Fisker Santa Monica Opening

Administrator · #1 11-07-2009, 07:14 AM

True believers swamp Fisker opening

MARK RECHTIN
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
NOVEMBER 6, 2009 - 10:32 AM ET

LOS ANGELES -- If ever there were a place an $87,900 plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle would be a smash hit, it would be in the People's Republic of Santa Monica.

After all, there's a city codicil that says residents must drive a Prius to enter the Whole Foods parking lot. Well, not really. They can get an exemption if they own a Tesla.

So it came as little surprise that the grand opening of the Santa Monica Fisker dealership, which included a display of a swoopy Fisker Karma hybrid sedan, would be heaving with people. The invite-only event, held at a former Lexus dealership repurposed to house the Fisker franchise, was limited to 200 invitees. Judging by appearances, most showed up. In ADD-plagued Los Angeles, that alone is saying something.

Although the beverage served was chardonnay, not Kool-Aid, you'd never know it from the true believers in attendance. Many of these folks had made deposits on the car without ever seeing it in person. Only Ferrari gets away with that tactic.

Not bad for a fledgling car company with zero track record that won't begin serial production until next year, if all goes according to plan. Of course, Fisker is full of “according to plan” promises: 50 miles electric range, 250 miles full-tank range, zero-to-60 in six seconds.

Federal loans help

Sounds too good to be true.

And it probably was, until the Feds ponied up a half-billion dollars in r&d assistance funds a couple months ago. Now customers are lining up to see for themselves, with checkbooks out.

Ian Taras, an ob/gyn from Woodland Hills, is 79th on the nationwide list to receive his Karma. He sees no irony in wearing his Tesla polo shirt to a Fisker event. He's hanging on to his electric roadster, at least until Fisker's convertible arrives. The Karma is to replace his wife's hulking Infiniti QX56 that he jokes “has a helicopter flying alongside, refueling you as you drive.”

He and three friends each signed up for a Karma after seeing it at the Los Angeles auto show.

“There are so many nay-sayers saying, ‘Oh, it's an $80,000 car,'” Taras says. “You know what? We're doing the right thing. We're reducing our dependence on foreign oil. And it's a great car. We can have our cake and eat it too.”

Real estate developer Artie Berrick fell in love with the car when he saw an ad on a rotating billboard in an airport.

“I almost missed my flight waiting for the Fisker picture to come around again,” laughs Berrick, who is 34th on the nationwide wait list.

“Before now, you had to settle if you wanted a green car. It wasn't so sexy. But this car is green and amazing, and it holds two sets of golf clubs. The only bad thing is that I can't have it right now,” Berrick adds.

Finding the right dealer

Fisker found the perfect dealer to represent the franchise in LA. Mike Sullivan knows the West side like no one else. Remember, it was Sullivan, not Toyota, who put all those Hollywood stars in brand-new Priuses to drive to the Oscars. He well understands the care and feeding of A-listers who are known by their first names. Leo. Tom. Cameron.

Sullivan already has 120 reservations in hand for the Fisker Karma sedan, many of whom are for folks not accustomed to waiting for what they want.

“There's not a guy here who wants to be second in line,” Sullivan says. “Two-thirds of the people waiting, you would recognize on the cover of a magazine. Yet, we all know it has to be a slow roll-out. It's a startup. There are always issues.”

Once the launch fervor dies down, Sullivan thinks he can sell seven to 10 Karmas a month. Once the Sunset convertible arrives, there will be some cannibalization, but the two nameplates combined should total about 15 units a month.

Who knows what he can do when “Project Nina,” the $50,000 sedan targeted for 2012, arrives in the store.

In so-cool So Cal, where a Mercedes-Benz is called a “Newport Nissan,” Sullivan figures the Nina will fly off the lots. The Karma already is.

You can reach Mark Rechtin at mrechtin@crain.com.