[rex]

My wife sent me this post about the Geneva autoshow, as I happen to be flying out of Geneva tommorow after some skiing nearby.

http://m.nbcnews.com/business/luxury-cars-going-green-geneva-motor-show-1C8752834

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1254854/Geneva-Motor-Show-Ferraris-200mph-eco-friendly-electric-hybrid-unveiled.html

I think I can squeeze in 90 minutes before I have to head out to check it out in person. Reading these reinforces that the world is changing, but slowly (and at a hefty price tag).

I have to say, I think Ferrari's hybrid is a bit of a gimmick to get from 14mpg to 20mpg - and the all electric SLK has the same range anxiety issues that led me to get the Fisker instead of Tesla... and the Porsche's range is silly low. Plus, WOW, did you see the price tag. The Fisker is a bargain!

This reinforces that I am glad I didn't wait for the rest of the established marques to catch up, because they haven't. I'll be glad to be home soon to drive my Fisker.

 

[Antonin]

I think most manufacturers are fitting batteries as afterthought. Well, let's do an electric car, but let's not spend too much on engineering budget. Fisker has huge advantage with pre-designed space for battery and bit the bullet on the car's weight because of that. Due to some peculiar EU calculations of emissions across the whole manufacturer's range, manufacturers are at the moment paying lip service to electric cars only to satisfy Brussels bureaucracy. So Fisker and Tesla have slight advantage at the moment, with all the negative baggage that comes with it. It's all about weight and cost of batteries I am afraid.

 

[rex]

Pictures from the Geneva Autoshow

I had about an hour and a half to run through the show and snap some pictures of each plug-in I could find. Good stuff. Fisker had a nice exhibition space next to Ferrari, and I told the folks there how much I love mine... and they gave me some Fisker logo golf balls that are biodegradable (THANKS!).

Enjoy the pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

 

[Stefan]

Thanks for sharing the impressions.

The Fisker people have learnd from last years show. In 2012, it was an open space area and they had to lock the cars until a sales guy was able to show you the car.

Unfortunately, there have been no giveaways at all...



Stefan
German Karma Forum
www.karma-forum.de

 

[dennis]

The new $1M+ hypercars shown at Geneva (McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918) are all fitting hybrid powertrains to boost performance, leveraging the KERS technology developed for Formula 1. The McLaren integrates a 200hp electric motor and 260lb. battery back with a 700hp twin turbo V8. They fitted larger turbos than on the MP4-12C for more top end, and use the electric motor to compensate for turbo lag and to slow the ICE revs for faster upshifts (rev matching). While the P1 can run all electric for a few miles, the hybrid powertrain is not about eco, its about performance.

 

[rex]

Hi Dennis, I was being tongue and cheek about Ferrari giving a rip about eco-friendly. Pretty clever use of technology envisioned for green, making the car "mean" and faster. McLaren in was just amazing looking.

 

[EVer1]

Your model x description was perfect - if not for the actual car, at least for your picture. Maybe the x will be a top seller in Japan.