Fisker Karma Debuts in San Jose at Santana Row

Fisker Silicon Valley showcases the Fisker Karma today, a cutting-edge plug-in hybrid american sports car that gives drivers a premium green transportation option. Also at the event, Coulomb Technologies provides the Fisker Karma with a charge using one of it's many ChargePoint stations located around Northern California. Early last year Fisker unveiled the Karma for the first time (shown in the video below), the Santana Row debut marks the opening of their first showrooms and public availability for the Karma starting in 2010.

Fisker Silicon Valley, the local retailer for Fisker Automotive, an American manufacturer of premium green automobiles, today unveiled the Fisker Karma at Santana Row, a vibrant retail, residential and office neighborhood, in San Jose. The four-seat, plug-in hybrid hardtop convertible provides 50 emission-free miles on a single charge to its lithium-ion battery pack and up to 403hp from two electric motors.

The design may seem familliar to those who have been following Tesla and it's Model S due out next year, there is speculation that the design was actually "borrowed" when Fisker recruited several top Tesla engineers last year.

"The Karma furthers the Fisker belief that driving style and performance need not be compromised for environmental friendliness," said Adam Simms, owner of Fisker Silicon Valley. "We are very excited to be the Silicon Valley source for this luxury plug-in hybrid and think this market -- with its strong awareness of green transportation issues -- will be a good fit for the Fisker brand. We are happy to be a part of this community and support San Jose's efforts with its Green Vision," said Simms.

The new Fisker Silicon Valley outlet is less than a half hour drive from Tesla's headquarters and Palo Alto dealership. Silicon Valley has the interest in clean tech, love of cars, and money to make it the best spot in the US for early adoption of EV's. Later this year the highly anticipated, less expensive Aptera will be launched in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley in limited quantities for the same reason.

Fisker Silicon Valley will be among the first group of U.S. retailers to market and service the Fisker Automotive luxury plug-in hybrid vehicles, beginning with the $87,900, 100mpg Karma which is $21,100 less than it's currently available competitor, the $109K Tesla Roadster. This will change in 2011 when the Tesla Model S is launched, but prices may fluctuate on the Karma as well during this period. The Model S will cost ~$50K and seat up to 7 passengers.

"I am delighted to welcome Fisker to Silicon Valley," said Mayor Chuck Reed. "As a leader in clean-tech innovation, we are working regionally to make the Bay Area the electric vehicle capital of the world. Having a variety of options like Fisker vehicles available to our residents will help put San Jose on the road to improving air quality, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing our dependence on foreign oil."

For the debut of the Fisker Karma, Coulomb Technologies demonstrated the simplicity of charging the vehicle via its ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Station, installed at Santana Row for the event. This installation complements existing charging stations installed in July 2008 -- when San Jose became the first large U.S. city to test electric-car charging stations from Coulomb Technologies. The charging stations are outfitted in public and mounted on streetlight poles and garages.

"Coulomb is thrilled to be a part of the debut of the Fisker Karma and are confident that it will open up the plug-in hybrid market by satisfying consumer demand for a performance vehicle that is both beautiful and green," said Richard Lowenthal, CEO, Coulomb Technologies. "We are pleased that the open architecture infrastructure of our charging stations will allow Karma owners an easy, fast and reliable place to charge," said Lowenthal.

If you can't afford the $50K+ that most of these new plugin hybrids and pure EV's go for and you don't live in the Silicon Valley, or you don't want to be put on a waiting list then you might consider this alternative.

ABOUT FISKER AUTOMOTIVE, INC.

Fisker Automotive, founded in 2007 by Fisker Coachbuild, LLC and Quantum Technologies (QTWW), is a privately owned American car company producing premium green automobiles. Global headquarters are located in Irvine, Calif., with Henrik Fisker as CEO. The company is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Palo Alto Investors and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). More information is available at www.fiskerautomotive.com.

ABOUT COULOMB TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Coulomb Technologies (http://www.coulombtech.com), headquartered in Campbell, Calif., offers a family of products and services that provide a plug-in vehicle charging infrastructure, which includes ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations ranging in capability from 120V 15A to 240V 80A AC charging to 120kW DC charging. Coulomb applies networking technology to the challenge of charging electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in order to fuel the electric transportation industry. Coulomb's ChargePoint Network (http://www.mychargepoint.net) addresses the needs of drivers, utilities, governments, and parking space owners. For more information, please visit http://www.coulombtech.com. Follow Coulomb on Twitter at http://twitter.com/coulombevi.

ABOUT SAN JOSE'S GREEN VISION

On October 7, 2007, Mayor Chuck Reed introduced San Jose's Green Vision, which sets 10 ambitious goals for environmental protection and economic development. This 15-year plan envisions: creating 25,000 Clean Tech jobs; building or retrofitting 50 million square feet of green buildings; installing 100,000 solar roofs (1/10 of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1 million solar roofs for California initiative); reducing per capita electricity use by half; becoming a zero waste city; recycling and reusing 100 percent of the city's water; and moving to 100 percent renewable energy. A key part of the San Jose Green vision is the creation of a Green Mobility system -- an integrated and sustainable way to get from place to place. Working to generate demand which further elevates zero emissions/alternative fuel transportation viability, San Jose is confronting the global climate crisis and end domestic dependence on fossil fuels.

ABOUT THE CITY OF SAN JOSE

From its founding in 1777 as California's first city, San Jose has been a leader, driven by its spirit of innovation. Today, San Jose stands as the largest city in Northern California and the Capital of Silicon Valley -- the world's leading center of innovation. The city, the 10th largest in the U.S. with a population of more than 1 million, is committed to remaining a top-ranked place to do business, to work and to live. For more information, visit, www.sanjoseca.gov.