Hoovie brought me a Super Rare & Super Weird FISKER KARMA! 

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If you see a Fisker in your rearview there's a 99% chance you are a tow truck driver.

Fun fact for you, Wizard: From 2017 - 2023, I worked for the manufacturer of the Karma Hybrid gas tanks, and it was the FIRST double-molded gas tanks produced in the world, and I was there to see be a part of it. Also fun fact, Karma placed a huge order for the tanks, ran into some serious financial troubles, took three deliveries from us, and when I left in 2023, we still a couple hundred of their very expensive gas tanks just sitting in out warehouse waiting for disposition. We made them in Indiana, the same plant that made tanks for Corvette/XLR, Ford GT, P42, H61Be, CUSW, Civic, RU, J34a, and TGVA. Those are platform names. All had their own intricacies, but the Karma topped them all. My understanding was that it was a change or supposed to be for a redesign.

Interesting how Fisker is maybe one of the very few manufacturers who actually did what all the concept car drawings have - a relatively low chassis on a huge wheels. That is mostly why the car looks so good in person. I've seen 2 Karmas rolling around where I live - they are amazing for their age.

Its like if a maserati and a saab has sexytime together.

Too bad it was a failure because it is a lot better looking than a Volt or a Prius.

You can still buy one of these from the successor company, which markets the car as the Karma Revero. It is a Chinese-owned company operating from Irvine, California. One of the interesting things not shown in this video is how cramped the interior is for such a huge vehicle.

There is a used car dealership near my home and for some random reason, they have about a dozen of these things and have for years. No one wants them 😂

This car is functionally the same as the Chevy Volt. Fisker basically bought the drive-trains from GM to use in this car to make a sport/luxury vehicle. As such, this would be an "extended range electric vehicle" like Chevy marketed the Volt as. It was a cool idea plagued by severe and serious quality issues up to and including self immolation with little or no warning. It's cool, but I wouldn't have one.

The aluminum castings that make up the suspension and structural supports are impressive. No cheap stamped steel components.

When the Fisker Company failed, Bob Lutz (ex Chrysler CEO) in 2013 created VLF which was to be Corvette ZR1 engines refitted into the Karma, as a large inventory of unsold cars existed. At least one was made - called the Destino - and it was fast, but the donor Karma was/is a very heavy car. Tested by R&T with positives, but I don't think the venture went far.

Fisker sounds like a cat food.🐱

Blower motor is a Corvette item. Easy removal thru the gloebox area.

I hope it never requires a new battery production stopped in November 2022, the sole supplier filed for bankruptcy after two recalls. Approx 2450 were built A rare car, just pray that you don't require oem only parts.

I feel ya on the sleeping my guy. Diagnosed with insomnia a few years back and has been an absolute STRUGGLE finding the proper balance of meds, diet, bed, everything. And heavily affects my daily life. Basically scheduling is key, I have to be in bed at a certain time, take meds at certain times, no late night snacking, plus if my sleep gets off it throws every freaking thing else off. Glad you’ve addressed your issues and hope it stays under control for ya!!

Another vehicle not to be touched with a 50ft bargepole.

That Fisker sound reminds me of the "Hypno-Toad" from Futurama.

Fiskar Garden Scissor execs..."Let's get in on the hybrid automobile craze".

You went up a notch in my estimation because you have a cat and a beautiful one at that. I looked on that mattress website. $1000 for a mattress? Are you kidding me? Regular price $1300. No thanks. That Fisker is one of the neatest looking cars I've ever seen. It's a hybrid hybrid.

Daisy is giving the mattress a CAT 🐈 scan 😂

HERE IN CA. WE SAW MANY OF THESE ,THE KARMA, I ALWAYS LOVED THE DESIGN OF IT, TRULY BEAUTIFUL. SOME OF THEMOVIE STARS OWNED THEM, PRETTY EXPENSIVE WHEN NEW THOUGH. COOL ASS CAR THOUGH.

Not a jaguar hood it's a corvette hood because fisker designed the c4-c6 years. Hence all the GM. It's a range extended hybrid.

My son works in a small collision shop, his boss bought one of these a few years ago. He had it for about a little more than a year, had his fun with it then sold it. I must say it is a cool looking car.

Fisker. The name is about to be associated with 2 bankruptcy fillings in a decade and change . The first company was Low quality vehicles that were parts bin specials ! Not sure about quality on the second gen cars but probably will be a giant pass! No one will deny beautiful lines but he unreliable aspect is a no thank you !

I know one guy in Russia, who bought the wrecked Fisker and restored it perfectly!

