Fisker Automotive, the Finnish Solyndra
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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Lachlan Markay to discuss the latest developments in the Solyndra scandal, get a preview of Steven Chu’s testimony before Congress today, and one of the next Solyndras, Fisker Automotive.
We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.
Related Links:
Chu to defend Solyndra loan to House panel
House GOP Poised to Grill Energy Secretary Chu at Solyndra Hearing
Solyndra: Energy Dept. pushed firm to keep layoffs quiet until after midterms
Fisker’s Political Connections
Coffee and Markets: Obama Doubles Down on Solyndra
Lachlan Markay at the HEritage Foundation
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12 Comments
So now it looks like Fisker is like Solyndra but on wheels. So, therefore that makes it like what atleast three maybe four green companies that the government has invested and has political ties to that have been going under.
This is only proving that an industry that is supported by the government cant hold its own in the real world markets. From what I can tell, very few if any green company could actually exist without some kind of government aid.
Van Jones has resigned. The Obama Green Energy Czar, communist, left wing radical, resigned on Saturday, September 5, 2009. From the Guardian UK, September 6, 2009: “Obama adviser Van Jones resigns” “Jones was linked to efforts suggesting government role in 9/11 attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans” “An adviser to Barack Obama has resigned in a row over past inflammatory statements, the White House said .
Van Jones, who worked with the White House council on environmental quality, was linked to efforts suggesting a government role in the 2001 terror attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans. “On the eve of historic fights for healthcare and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me,” Jones said in his resignation statement. “They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.” He said he had been “inundated with calls from across the political spectrum urging me to stay and fight”, but he said he could not in good conscience ask his colleagues to spend time and energy defending or explaining his past. Jones issued an apology on Thursday for his past statements. When asked the next day whether Obama still had confidence in him, the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said only that Jones “continues to work in the administration.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/06/obama...
Has Fiskars sold any cars?
I dont even know if Fisker has even started production yet.
Of course they have started production. I have driven a demo model at the Fisker of Huntsville, AL, USA location. It is a very nice car and Fisker's only major screw up so far has been extremely poor communication with its customers which it is slowly correcting. Stop being a lemming and do some research yourselves regarding Fisker. It is nothing like Solyndra. The DOE loan that Fisker got was provided under a bill signed by then Pres. Bush. Fisker has used private funding for the build of the Karma in Finland, while the federal funding has been mostly used to prepare the Delaware plant for the next line of autos to be produced while some of it was admittedly used to finalize development of the Karma. The Karma is 50% US and Canadian parts to include the engine which is a GM Ecotec 2.0L
. I will disclose the fact that I am a customer of Fisker planning to take delivery of my Fisker Karma Signature Edition sometime next month. That being said, I imagine you have an image in your mind of some eco-friendly, Silicon Valley tech geek with more money than sense. I am a 24-year veteran of the US Army with over 50 months of combat time in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know first-hand what the consequences are of not being an energy-independent super-power. If it were not for companies like Fisker and Tesla striving to change how Americans feel about electric cars, then the already established automotive industry would continue to plod along saying that it is not feasible. Fossil fuels need to go the way of the dinosaur.
The Fisker Karma may be a nice car and I have read many reports on it, as I myself am a car guy. The problem with the Karma much like the Volt then followed by all other EVs is that these vehicles cannot support themselves, and need government help in order to move them. Then to add, battery tech sucks as even the lithion batteries now still hold the same problem as past generation types, as that as they age, they loose the ability to hold a charge anymore. Therefore, after several years, the Karma and Volt will be almost no different than a high-end Cruze as the car would require more power to just give the battery power since it will no longer hold a charge. Then also EVs will have horrible resale value and will provide you will little on your return.
Just so you know, in automotive history, battery powered cars are actually older than ICE. Then to add, no current EV is as efficient as an ICE as well, as their range is far too limited and take too long to charge. What I am getting at there is that EVs are a poor investment and you are better off getting a diesel if you care about fuel economy and easy on your return.
As for energy Independence, that is easy. We could end OPEC by drilling here stateside and use both gas/diesel and natural gas as it would be plenty affordable, bring jobs, and we get out of the middle east. Not to mention, there is no energy source that is clean or green anyway, and those that claim to be, have failed in the markets.
