Bob Lutz: Destino is the Fisker Karma people will actually want

Bob Lutz has had grandiose performance luxury car dreams before – Cunningham C7, anyone? – but the VL Automotive Destino that was just unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show was certainly a surprise, even to long-time Lutz-watchers. As a reminder, the Destino is a Fisker Karma with a 638-horsepower supercharged LS9 V8 transplanted from a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Plug? Gone. High-tech lithium-ion battery? Sold back to Fisker.

For now, the Destino project remains small. Bob Lutz tells AutoblogGreen that VL Automotive has so far purchased eight Karmas, and two have been turned into finished engineering prototypes. Fisker says a total of 20 have been ordered. Still, Lutz believes this is a car with an audience. "I just heard so many people say, I love the Fisker Karma but I'm not going to buy it because I don't want that electric drivetrain with the four-cylinder engine," he said. "So, when you think about it, for a car in that category, here's this ultra-luxurious, super-low, super-sporty, beautifully designed four-door sedan. Probably ten percent of the possible customers want that in an electric form with a four-cylinder."

To satisfy the other 90 percent Lutz envisions, VL Automotive buys the Karmas and then removes the battery pack (carefully setting it aside) at VL Automotive's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan – not far from Lutz's old job at Chrysler. "We were able to run the driveshaft right down the battery tunnel and we had to make a modification where the battery tunnel ends and the rear firewall starts, because the Corvette transaxle intruded somewhat, so we had to make a little aluminum doghouse that's welded to the vertical rear panel," Lutz told us. "They had a gas tank, but there's all this room left over." In the future, the conversions will be even easier, since VL will buy glider chassis direct from Valmet, in Finland, Lutz said.

From Fisker's point of view, buying the Karmas whole is actually a good thing, Lutz believes. "[Fisker] has had incredible hard luck," he said, "And with the battery supplier not producing batteries, they're actually glad if we buy new ones and ship the batteries and the electrical back to them for a credit – that permits them to build more cars."

That's a nice, symbiotic relationship, but Roger Ormisher, Fisker's senior director of global corporate communications & PR, confirmed to AutoblogGreen that this project is not a joint partnership or strategic alliance. He added:

Fisker believes that it [Destino] speaks to the appeal of the Karma and its stunning, award-winning design that coachbuilders are wanting to take our cars and modify and customize them. We join many famous brands in automotive history that have been the subject of customization and modification.

When the Destino becomes available, the price is expected to be around $180,000.

News Source: autoblog

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Cadillac ELR, Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas win Eyes on Design awards

This year's annual Eyes on Design awards were presented at the end of press days for the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday. Given out for the best production and concept car designs that debuted at the show, and voted on by an esteemed panel of actual car designers, this year's award for best production vehicle design went to the 2014 Cadillac ELR. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which was the show favorite among Autoblog editors, apparently did not impress the Eyes on Design judges enough with its all-new vent-festooned design.

The award for best concept design was actually split as a tie among the Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas concepts. Last year's winners were the 2013 Ford Fusion and the Lexus LF-LC concept.

The Eyes on Design organization also presented a new honor this year called the Catalyst Award to Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman of General Motors. Lutz is reported to have given a defense of design in his acceptance speech, arguing that advancements in quality across the industry as a whole have made good design a key differentiator for buyers.

News Source: The New York Times

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Fisker Karma production stoppage reaches 6 months, company claims "sufficient supply"

One result of the litany of problems that Fisker Automotive suffered in 2012 – floods, fires and recalls – was a production stoppage of the plug-in hybrid Karma that has already lasted six months. Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher told AutoblogGreen that the delay was due to an attempt to renegotiate the Valmet production contract and A123 Systems's bankruptcy proceedings.

He said:

Valmet traditionally shuts down for Scandinavian summer break from mid July to mid August. When they returned, our new management team wanted to renegotiate the contract with them and during this period, A123 started to enter bankruptcy. We took the prudent decision to conserve our battery stock and we already have sufficient supply of Karmas through Q1 of this year. By that time we hope to have renegotiated our battery supply with A123's new owners Wanxiang.

