I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that Fisker will be bankrupt within 5 years 
I was a big fan, have followed the company for 5 years and even tried my very best to make the best use of the car and don't get me wrong, I still like it, I just don't think the company will be around much longer.
I recently wrote about my successes in getting 72km even though this is more than 10% off the advertised mileage of 80km on a single electric charge but I have been unable to reproduce that performance and realized that occasionally I was on the highway using sport mode which uses gas. After several more tests and the realization that my own theories on mileage efficiency were wrong, I have succumbed to the fact that I should not expect more than 60km on a single electric charge.
MPG is not a good stat to keep track of... someone with a high MPG just means that they're going to the corner store and back all the time and recharging their batteries. It's a misleading statistic that will not satisfy the average user and that is why I think they'll be bankrupt within 5 years.
It's a great looking car but that novelty will wear off as other larger, better capitalized car companies make hybrid models. Yes, it has 400 hp but if you drive it like a $120k car should be driven, you get less than 40km per charge so why bother? With the way I'm driving, I'd rather have the Chevy volt engine in it and get multiple times the distance on a single charge because I can't drive it fast anyways.
I really wonder if Henry Fisker drives a Karma as his primary vehicle... I wonder what he'd be saying to himself as he realizes that this car isn't very practicle to the average consumer and if he's going after the dumb rich guy, then not only is it a small market but he's about to get his arse handed to him by luxury auto companies like Audi and Mercedes when they come out with their hybrid options. I wonder what he says to himself when he finds he can't keep his eye on the road when he's fiddling around with the NAV which is really bad compared to other car models or the unresponsive display. I wonder what he thinks of his engineers after they release an update and it is riddled with bugs...
There is hope though, if Fisker honours their initial customers with new batteries that have better technology and can extend the electric range to over 120km then he's got a chance. The fact is that there is NO other solution than a battery than can hold more power. You can't change the weight of the car and there's only so much software can do... oh and they need to change their marketing so that they start to under promise and over deliver. Disappointing first time buyers is a quick way to destruction.
Anyone doing their due diligence on buying a Fisker, I would recommend that they don't buy this car until they improve their range and always discount what they say by at least 30% because they have a bad habit of exaggerating performance especially on the battery.
One good thing for current owners is that when, not if... Fisker does go bankrupt, our cars may hold their value as collectors items of the coolest looking golf cart around (except that it doesn't have enough trunk space to hold more than 1 set of golf clubs).
p.s. For all the Karma lovers out there, I know you're going to try and trash this post but let's be honest people... really honest... when you look at the competition and the way Fisker has marketed themselves against their true performance, I think you'll see I'm right and in the end I really hope I'm wrong. Advertising 80km per charge would be under the most perfect circumstances of which no one can practically replicate. You're buying a nice shell on a golf cart with a 2litre turbo engine in it.
I was a big fan, have followed the company for 5 years and even tried my very best to make the best use of the car and don't get me wrong, I still like it, I just don't think the company will be around much longer.
I recently wrote about my successes in getting 72km even though this is more than 10% off the advertised mileage of 80km on a single electric charge but I have been unable to reproduce that performance and realized that occasionally I was on the highway using sport mode which uses gas. After several more tests and the realization that my own theories on mileage efficiency were wrong, I have succumbed to the fact that I should not expect more than 60km on a single electric charge.
MPG is not a good stat to keep track of... someone with a high MPG just means that they're going to the corner store and back all the time and recharging their batteries. It's a misleading statistic that will not satisfy the average user and that is why I think they'll be bankrupt within 5 years.
It's a great looking car but that novelty will wear off as other larger, better capitalized car companies make hybrid models. Yes, it has 400 hp but if you drive it like a $120k car should be driven, you get less than 40km per charge so why bother? With the way I'm driving, I'd rather have the Chevy volt engine in it and get multiple times the distance on a single charge because I can't drive it fast anyways.
I really wonder if Henry Fisker drives a Karma as his primary vehicle... I wonder what he'd be saying to himself as he realizes that this car isn't very practicle to the average consumer and if he's going after the dumb rich guy, then not only is it a small market but he's about to get his arse handed to him by luxury auto companies like Audi and Mercedes when they come out with their hybrid options. I wonder what he says to himself when he finds he can't keep his eye on the road when he's fiddling around with the NAV which is really bad compared to other car models or the unresponsive display. I wonder what he thinks of his engineers after they release an update and it is riddled with bugs...
There is hope though, if Fisker honours their initial customers with new batteries that have better technology and can extend the electric range to over 120km then he's got a chance. The fact is that there is NO other solution than a battery than can hold more power. You can't change the weight of the car and there's only so much software can do... oh and they need to change their marketing so that they start to under promise and over deliver. Disappointing first time buyers is a quick way to destruction.
Anyone doing their due diligence on buying a Fisker, I would recommend that they don't buy this car until they improve their range and always discount what they say by at least 30% because they have a bad habit of exaggerating performance especially on the battery.
One good thing for current owners is that when, not if... Fisker does go bankrupt, our cars may hold their value as collectors items of the coolest looking golf cart around (except that it doesn't have enough trunk space to hold more than 1 set of golf clubs).
p.s. For all the Karma lovers out there, I know you're going to try and trash this post but let's be honest people... really honest... when you look at the competition and the way Fisker has marketed themselves against their true performance, I think you'll see I'm right and in the end I really hope I'm wrong. Advertising 80km per charge would be under the most perfect circumstances of which no one can practically replicate. You're buying a nice shell on a golf cart with a 2litre turbo engine in it.