In January I went to look at a 1972 AMC Ambassador station wagon. Arrive and see there are 4 warehouses and some Model T's at the beginning of the driveway before a pristine 58 Caddy, 61 Rambler, and 57 Chevy. Out in front was this black car that I had never seen before. It was a 2102 Fisker Karma. The property was full of cars, older than 1970, awaiting restoration by this professional. Yes, I bought the wagon as it was in fabulous condition.

I think they look spectacular. But they're infamous for not being reliable. If I had the talent to drop the drive train of a 2d Gen Chevy Volt into one, I do it and call it a day. Props to your sponsor, BTW, I've had a Helix for 5 years and it's still sleeps awesome

If I'm not wrong; Henrik Fisker did some Aston designs before starting Fisker Automobiles - hence the 007- look 😉

Here in Ontario Canada it is mandatory by law that the exhaust MUST exit after the paasenger compartmentfor obvious reasons!

in winter it would be weird to see the exhaust coming from the front wheels

Also, it's the same operating concept as a diesel locomotive. The gas engine drives an electric motor, which is connected to the wheels

Yay! My first time meeting Daisy the cat!

I reality, FISKER KARMA conceptually designed the electric car the right way. The job of the gas motor is not to drive the car but to charge the batteries which drive the electric motors. No more wasting hours of time at charging stations only to discover that they don't work in cold weather or that the cables have been cut off and stolen for the copper. In the FISKER KARMA if the batteries run down, the 2.4litre gas motor automatically comes on to charge them up without stopping. It is not very quick, 0-60 mph in about 7 seconds, but that is not the point. I think it carries about 10 gallons of fuel and gets 52 mpg. However, it is heavy 5,300lbs, wide 78inches, and low to the ground inches. Unfortunately, the 2025 CAMRY is just as efficient. Had the CAMRY kept the 8 speed automatic, we would all be happy. 😊

The idea/power train reminds me a little of the BMW I8, cool looking, in theory a performing hybrid built around a small ICE engine and electric support. Better looking than they performed

I love the styling and concept of these cars. Hybrid is the way to go. Electric daily but no range anxiety. It’s such a shame they went bankrupt. They’re not for the faint of wallet. It also looks a bit like the Aston Martin Rapide.

Fisker can pass everything on the road but the repair shops. 😂

I have a plug-in hybrid with approximately 30 miles of electric range and a 19 gallon fuel tank. It can charge its own battery if needed. I really like it a lot and think it's a much better answer than pure EV. I have solar so I charge it for free and run errands around town.... Then hit the road and fuel up in minutes. The best of all worlds.

Henrik Fisker is the most famous Danish car designer, however less lucky as a car manufacturer. He designed the awesome BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9, being the most famous of his designs and he of course designed his own cars, but the recycled environmentally cars he build, hasn't been well received (Karma and Ocean).

I love these! I’ve always looked at it as a farrrr better looking and driving first gen Chevy Volt. To my knowledge they’re fairly similar in application, just different implementation and better looking body. They’re PHEV’s in my opinion. At least that’s what I call my dad’s 2nd gen Volt. Also a pretty good car!

I remember a Fisker dealer opening in Northfield, IL, I would see it on my way to work. The dealer closed maybe 2-3 years later, I wasn't surprised.

Fisker. The one car brand that can make the worst Maserati purchase or Range Rover purchase look like financially responsible decisions.

These cars were made in southern California. Around 2013 my wife and I were traveling and stopped at the (only) Fisker showroom in Newport Beach. I had read about the Karma and I wanted to see one up close. I found the car to be really innovative and very well styled. The gas-electric feature was very interesting. The interior was comfortable. Those diamond shaped emblems are a feature seen on the interior of the car also. ??? The drive system is a kind of a quasi hybrid system. I was told the company was Chinese financed. Unfortunately, the support and servicing for these cars was very limited making owning one somewhat tricky. I found a place in San Francisco that was “certified” to work on these. I’m glad to see a the 2012 model here in fairly good condition. Fisker has built some inventive cars in the past.

They could have done some things with this. They have a Fisker Ocean (suv) out now. This used a Chevy Ecotec motor. I think the motor from the Chevy Cobalt turbo SS.

MISS DAISY 😍😍😍. Funny thing is my brothers cat is Named Daisy (Duke), he was gonna name her something else but i suggested naming his pets after the duke family and now he has Boe and Daisy

My brother owns one, they do 50 miles on the battery, so when u around town thats all electric, on the highway u can push on the engine and it does 10km on a liter fuel, its a heavy car. He had some electric issues with it, mostly relais gone bad, to fix that costs $3K at a time.

Don't worry. It will be back in the shop over and over for additional videos.

The Karma is one of the best drawn models after 2000.... After the Karma we see all kinds of idiot models appear in the hyper car segment.

I seen a white one in Rohnert Park CA. at Costco about 4 years ago it looked real nice in person i drove all around it because he parked were no one was at.

