Archive for the ‘Los Angeles Specific Issues’ Category

Fisker Is Coming to Santa Monica

Posted: May 4, 2011 in Fisker Automotive, Hybrids, Electrics and other "Green" Technology, Los Angeles Specific Issues
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At the beginning of 2011, I heard rumors of a Fisker store coming to town. A few weeks ago, while I was at Lexus Santa Monica testing the new 2011 Lexus CT 200h, I learned that Sullivan Automotive Group (Lexus Santa Monica’s parent) was building a Fisker store next to its Volkswagen Santa Monica dealership.

The corner of Santa Monica Blvd and 25th St

The location, at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and 25thAve, is the old Lexus Santa Monica site that is now the internet sales department for the VW dealership. The building is relatively small, but you don’t need a large space for the Fisker brand because they only have one model, the voluptuous $95,900 – $110,000 Karma electric extended range sports car.

2012 Fisker Karma

Sullivan Automotive Group is the 33rd largest dealership group in the US (2010). In 2010, it sold a total of 21,239 units (new, used and wholesale) and had total revenue (including parts, service, etc.) of $632,338,233 – with only seven dealerships.

  1. Lexus Santa Monica
  2. Toyota/Scion Santa Monica
  3. Toyota/Scion of Hollywood
  4. Volkswagen of Santa Monica
  5. Pacific Audi
  6. Pacific Porsche
  7. Pacific Volkswagen
  8. Fisker Santa Monica (opening Spring/Summer 2011)

The group uses the catch-all LACarGuy.com website to promote its stores and, if you live in LA, you’ve seen billboards for LACarGuy and TV commercials featuring patriarch, Owner/President Michael Sullivan.  All of Sullivan’s dealerships have adopted environmentally-friendly practices, both in the showroom and in the service bays. Green is good for business these days.

LACarGuy claims that it’s the number one hybrid dealer in the world. I know the Lexus store is the number one Lexus hybrid seller in the US. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the combination of hybrid sales from the two Toyota dealerships, the Lexus store and a few niche hybrids like the VW Touareg, Porsche Cayenne, and Porsche Panamera Hybrids, put it on top. We do love our hybrids in LA.

It's a small space, but it will work just fine for Fisker

The group also has EV charging stations “live” at some of their dealerships. Odd, as none of the vehicles they sell are plug-in hybrids – yet. The Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid EV and the upcoming plug-in Prius will also use the charging stations.

The Fisker logo tombstone looks great.

The Fisker brand is a good fit for Sullivan Automotive and the City of Santa Monica. So far, it’s the only Fisker dealer in greater Los Angeles. The next closest store is in Orange County.

If you’ve never been to Sullivan’s flagship Lexus Santa Monica dealership, it’s worth your time to see this video. I give them props for restoring this beautiful, historic building.

The People’s Republic of Santa Monica is the perfect location for the plug-in EV Fisker Karma. It’s home to ultra-wealthy aging hippies, environmentalists and lefty socialists. Entertainment industry and creative-types populate trendy restaurants and condos. Expensive boutiques on Montana Avenue attract celebrity shoplifters. You’ll find LEED-certified buildings and the most creative, modern architecture there.

Santa Monica is home to Heal the Bay. It’s the unofficial “Home of the Homeless.” The City hosts four terrific Farmers Markets each week in three different locations. Organic and locally-sourced food is pervasive.

Santa Monica banned smoking on public beaches and the outdoor patios of restaurants. Plastic bags are banned from supermarkets. The City’s fleet of non-emergency vehicles is mostly hybrids or alternative fuel vehicles. The City’s Big Blue Buses all run on compressed natural gas (CNG). It’s not uncommon to see an old diesel Mercedes that’s been converted to run on B20 bio-diesel or used vegetable oil. The Prius appears to be the unofficial transportation appliance of Santa Monica — you can’t throw a stone in any direction without hitting one.

Santa Monica is ground zero (in the LA Metro) area for everything environmentally-friendly, progressive and “green.” There are many wealthy early adopters of EVs and other advanced hybrid technology living in or near Santa Monica.  In short, it’s the perfect market for a $100,000 extended-range electric vehicle.

