Henrik Fisker returns with the EMotion, a 400-mile EV coming in 2017

By Stephen Edelstein Published October 31, 2016

Henrik Fisker is getting back into the electric car game with a new design seemingly aimed at both Tesla Motors and his old company, which has been reconstituted as Karma Automotive. Now we know what that car will be called.

Say hello to the Fisker EMotion, a name that is sure to confound spellcheck programs everywhere. As shown in previous teaser images, the EMotion is a sleek sedan that bears a familial resemblance to some of Fisker’s other recent designs. It will make its official debut sometime in 2017.

Recommended Videos

Read more: Mercedes will build 10 new electric cars by 2025

The car itself is certainly striking but is not quite as pretty as the original Fisker Karma (which will soon re-enter production as the Karma Revero). The large, curved windshield, low hood, and butterfly doors are dramatic touches, but the rest of the car seems to just crib styling details from Fisker’s VLF Force 1 sports car, itself seemingly a restyled version of the Dodge Viper.

At least the specs are impressive. Fisker claims the EMotion will have a top speed of 161 mph and a range of 400 miles. That range, which beats the Tesla Model S by 85 miles, will be made possible by graphene battery cells, Fisker claims. The EMotion will also use a body structure made from a mix of carbon fiber and aluminum to keep weight down, with a battery-pack layout intended to maximize interior space.

Fisker says the EMotion will be built at “an existing facility in the U.S.A.” It is possible that facility will be VLF Automotive’s shop in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Fisker is the “F” in “VLF,” which was founded by former General Motors executive Bob Lutz and businessman Gilbert Villarreal. In addition to the Fisker-designed Force 1, VLF builds the Destino, a Fisker Karma with the V8 engine from a Chevrolet Corvette in place of the original extended-range electric powertrain.

Details on a production schedule for the EMotion will be revealed after the car’s official unveiling. Meanwhile, Karma Automotive continues to work to get the original Fisker Karma back into production as the Revero. Owned by Chinese auto-parts giant Wanxiang, Karma plans to build cars in the U.S. at a new factory in Moreno Valley, California.

Topics

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Audi halts vehicle deliveries to the U.S. as it mulls impact of tariffs

2021 Audi Q5

If you’d been thinking of buying an Audi, now might be the time. The German brand, owned by the Volkswagen Group, has announced it would halt shipments to the U.S. in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles.
Audi is currently holding cars that arrived after the tariffs took effect, on April 3, in U.S. ports. But it still has around 37,000 vehicles in its U.S. inventory, which should be able to meet demand for about two months, according to Reuters.
Automakers on average hold enough cars to meet U.S. demand for about three months, according to Cox Automotive.
Audi should be particularly affected by the tariffs: The Q5, its best-selling model in the U.S., is produced in Mexico, while other models, such as the A3, A4, and A6 are produced in Germany.
Holding shipments is obviously a temporary measure to buy time for Audi and parent company Volkswagen. If tariffs stay in place, vehicle prices would likely have to go up accordingly, unless some production is shifted to the U.S. Volkswagen already has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is planning a new plant in South Carolina. That latter plant, however, isn’t expected to be operational until 2027 and is currently dedicated to building electric vehicles for VW’s Scout Motors brand.
Other global automakers have also taken drastic measures in response to Trump’s tariffs. Jaguar Land Rover on April 5 said it is pausing shipments of its its UK-made cars to the United States this month. The British sports-luxury vehicle maker noted that the U.S. market accounts for nearly a quarter of its global sales, led by the likes of Range Rover Sports, Defenders, and Jaguar F-PACE.
And on April 3, Nissan, the biggest Japanese vehicle exporter to the United States, announced it will stop taking new U.S. orders for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs, the QX50 and QX55.

Cars

Waymo faces questions about its use of onboard cameras for AI training, ads targeting

Two people exit a Waymo taxi.

In an iconic scene from the 2002 sci-fi film Minority Report, on-the-run Agent John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise, struggles to walk through a mall as he’s targeted by a multitude of personalized ads from the likes of Lexus, Guinness and American Express, everytime hidden detectors identify his eyes.
It was clearly meant as a warning about a not-so-desirable dystopian future.
Yet, 23 years later that future is at least partlially here in the online world and threatens to spread to other areas of daily life which are increasingly ‘connected’, such as the inside of cars. And the new testing grounds, according to online security researcher Jane Manchun Wong, might very well be automated-driving vehicles, such as Waymo’s robotaxis.
On X, Wong unveiled an unreleased version of Waymo’s privacy policy that suggests the California-based company is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including interior cameras, to train generative AI models and to offer targetted ads.
“Waymo may share data to improve and analyze its functionality and to tailor products, services, ads, and offers to your interests,” the Waymo’s unreleased privacy statement reads. “You can opt out of sharing your information with third parties, unless it’s necessary to the functioning of the service.”
Asked for comments about the unreleased app update, Waymo told The Verge that it contained “placeholder text that doesn’t accurately reflect the feature’s purpose”.
Waymo’s AI-models “are not designed to use this data to identify individual people, and there are no plans to use this data for targeted ads,” spokesperson Julia Ilina said.
Waymo’s robotaxis, which are operating on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, do contain onboard cameras that monitor riders. But Ilina says these are mainly used to train AI models for safety, finding lost items, check that in-car rules are followed, and to improve the service.
The new feature is still under development and offers riders an opportunity to opt out of data collection, Ilina says.
But as we all get used to ads targeting based on everything that’s somehow connected to the web, it seems a once-distant vision of the future may be just around the corner.

Cars

Waymo’s driverless cars are about to begin an overseas adventure

Waymo Jaguar I-Pace

Waymo’s autonomous cars are about to appear on streets outside of the U.S. for the first time.

The company on Wednesday announced on social media that its autonomous cars will be driving onto the streets of Tokyo, Japan, “soon,” with some reports suggesting the rollout will begin as early as next week.