I LOVE THE DESIGN FROM THE REAR, OUTSTANDING DESIGN.

Would love to have gotten the cabin tour on this one.

Seems the gas motor just charges the battery pack? I think the Chevy Volt works like that.

Their design looked so beautiful to me.

What? No tour of the interior? That's the best part!

I believe it will be Bad "Karma" to own one David.☺️

The Fisker Karma is a hybrid. Fisker saw an opportunity for a luxury sports hybrid well before others. Tesla's EV proved there was a premium electric market. The major manufacturers denied that it existed and put out all sorts of negative press while they attempted to catch up. But old slow companies take forever and often looked at the electric part as an alternate drive train for existing products - dumb. Fisker was well received but had serious quality issues. While they sorted themselves out Tesla became the darling of the EV world and GM succeeded in getting out a small portfolio that drew a line in the sand. It may have just been bad timing, as is too often the case, as the hybrid market is really heating up. I mean no range anxiety and very low gas consumption. Who'd have thought that that much of your fuel was burned just getting up to speed. The battery get you there and then that little 2.0 liter direct injected turbo charged four cylinder gives you cruising power while consuming very little gas. EuroAsian Bob needs to bring in a BMW i8. Then the Wizard will understand.

I like how the comment section for this community is often posting exactly what I’m thinking of posting so all I have to do is upvote. Good people here.

Its operates as a pure EV until its battery capacity drops to a predetermined threshold from full charge. From there, its gasoline engine powers an electric generator to extend the vehicle's range as needed. While running on gasoline at high speeds the engine may be mechanically linked (by a clutch) to a generator set, improving efficiency. Its regenerative braking also contributes to the on-board electricity generation

Kool car. We have had a handful show up at the Auto Auction I work at over the years. As long as any of the recalled issues have been taken care of they seem like they would be pretty nice.

I always wanted one of these, but once again, Mr. dream crusher by way of reality proves just because you can buy the vehicle doesn’t mean you can afford the vehicle. Toyota it is! 😅

This car is full of character, just like you Mr. Wizard (but you are definitely more reliable!). Thanks for the video.

I think I remember Bieber driving one when they first came out. It could have been all chrome. And the styling reminds me of the 1998 Chrysler Chronos show car.

Car Wizard, love your videos. Could you do a video on the GM auto 4wd and cover when to use it, when not to use it, and what causes the most failures. Thanks!

It's a plug in hybrid. Agreed, what a weird car. Having it make a noise like that was likely a genius idea in 2012.

The cat on wizards mattress during the ad is priceless 😂

It is a beautiful Car......Thanks Wizard you are awesome my friend.....Congrats on 1.03M Subs Old F-4 II Pilot Shoe🇺🇸

I imagine there's an equally large generator attached to the gas engine. Interesting car, look forward to seeing more on it.

i’ve only seen one in person and i had no idea what it was until i looked for days online… it was in washington state and it was actually all beat up and dented…

Made in Finland, baby! 🍻 Like the Saab 900 Cabrios, Mk1 Porsche Boxters, newer Mercedes A series and Talbot Horizons to name a few. I think this kind of hybrids are the best. Original Chevy Volt/Opel Ampera were cool as heck. Make ICE generator hybrids a thing again. Full electric is just dumb.

The first hybrids over 100 years ago were electric vehicles with generators that could extend their range and charge them. So it was common to park it and leave the engine running to charge it, then off you went when you got out of the store/shop. A car like a prius is technically a dual engine car, since you have two power plants operating simultaneously through one transmission. So you sacrifice a bit of efficiency from both systems. IMO, this is the way to engineer a true hybrid - a generator and an electric motor that it feeds, offering the best compromise and efficiency.

I def like the concept behind the Karma; hybrid plus a charge port and even the solar panels. Although how the exhaust would pass, say Virginia's safety inspection could be a problem since it dumps just behind the front wheels.

The weird sound it makes reminds me of "Hypnotoad" from Futurama.

Car wizard hello. The exhausts come from the engine IN FRONT OF THE REAR WHEELS. Godspeed. Thank you.

The pre-production cars on local highway back in the day were quite a sight 😲

The fact that the solar panels can help supply the HVAC system, should, in theory, reduce the draw from the batteries for actually getting down the road, thereby *indirectly* adding some range to the vehicle on average over long time periods.

Old Peugeots have the fuel door integrated in the design, looking like there was two. 205 XSi and 306 S16 that I know. Probably more.

Idk about your state but in Pa u wouldn't be allowed to inspect that per our rules. Exhaust has to exit behind rear door, or in front of rear tire so no chance of leak in cab. I was pulled over and argued with cop cause my town car does this. Exit is behind rear door. Corvettes with side exhaust can get away cause of it being a 2 seater.

