New Car Prices and Reviews

Looking for a sweet ride that can get you infinity miles per gallon? Check out the Eco-Chic Fisker Karma, a luxury sports sedan capable of 50 miles of emissions free-driving on one overnight charge.

This sexy-looking sports car, which I stumbled upon at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this week, uses the same kind of technology as the lusted-after Chevy Volt. Both cars use a purely electric drive train for the first 40-50 miles of driving, then switch to a small gasoline engine that recharges the lithium ion battery pack for longer drives. This means that if you drive less than 50 miles per day, you’ll only need to refill the tank once per year.

So how do these cars differ? Well, GM is saying the Volt will run about $20-30,000, while Fisker is asking an arresting $80-100,000. GM has also voiced their confidence that they’ll be the first plug-in on the market in 2010, but a Fisker representative told me they were taking orders for 4th quarter 2009. It’s going to be a tight race, and more competitors are on the way (mentioned in earlier post).

Micky Bly, GM’s director of Global Hybrids, seemed skeptical about the Karma’s release. He cited the delay of the Tesla Roadster, indicating that time will tell who actually gets a reliable vehicle out on time.

If your curious about getting a Fisker Karma, all you have to do is fill out the pre-order form and send them a $1,000 down payment ($5,000 for the premium numbered edition). I say this tongue-in-cheek because most of us don’t need a luxury sports car, and the Chevy Volt is sexy as hell anyway.