has even revamped its iconic muscle car, the
Shelby V8 Mustang.
Shelby
Mustang GT500
The latest version of its supercharged and intercooled 5.4
liter V8 Shelby Mustang was unveiled at the Detroit auto
show a couple of weeks ago. “We need to uphold the Mustang
badge with honor, the Shelby badge with honor and, most
importantly, the Ford badge with honor,” said SVT (Special
Vehicle Team) engineer Jamal Hameedi. “The 2010 GT500 is the
car that will do all of that.”
The engine is taken from the version of the engine developed
for last year’s 40th anniversary edition Shelby GT500KR,
which produces 540 horsepower (403 kW) and 510 foot-pounds
(691 Nm) of torque.
With a shorter 3.55:1 diff ratio to aid acceleration (but
taller top gears in the six speed manual to improve fuel
consumption figures), the latest Shelby GT500 is claimed to
accelerate from 0-100 km/h in around 4.5 seconds. That is
certainly supercar performance.
Developed in conjunction with legendary Mustang figure
Carroll Shelby, whose original Shelby Mustangs set new
performance marks from 1965 to 1970, the latest Shelby GT500
is based on the new Mustang that was introduced at the Los
Angeles show in November. In line with racing traditions,
firmer spring and damper rates have been specified to
improve grip and handling, as well as give the GT500 a
flatter cornering stance, and the coupe rides on 19 inch
forged aluminum wheels while the convertible runs 18 inch
alloys.
Engineer Hameedi said the steering shaft was also stiffened
as part of the overall attempt to make the GT500 more
responsive, but easier to drive. “All our changes were about
making the car respond as fast and as predictable as
possible,” said Hameedi. “It conveys an athletic, confident
feel. The shifter, clutch pedal, brake-pedal efforts and
overall steering efforts are easier now. We wanted to make
sure we had a nice, crisp short-throw shifter that was easy
to go from gear to gear.”
Although occupants in the new interior are protected from
“unwanted noise” by improved NVH levels, the engineers have
worked to ensure a satisfactory aural experience in the
latest GT500. “You still hear the supercharger but not so
that it’s intrusive,” said SVT chief functional engineer
Kerry Baldori. “It’s the same with the exhaust. You want
people to know you’re driving something special, but you
don’t want an exhaust note that overpowers the whole
interior. We spent a lot of time getting the right sound
quality out of the exhaust so you get that nice, crisp
Shelby sound outside and a pleasant sound inside the cabin.
It’s a nice balance; one isn’t overpowering the other.”
The original Mustangs (such as driven by Steve McQueen in
the movie Bullitt - still the best car chase ever) were
actually fairly basic, both in design and equipment. The new
ones look to be much better, and a tribute to FoMoCo.
Anyone want an MG
Midget?
There’s a 1961 MG Midget on the market. Looks
tidy resprayed in BRG, but is a Thai-style restoration, so
it is not absolutely pukka. For example, engine and gearbox
are now Nissan, which probably isn’t such a bad thing. It
also has under-dash aircon. Owner has been progressively
restoring the car himself with new MG parts from the UK, but
now has no more time to complete. Runs nicely. Phone Tony on
086 156 4305.
Credit squeezing
With the projected car sales being very
depressed, after a dismal November and December 2008, you
would imagine that, in line with other countries, interest
rates would be coming down. Not fast enough say the
potential purchasers.
The rate for new cars is around 3.25 percent and 4.25
percent for second hand vehicles. Also remember that the
quoted rate in this country is a flat rate for the duration
of the contract.
You can pay the car off early, but you will still have to
pay for the interest over the entire term of the contract!
