16 AMERICANWAY
NOVEMBER 1 2008
C A R S
Driverswhoprefer thesexappealofasportscarover theeco-friendly lookof thePrius
areabout togetahybridall theirown.DesignedbyHenrikFisker (theguybehind theAs-
tonMartinDB9and theBMWZ8), thesleekandcurvy
FiskerKarma
(
motive.com)promisesemission-freedriving for50milesaday,as longasyou remember
toplug it intoa 110Vor220Voutleteverynight.Enthusiastswhoorderedearlywill get their
premium-editionKarma—startingprice$100,000— in late2009.The restofyouwillhave
towaituntil2010 for thedeliveryofyour$80,000-or-morevehicle.
—JennaSchnuer
It’sAllaboutKarma.
(Guilt-FreeGreenKarma,That Is.)
■
They call it QDrive: The
transmission-free power train
features a small gas engine
that spins the generator, which
charges the lithium-ionbattery
pack, which sends the electric
motorwhirring and, finally, the
rearwheels spinning.
■
Flip apaddle togo
from electric-onlyStealth
Drive to the power of the
gassed-upSport Drive.
■
The full-length solar
roof, which comes stan-
dardwith the car, is all
about keepingpassengers
cool orwarming them up.
FiskerKarmaStats
Top speedon electric:
95mph
Top speedongas:
125mph
Goes zero to60:
in less than six seconds
Cool optional feature:
a solar panel that
can be installed on the roof of the buyer’s
house to charge the car
LATE 2010
ChevroletVolt
This carwill take the company into
the future— just as Chevrolet celebrates its 100th
birthday. Rumoredprice: $35,000 to$40,000.
What?Thesports-carstylingoftheKarma just isn’tyou?
Hereare threeupcominghybrids thatwon’t lookoutofplace inyourneighborhood.
SPRING 2009
Honda Insight
It's the company’smost affordable
hybrid option (at least until they release the hybrid
Fit). Honda claims itwill cost less than theCivic hybrid
($23,550). Rumoredprice: around$18,500.
LATE 2009
PorscheCayenne
This peppery hybrid sibling from
the luxury carmaker Porsche is almost here. Rumored
price: $48,000 to$50,000.
■
Plug it in. Since the
car gets 50miles of
electric-powereddriving
per charge, Fisker claims
that peoplewhodrive
less than that couldgas
up just once a year.
■
Take to the roadwith
pals— or the kids. The
Karma seats four.
■
Aluminum on various
parts of the exterior
lightens the load.
■
After 50 all-electricmiles,
the gas tank takes over.