Some of those actually had a diesel generator in the front instead of the gas I like the gas a little more I think it's a little quieter since these are supposed to be quiet electric vehicles

It's a hybrid but more in terms of diesel electric locomotive as the part beyond pure electric stuff. It's a gasoline-electric-plug-in hybrid vehicle.

There’s one that’s been running around in my town for about 15 years. Although it’s been a while since my last sighting. But today I saw a cool Rat Rod and a Lambo Aventador. And the strange thing is, I live in a pretty small city. But for some reason, there are a lot of cool cars in this town. But the Fisker is indeed a strange vehicle. It looks pretty cool from most angles. And a bit strange at others. But I’ve always wondered why Fisker wasn’t able to make their business work. They were at the leading edge of the EV/hybrid market time-wise. Too bad they couldn’t get their house in order. They may of been making some really nice cars by now. I guess the pricing was probably ridiculous and they couldn’t sell enough to really become cost effective. Who knows? But looks like that definitely had a chance. I think they’ve been bounced around from owner to owner with little success. I believe they just released some newer SUV models but were trashed by RU-vidrs. So they’ll probably get sold again or close down.

These are one of the few cars that the first time I saw one I followed to find out what it was. Other than the grille it's beautiful.

I've only seen one of these on the road. Weird, rare car.

3:31 Oh, you fooled us. 😂 is Mrs. WIZARD writing your jokes again? 😅 Gorgeous design, I remember seeing one of these on the road. Unfortunately, it's more of a Karma Fister then a Fisker Karma. I really hope some of these newer car companies can survive long enough to work out the bugs. Really is a beautiful car.

Efison Motors do the same thing with their Topsy Electric Truck. It is an electric vehicle wiel a diesel extender.

Would be interesting to compare energy efficiency of this hybrid design vs. conventional hybrid arrangement.

Ain't nobody sicker in my Fisker, “vroom-vroom,” ho (Fiskers don't make noise when they start up)

Since Henrik Fisker was involved with designing the Aston Martin DB9 and BMW Z8, 2 incredibly beautiful cars IMO, it’s not surprising that the Karma is very visually appealing to me. Sadly its mechanical/electrical complexity isn’t appealing at all. I love seeing Daisy, she’s a beautiful cat!

I saw one around town (Vancouver, Canada) in the early 2010s. The styling reminds me of both Aston Martin and Maserati. I've heard the driveline described as a serial hybrid: engine charges the battery, battery runs the motor(s). The Chevy Volt did the same thing.

Henrik Fisker, I believe, designed the Aston Martin DB9 so you can see the resemblance. The Karma was a series hybrid plug in. Similar to BMW i3 with range extender 2 cylinder motorcycle engine. Karma should have started with a BMW engine vs a low horsepower Chevy. Company went bankrupt with its battery supplier went bankrupt. Chinese took over and renamed d REVERO. They replaced the Chevy engine in later version with BMW I8 high performance 3 cylinder.

This car is proof that automotive designers and engineers need each other, this thing was made way more for looks than actual functionality

Please detail the troubleshooting processes for us to enjoy! What and exciting project! Thanks Car Wizard for the awesome content!

One of the parents at a local private school had one of these when I was delivering pizzas there like 10 years ago. I've never seen one since and always wondered who bought these things new.

The first time I saw one was in 2021, and it was parker in front of me (I was picking something up from Best Buy) and the gentleman owning it walked up to it. He told me the value and I almost fainted..... well sort of. It was however sleek and beautiful.

A dealership down the road from my house has one of these on their lot. Never knew what it was until this video. Thought it was some weird early 2000s Maserati. Would've never guessed it'd be a hybrid with a 4 cyl.

I always loved these carrs! I loved them more than the super cars at the time

If its possible to have an exhaust as simple as that, that can be combined into thr front subframe, I wonder why we dont see this in all front wheel drive cars

It is an interesting story. Henrik Fisker has tried a couple of times, to do the impossible, create a new car brand. He has worked as designer for various automakers, I think it is BMW primarily. There is a newer, Fisker Ocean car that you can buy now, a few of them are driving in my neighborhood.

If there ever was a candidate for an LS swap, this would be it. Imagine this, but with all the 'prototype-but-somehow-made-it-to-production' stuff just torn out and replaced with stuff that we know works. The car is gorgeous, imagine how much more it would be if it could actually drive

Has very similar body lines of a c6 corvette. Just with an extra 2 doors.

This needs to be the wizards next car!!!! Snipe it off Hookie Hoovie that man has too many cars alllllllready!

Beautiful car but something like that should have a V12 or something, not a Chevy engine. Love my Helix mattress by the way, glad you got them as a sponsor.