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Thebreadman · 10-22-2011, 10:52 AM

I called in today, as I do periodically, to check on production and see how things are coming along. Before today, my car was due to be built next week. Now, pushed back another month! Explanation given was that actual production did not begin until mid-September. In the last month they have built the 37 demo cars shipping to the U.S. prior to that all they built was pre-production vehicles to ship around the world. This is direct from Fisker.

I am number 635 or something close to that. After going over the simple math of how there is no way my car can be built on November 28th like I am told, I just said why you don't you be straight with me and tell me I'll have it by next June. There was no answer.

Call and get an update on your vehicle. Even forgetting all the bad news about range and MPG and acceleration, our cars are still a long way off.

Best Regards,
adam

doug · 10-22-2011, 11:10 AM

(10-22-2011 10:52 AM)Thebreadman Wrote: Explanation given was that actual production did not begin until mid-September.

Why couldn't they let you know that in mid-September?

Thebreadman · 10-22-2011, 11:29 AM

(10-22-2011 11:10 AM)doug Wrote:
(10-22-2011 10:52 AM)Thebreadman Wrote: Explanation given was that actual production did not begin until mid-September.

Why couldn't they let you know that in mid-September?

At the beginning of September, my car was due to be built middle of September. Then it was beginning of October. Then it was November 1. Now it is November 28.

And before September, there were other production days stated. Now we know they were all lies. I hate to be harsh, because I do know what startups are like; I started my own company. This just seems outright insincere though.

BillyO · 10-22-2011, 11:51 AM

(10-22-2011 10:52 AM)Thebreadman Wrote: I called in today, as I do periodically, to check on production and see how things are coming along. Before today, my car was due to be built next week. Now, pushed back another month! Explanation given was that actual production did not begin until mid-September. In the last month they have built the 37 demo cars shipping to the U.S. prior to that all they built was pre-production vehicles to ship around the world. This is direct from Fisker.

I am number 635 or something close to that. After going over the simple math of how there is no way my car can be built on November 28th like I am told, I just said why you don't you be straight with me and tell me I'll have it by next June. There was no answer.

Call and get an update on your vehicle. Even forgetting all the bad news about range and MPG and acceleration, our cars are still a long way off.

Best Regards,
adam

That's so Fisker! When they told me last week my date (Oct. 20th) was still good, they had to know it was impossible! My info came direct from Fisker also. My order number is around 1000. I'll check again Monday. Looks like I'll get a 2013 model.

BillyO

Dutch · 10-22-2011, 08:53 PM

This information - that production did not start until mid-September and that in that month only 37 demo cars were built - does not correspond with information from other reliable sources that in mid-September already hundreds of cars were sitting at the factory. Is this information directly from Fisker und from a dealer (who maybe isn't up to date)?

brian · 10-22-2011, 11:00 PM

Yeah, my dealer earlier in the week said the computer still showed my production date was Sept 26th. (order #650-something). However, she said the computer had no information on weather it had actually been built. No VIN # was showing up, so it's possible... seems unlikely at this point tho.

-Brian

Thebreadman · 10-23-2011, 12:05 AM

(10-22-2011 08:53 PM)Dutch Wrote: This information - that production did not start until mid-September and that in that month only 37 demo cars were built - does not correspond with information from other reliable sources that in mid-September already hundreds of cars were sitting at the factory. Is this information directly from Fisker und from a dealer (who maybe isn't up to date)?

This information is direct from Fisker. Call and see what info you get.

brian · 10-23-2011, 12:09 AM

(10-22-2011 11:29 AM)Thebreadman Wrote: I hate to be harsh, because I do know what startups are like; I started my own company. This just seems outright insincere though.

You know... Fisker Automotive has been around for what, 4 years now? They're no longer a "startup". They're well past that. Now they're just a company who's failed to produce a product.

-Brian

Dave_Car_Guy · 10-23-2011, 02:42 AM

Lets all maintain perspective. Believe me, I am as anxious as anyone to receive my car. I have car #7 on order. In fact, everyone in front of me in line (#1-6) came in after me, got their spots because Henrik, Barney, Alan, Dale, etc., gave up their spots in line. l am the longest-duration cash-deposit Fisker order/customer in the world, having put my $5,000 Signature Edition deposit down in October 2007 before even the clay model was completed. 4 years now. And most of you will still get your car the same month as me. Because I am in California, many of you will actually get yours before me. You don't hear me complaining, do you? No, because I am a realist.

Patience is key with a new car company. This is not as simple as cranking out a new video game, implementing new enterprise software, or building a one-off custom-built house. Recall that GM introduced and showed the Chevy Volt at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2007, a full year before the Karma was shown at the same show in January 2008. Volt made it to the streets this year. So, even with all GM's resources, it took them 4 years. Was Fisker optimistic? Yes. Did the economy slow them down? Yes. Did the expansion of the model line slow down Karma? Yes. The cars will come, and when they do, I believe they will come with enough volume to satisfy all customers with existing orders, and a whole bunch more. We are all early adopters, believers of the PHEV model, and huge supporters of the company. Let's try to remain that way.

And just because they have another month delay, that doesn't mean they can't fulfill thousands of orders once they are up and running at full capacity. I think you shouldn't despair and assume the delays will be forever, nor cumulative. Clearly, they are working the bugs out of the manufacturing system. And clearly the factory-HQ-Marketing-Dealership line-up is weak at communicating, but I think they are all trying to be sincere and are not "lying" to you... they are more likely just overly optimistic and unwilling to admit there are things beyond their control. Knowing how auto manufacturing works, my belief is that once they get things going, then cars can be produced at a fairly rapid rate (Valmet has capacity for over 60,000 cars a year, and has cranked out Porsche Caymans and Boxters at higher rates than Karma for years). So getting the first 3000 Fiskers produced on behalf of deposit/order-holding customers won't be hard , ONCE they get the system working. The devil is in the details when you need to get to high-volume production, and the last bit of software tuning, etc. must be right, and must be tested on pre-production cars, before they can turn on full manufacturability.

I believe the 100 signature cars may have been built in August, and the 37 demo cars were built in September, so the comments discussed above regarding production dates and volumes may not be inconsistent. Breadman's initial post said that before the 37 demos there were per-production cars. Those are likely the cars that Dutch mentions as the ones previously sitting at the factory.

So, let's all keep time in perspective, and enjoy our wonderful new cars....soon!

Sigurd · 10-23-2011, 03:23 AM

Wow Dave the car guy, I'm impressed. Great post. I am #72 on the Signature Series and am also eagerly awaiting delivery. I think that what you say is all a plausible explanation. Of course it could all be confirmed and all this speculation stopped if a Fisker representative could just keep us informed.