One of the more interesting stories to emerge from the Hurricane Sandy disaster is out of Port Newark. It is yet more data on the usefulness of the oh-so-green hybrid vehicles.
Sixteen or so of the snooty Fisker Karma hybrids — which cost over $100,000 each! — were flooded by Sandy’s surge while they were parked, awaiting distribution. The amazingly well-made cars proceeded to explode and burn. It turns out that flooding apparently shorts out their electrical systems, which then set fire to their gasoline systems. It also turns out that this problem is nothing new — indeed, Fisker hybrids, so chock full of lithium-ion batteries, have quite a habit of shorting and burning. Who could have predicted that large numbers of batteries submerged in water could prove problematic?
Fisker has responded that while it doesn’t know what caused the fires, it has confidence in the Fisker Karma. Confidence.
Perhaps it would help future consumers to rename the brand “Fisker Fire Bombs.” That might alert future consumers to a potential problem.
Fisker, recall, was one of the “winners” that Obama selected to receive massive taxpayer support in The Great Green Cause. But The Cause just continues to bomb out.