Despite that conservation of batteries, the truth is that Fisker isn't getting new batteries from A123 right now. One interesting side effect of the Destino project, Bob Lutz told AutoblogGreen, is that Fisker could get some battery packs back when they are taken out of already-built Karmas and, one day, put them into new vehicles. In August, Henrik Fisker said that Fisker had build "about 1,900" Karmas. Apparently, that's a comfortable enough margin, for now.

News Source: Reuters, Fisker

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Bob Lutz-approved Via X-Truck offers 800 hp, 100 MPGe

Give Bob Lutz a little bit of time and a big idea, and he will create for the world "the kind of vehicle I would like to own." That's what he called the X-Truck concept – from the Lutz-affiliated Via Motors – which debuted at the Detroit Auto Show. If you're thinking that the X-Truck (and Via's other offerings, the Presidential SUV and the VTRUX Van) looks a little like a Chevrolet vehicle, well, it certainly does. It's a converted 2013 Chevy Silverado, after all. The X-Truck, though, was changed inside and out. The truck now has a plug-in hybrid powertrain while the outside was redesigned by Lutz and his team to look a little meaner and beefier but still offer the "fuel economy of a Prius." The changes include custom running boards, fender flares and modified wheels. It's also been raised five inches. A built-in iPad not only communicates information to the driver, they but can also communicate with the service department to solve problems.

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Bob Lutz brings Destino, a ZR1-powered Karma, to Detroit

There's nothing wrong with the Fisker Karma that a honkin' American V8 engine won't fix. At least according to Bob Lutz, it seems. Called the VL Automotive Destino, this machine is the brainchild of industrialist Gilbert Villereal and the aforementioned Lutz, and is intended to compete with such well-regarded performance sedans as the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide.

As you can see, there are some significant styling changes made in the conversion from Karma to Destino, notably in the front and rear fascias, including exhaust tips out back and a new hood that's raised to accommodate what lies underneath. The interior is also reskinned and can be further customized by the buyer.

But it's the engineering work under that shapely skin that's truly noteworthy. Replacing the electric motor, battery pack and turbocharged range extender is one 638-horsepower supercharged LS9 V8 borrowed from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 driving the rear wheels through either a manual or automatic transmission. Power numbers are identical to the ZR1 and while fuel economy is not yet known, we can expect is to be a bit lower than the Corvette's 15 city / 24 highway.

The Destino will be built at VL Automotive's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and it will be delivered through still-in-development distribution network starting this summer. Pricing is expected to be around $180,000, which is significantly more than the Karma's $102,000 base price.

"Destino" Premiers at the 2013 North American International Auto Show

DETROIT, Mich., Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Destino made its world premier today at the North American International Auto show as the newest four-door performance car in the world market of exclusive automobiles. Based on an award-winning design by Henrik Fisker and powered by the internationally applauded Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 powertrain, Destino is the result of collaboration by industrialist Gilbert Villereal and former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz .

"The goal in designing and engineering this automobile is to provide true motoring enthusiasts with an exquisite work of automotive art that performs at a world-class level. Attention to detail is a paramount concern, as is reliability and ease of maintenance," according to Lutz. "We have made styling modifications to differentiate our design and reengineered the chassis to accommodate the 638bhp ZR1's handcrafted LS9 engine with either a manual or automatic transmission. The result is truly an American designed, engineered and manufactured four-door performance car that rivals such models as the Porsche Panamera and Aston-Martin-Lagonda Rapide.

"We are developing our distribution network now and will deliver Destino on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers will have the option of customizing the exterior color and interior trim," Lutz said.

Destino has an overall length of 202.8 inches and a 124.4 inch wheelbase. Overall height is 52.4 inches.

Destino will be manufactured in Auburn Hills, Michigan under the auspices of VL Productions. Destino is scheduled for retail sales in the second half of 2013 following certification and validation. Prototypes are currently in testing.

Additional information, specifications and photos are available at www.VL-Automotive.com.

SOURCE VL Productions

News Source: VL Automotive

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