Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wow! Wow! Wow! --- Update on Instant Karma -- "Chariots on Fire"

I posted a link to this amazing story earlier last week. Wow.

Link to WSJ at Fisker suffers hurricane loss.
Electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. lost more than 300 of its Karma plug-in hybrids and other car makers lost thousands of new cars as a result of flooding last week at a New Jersey port due to superstorm Sandy.
"[The cars] are completely done," said Roger Ormisher, spokesman for the Anaheim, Calif.-based Fisker. He said the luxury sports cars, which sell for about $100,000 each, were insured and company doesn't expect the loss to have a material impact on its business.
In total, 16,000 new cars from several manufacturers awaiting retrieval were affected by flooding at the Port of Newark, N.J., a spokesman said on Tuesday. Toyota MotorCorp. said it would scrap 2,700 damaged vehicles and is reviewing another 1,300.
But the incident adds to a string of bad news for Anaheim, Calif.-based Fisker. It is currently dealing with the bankruptcy of a key supplier, A123 Systems Inc., which builds the battery used to power Fisker's plug-in hybrid cars, and has been hurt by recalls and incidents of its cars catching fire.
Allah has a sense of humor. Or perhaps sending us a message.

Okay, now about that company statement, saying that the cars "were insured and company doesn't expect the loss to have a material impact on its business."

When a company has sold 2,000 of its units, regardless of what they are, and then loses 300 of those units, regardless of what they are, something tells me there will be some impact, even if it's not "material."

The WSJ:
The loss of 300 vehicles is significant for the startup. Fisker so far has sold some 2,000 vehicles to wholesalers and dealers as of September. One person familiar with the situation said that the company, which outsources manufacturing to Finland, will have limited availability in meeting new demand in the U.S.
The company says they have sufficient inventory to meet demand. Okay. That says something about demand.

Bakken oil millionaires may have to wait a few months for their Fiskers. In the meantime, there's always the Volt.

Sea water short-circuited the 12-volt batteries --> fire in the Fisker.

2 comments:

  1. Now a Nor'easter is bearing down on the same region. They say trouble comes in threes what will be next.

    They should depopulate that area and turn it into a buffalo common. I'm sure the citizens of the high planes would think that is a good idea.

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  2. Clever: for newbies --

    The Poppers at http://www.milliondollarwayblog.com/2011/10/old-norwegian-proverb-it-could-be-worse.html

    Yes, in fact, the granddaughters enjoyed a snowstorm outside Boston earlier this evening. They could give Manhattan back to the native Americans.

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