$529M DOE Loan Spawns $97K Made-in-Finland Cars

theodp writes "With PR successes like the Fisker Karma, does the Department of Energy need to worry about PR failures like Solyndra? ABC News and others are reporting that electric car company Fisker, which received a $529M federal loan guarantee with the approval of the Obama administration, is assembling its first line of $96,985 base-priced hybrid cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work. According to Green Car Reports, Fisker said the EPA had rated the Karma at 54 MPGe (MPG-equivalent) when running on electricity from its battery pack, and that the EPA-rated electric range would be 32 miles. Omitted from the press release was the 20-mpg rating for a Karma running on power from its range-extending gasoline engine."

Comments

The DOE loan is for the Nina

[rednip]

The DOE loan is for the Nina, it'll be built in An shutdown Saturn plant in Delaware. Not the Karma.

Re:The DOE loan is for the Nina

[lwriemen]

Two companies doesn't equal two cars. FTA: "Between them, Fisker, at $529 million, and Tesla, at $465 million, have secured nearly $1 billion to jump-start production of their cars." Fisker and Tesla are two separate companies.

Re:The DOE loan is for the Nina

[mtrachtenberg]

Yes, the DOE loan is for the Delaware plant. This fact is well-known: http://www.examiner.com/electric-car-in-national/fisker-automotive-grabs-529-million-from-the-doe

And that omission, soulskill, is either incompetent or dishonest.

Re:The DOE loan is for the Nina

[MickyTheIdiot]

Using the word "socialist" without defending it is equivalent to the use of "communist" in the 1950s.

In other words, it's meant as a personal attack and it is should be enough for any thinking person to tell you where you can shove your argument.

There is no such thing as a pure economy... just different balances between unregulated capitalism and (actual) socialism.

Re:Great

[JBMcB]

This isn't even the dumbest use of our money. We currently subsidize cotton farmers in Brazil, because the US was subsidizing cotton farmers in the southern states, and was found to be doing so in violation of free trade agreements by the WTO. So instead of cutting the subsidies to the US farmers, the US government also subsidizes Brazilian cotton farmers as a sort of pay-off. This isn't a small amount of money - it's in the billions every year.

Re:Whelp, that investment didn't work out

[John Bresnahan]

Also, it's just a flat out lie to make the title "$529M DOE Loan". It's a loan guarantee, not a loan. The taxpayers are in no way on the hook for anywhere close to $529M.

That's not how it worked with Solyndra. They borrowed the half-billion, using the government loan guarantee as collateral, and then declared bankruptcy, leaving the taxpayers on the hook for replaying the loan.

Re:Sincerity?

[Wyatt Earp]

There are factories in the US building small volume high quality sports cars, Viper, Corvette, CTS, CTS-V (coupe, sports wagon, sedan), BMW, Audi, plus lower volume companies and aftermarket makers like Panoz

The Boxster and Cayman production was moved back to Germany this year.

"Boxster and Cayman production was outsourced to Valmet Automotive in Finland from 1997 to 2011, after which when assembly was moved back to the German homeland."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche#Production_and_sales
http://www.valmet-automotive.com/automotive/bulletin.nsf/headlinespubliceng/ADB15534224D1B0CC225788400418888

Fisker got the loan with the promise they'd use the factory in Delaware, if they aren't using it, they need to return the money.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Automotive#US_federal_loan

Soulskill Needs To Add Story Correction

[cmholm]

It's not uncommon for /. editors to add a story update when significant new information comes to light, or there was a major f-up in the original. This is one of those times, Soulskill. I know a lot of stuff rotates through your in-box, and you got suckered by @theodp. You need post the correction:

- Fisker Karma, made in Finland, no DOE loan.
- Fisker Nina, to be made in Delaware, with DOE loan.