FISKER KARMA

FISKER KARMA

As a 5,300-pound, full-size, four-door sedan, Fisker Karma is an unusual supercar: it is fuel efficient and “the first true electric luxury vehicle with extended range” capable of 112 miles per gallon of gas. Karma made its debut at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. Fisker uses cheap, lightweight sheet molding compound body panels to decrease weight and increase fuel efficiency.

Karma is a hybrid powered by a four-cylinder, 2,000-cc, 260-horsepower turbocharged engine and by two 120-kilowatt electric motors charged by lithium ion batteries. The front-mounted four-cylinder gas engine generates electricity for the drive motors and the batteries. The electric motors are the sole forces directly driving the wheels. Karma has the top speed of 125-mph and reaches 60 mph in 6.3 seconds – those are ambitious claims for a car weighing more than two and a half tons.

The cars are manufactured in Finland. The first deliveries occurred in the USA in July 2011, and about 1,800 units went to North America and Europe by December 2012. Production suspended in November 2012 with about 2,450 Karmas built. Fisker Automotive filed for bankruptcy in November 2013. Successor owners say they plan to resume Karma production by the end of 2014 or early 2015.

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BMW 3-SERIES

Successor to the BMW New Class, it has been produced in six different generations and in five different body styles. It is BMW’s best-selling model, accounting for around 30 percent of the BMW brand’s annual total sales. The BMW 3 Series has won numerous awards throughout its history: The 3 Series has been on Car and Driver magazine’s annual Ten Best list 22 times, from 1992 until 2014, making it the longest running entry in the list. In their December 2009 issue, Grassroots Motorsports magazine named the BMW 3 Series the second-most important performance car built during the previous 25 years. The E90 was named “Best New Sports Sedan” in the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year awards. Also, it was awarded the World Car of the Year at the New York Auto Show in 2006. 

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2016 TESLA MODEL X SUV

2016 TESLA MODEL X SUV

Top speed: 155 MPH

Once it hits the show room floor, the Tesla Model X SUV will be the newest automobile sold on the market with gull wing doors. Although the Model X has seen delays for its release which was originally scheduled in late 2014, the auto is already expecting to be sold out for its first model year. The all-electric crossover will be sold with the same battery varieties that are being offered with the Model S sedan (these include the 60 kWh, 85 kWh, and 85 kWh Performance options). All variants of the Model X SUV will be sold with a dual-motor all-wheel drive (this is an option for the Model S). Fans of gull wing doors and emerging technology are already lining up to make the Model X SUV a success.

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