She's got a sexy back too...

The Fisker Karma is a plug-in electric vehicle with a gas engine that drives a generator to charge the batteries for extended-range driving. Fisker claims the Karma can travel 50 miles on the batteries and an additional 200 miles in extended-range mode. The concept is much like the Chevy Volt; but the Karma’s execution is very different and the target audience is wealthier.

The front of the Fisker Karma - I see Salvador Dali's moustache or a Rene Magritte painting.

The Karma packs a GM Ecotec 2.0 liter direct-inject turbo I-4 engine just behind the front wheels. It drives a generator to charge the large-capacity 20 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that forms a rigid spine down the center of the car. The Karma is a proper rear-drive sports car (albeit a bit heavy at 4,100 lbs) driven by rear-mounted dual 300 kW electric motors good for a total of 403 hp with a heart-stopping 981 lb-ft torque available from the moment your foot hits the electron exciter. The Karma seats four adults and can hit 60 mph in 5.9 seconds.

The sumptious interior of the Karma. It looks like a nice place to spend time.

Fisker Automotive got more than $500 million from the Department of Energy to build the Karma in the US. Fisker bought a shuttered GM plant in Delaware and is in the process of converting it into a shiny modern factory to produce its sleek sports car. It’s going to have to sell lots of cars to pay back its investors.

Solar panels on the Karma help charge the batteries even when it's parked.

Below is the Fisker Karma’s first “Get Hot” commercial:

In the meantime, the Karma is being built in Uusikaupunki, Finland by contract manufacturer Valmet Automotive. Valmet also builds the Boxster/Caymen line for Porsche at this plant. The Karma began production on March 21, 2011 so deliveries may happen as soon as this summer. I’m sure Fisker Santa Monica is taking orders. Just have your checkbook ready.

Karma 1 rolls off the assembly line in Finland

Motor Trend’s Technical Editor, Kim Reynolds, gives his take on the Karma:

Your BMW ActiveE is Ready for Lease

Posted: April 26, 2011 in BMW, Hybrids, Electrics and other "Green" Technology, Los Angeles Specific Issues, MINI
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When I first downloaded the BMW EVolve app last week, I thought it was just a cute exercise in alleviating electric vehicle range anxiety.  The app uses the phone’s built-in GPS sensors to track your driving habits and routes — how far you drive, how fast you go, etc.  Think of it as pre-conditioning for the eventual electrification of the automobile and as a cheerleader for BMW’s i-Series (i3) electric MegaCity Vehicle (MCV) that won’t be here until 2013.

BMW's EVolve app for the iPhone

BMW i3 prototype caught in winter tests. Photos courtesy of AutoBlog.com.

However, in reality, the app was the drum roll before BMW’s Earth Day 2011 introduction its first EV to bear its own corporate logo: The ActiveE.  The EVolve app has a countdown battery gauge that starts with 100 miles, the claimed full-charge range of the upcoming ActiveE, an electrified 1-Series Coupé, that will be available for lease sometime later this year.

The MINI E was BMW’s warm up act.  Think of it as a rolling EV lab that uses humans as test drivers to better understand how batteries and electric drivetrains behave in “real world” driving conditions.  It was an expensive little car ($50,700 – but I think that’s a fantasy low-ball number picked out of thin air by BMW Financial Services) that gave early adopters a chance at driving a real EV.

2009 MINI E

Unfortunately, the MINI E was compromised with a large, heavy battery pack that took the place of the back seat. Worse, that battery tended to under-perform in the cold and overheat in the hot So Cal summers.

MINI E drivers were asked to pay a whopping $850+ tax per month ($932.87 in 9.75% LA County) plus the cost of installing a charger.  The lease included comprehensive and collision coverage; but not liability insurance.  There was grumbling in the MINI universe from “average Joe” drivers asked to pay that stiff $850+ tax/month while BMW offered the same car to various municipalities and non-profits for $10 (yes, ten dollars) a month.  Ouch.