If you have read many reports on it, you should know that it started production. Of course the batteries lose some of their maximum capacity as they age, but gasoline engines also lose performance with age. When you read articles about the batteries having a life of ten years, that is a figure at which point they retain a predetermined level of the original capacity, not that they are completely nonfunctional. Solar panels do the same thing, i.e. 20 year life means that after 20 years they produce only 85% of the original energy production capacity. One of two things is going to happen after those ten years, the owner will no longer own the car, as the rest of it will have degraded to the point they want a new one, or if they have taken care of the rest of the car, battery tech will have improved to the point that they will want the improved battery installed.
Your efficiency claim is clearly too general to have any meaning. Efficiency in what regard? Let’s just start with MPG using the engine driven generator onboard. The same engine is used in the 2008 Chevy Cobolt SS, a 2975 pound curb weight vehicle that gets 22/30 city/highway or combined of 25 per the EPA website. The Fisker Karma using the same engine with a completely depleted battery, weighs in at 5300 pounds curb weight and gets a combined city/highway of 20 mpg. A car that is 78% heavier that gets 80% of the gas mileage, tell me that an electric motor is not more efficient than an ICE and any engineer will tell you that you are a fool. Now, let’s talk about electricity versus gasoline mpg. 33.7 kilowatt-hours is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline. The Karma drives 32 miles on a charge of 20 kilowatt-hours or 1.6 miles per kilowatt. 1.6 times 33.7 = almost 54, but the EPA gave it a 52 MPGe, so we will use that. The Karma gets 20 MPG on gas. So, electricity is roughly 2.5 times more efficient at propelling the car than gasoline.
Now, if you are referring to energy density, which directly correlates to range, then finally you hit on something that gasoline vehicles do currently excel in performance over electric vehicles. This is why a plug-in hybrid is a good option until the infrastructure exists for EVs to travel cross-country without the need for a range-extender. The Tesla Model S will achieve from 160 to 300 miles per charge depending on the battery size. Give their estimates an EPA kick and it may be more like 100 to 200 miles. Batteries and chargers exist today that can recharge a car in 10 minutes or less, which considering cross country driving involving many times, using a restroom and buying a drink or snack, is roughly equivalent to filling up a tank, which is federal restricted to 10 gallons per minute maximum flow, but I have usually seen about half that at most pumps.
As for your comment regarding dependence purely on domestic oil, do you know the economic and national security ramifications? I am fairly certain they would be more cost prohibitive than supporting alternative energy.
I agree with you that there is no such thing as clean or green energy, if we are talking in absolutes, but there are certainly clean-er and green-er alternatives to fossil fuel. By beefing up our existing electric infrastructure for use by automobiles we extend the future for markets where electricity is not yet feasible for commercial introduction, namely aviation.
PART TWO
hedging and even betting on “intended-to-fail” awardees like Solyndra and Beacon. All the while making certain that only friends of bundlers got awards. As of today, the 100% failure of DOE to award to even one American small technology business applicant makes it overtly obvious that the DOE funds were entirely set-up as payback monies and not domestic innovation or job creation monies.
This is part one of a series of releases that will detail the crimes, actions, money routing, benefits and manipulations practiced by each individual named below, along with certain elected officials. The data includes recordings, emails, signed testimony and contractual materials.
CHART OF KEY ACCOMPLICES –
THE WHITE HOUSE:
Robert Gibbs; Rahm Emanual; Jonathan Levy; David Axelrod; Steve Rattner; Valarie Jarrett; Andrew Card, Richard Cheney
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY:
Steven Chu; Lachlan Seward; Brent Petterson; Dan Tobin; Steve Spinner ; Matt Rogers; Jonathan Silver; Rod O’Conner ; Kathy Zoi; Daniel Cohen; Christina Johnson; Scott Harris; David Frantz; Chris Foster; James Markowsky; Cinthia Andersen; IBM; Argonne National Labs; McKinsey Consulting; Sentech; Debevoise; Midland Services; Technology & Mgmnt. Services
GOLDMAN SACHS:
Lloyd Blankfein; David Viniar; Rajat Gupta; CODA Automotive; Solyndra; Mark Tercek ; Telsa Motors; Fisker Motors; McKinsey Consulting
VENTURE CAPITAL EXECUTIVES:
John Doerr; Steve Westly; Alexey Mordashov; Boris Zingarevich
DETROIT CAR COMPANY EXECUTIVES:
GM; Ford; Chrysler; Fisker; Tesla; Elon Musk; Kathleen Hennessey
-This document is public domain. Feel free to redistribute.-
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