The MINI E was originally leased for one year starting in 2009; however, BMW has “generously” allowed MINI E lessees a chance to extend their lease another year (2010 to 2011) and now, to keep their car until the ActiveE comes to market later this year.  MINI E lease holders will get first dibs on an new ActiveE later this year.  Of course, they still have to keep making those egregious lease payments.

I’m not sure who benefited most from the past two years of the MINI E experiment.  MINI E lessees drank the Kool Aid and can’t say a bad thing about the car;  however, I was specifically warned not to enter the trial because there were so many annoying problems with the car.  I’m inclined to believe my BMW insiders on this point.

That leaves the BMW engineers as the major benefactors. The past two years must have produced mountains of valuable information and feedback that will make the new ActiveE a much more competent and useful EV.

Not since the M1 of more than 30 years ago has a BMW had a rear-mid-ship mounted power plant.  The ActiveE’s, power electronics, electric motor and rear axle all form a complete unit.   This is the same configuration BMW will use in the upcoming i3 MCV.  The all-new liquid cooled lithium-ion battery back runs through the spine of the chassis and includes modules under the hood helping the ActiveE hit the magic 50/50 front/rear weight distribution ratio – a hallmark of the BMW brand.

The BMW ActiveE electric guts revealed

BMW’s ActiveE drivers will be offered a much more affordable and realistic 24 month lease for $499/month with $2,250 down.  With tax and amortizing the up-front payment, the monthly cost pencils out to $650.54.  The insurance arrangement should be the same as the MINI E, but no one has seen the actual lease yet.

At one third less than the MINI E lease payment,  you get a car  fully capable of living up to BMW’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” tag-line.  As a bonus, you even get a two rear seats and a small trunk!

2012 BMW ActiveE - an electrified 1-Series Coupe

The BMW ActiveE

BMW Group engineers developed everything that constitutes the ActiveE:  the energy storage module, its wiring, the permanent magnet synchronous electric motor, the power electronics and the transmission.  If you want to control the quality of the product, keep it in-house.

The only the batteries were co-developed with SB LiMotive exclusively for automotive use (a knock at Telsa which uses stacks of lithium-ion batteries originally designed for laptop computers).  [SB LiMotive Ltd. is a 50/50 joint venture between Bosch and Samsung.]

BMW says the ActiveE has maximum power output from the electric drive system of 170 hp with 184 lb-ft torque, available from a standstill, as is the case with all electric vehicles.  BMW pegs the ActiveE’s 0-60 mph time at under 9 seconds with an electronically-limited top speed of 90 mph.

BMW ActiveE electronic umbilical cord

I’ve been testing the new BMW EVolve app on my iPhone. In general, there is almost no time that I could exhaust the 100 mile range in my normal daily struggle through our gridlocked, pot-holed streets.

However, I failed the EV test when I drove to Palm Springs over Easter weekend.  Yup, to get out of LA – any destination outside a 45 mile radius from my home – I’d need a “weekend car” or an extended Range EV like the Chevy Volt (MSRP $41,000 before federal/state tax credits) or Fisker Karma ($95,900 before federal/state tax credits).

2011 Chevrolet Volt extended range EV

2012 Fisker Karma extended range EV

BMW is looking for customers interested in the ActiveE.  To lease the ActiveE, you have to live in one of the following metro areas: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, New York City, Boston and all of Connecticut.  You can explore more about the ActiveE and sign up to be notified when they start the field trials at BMWUSA.com.

BMW has also developed a slick Apple iPhone app for the ActiveE called ConnectedDrive, similar to those already developed for the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt.  ConnectedDrive can romotely lock and unlcok the doors, activate the horn or headlights helping you find your car, CarFinder to locate your car within a 3,300 ft radius and Google’s Local Search function.

BMW ActiveE iPhone App

The ActiveE's information and navigation screen will mirror much of what is on the Smartphone app and is internet connected.

BMW will test a fleet of 1,000 ActiveE vehicles throughout the US, Europe and China.  For the MINI E trials, 450 of the 600 cars landed in the US, so it’s reasonable to expect at least 50% of the ActiveE allocation will come to the US.

I’d love to try it, but I’m waiting for my weekend car first.

Click here for a PDF of the press release: BMW_ActiveE_Electric_Vehicle_Press_Release

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