Fisker to Purchase Former Delaware Saturn Plant to Build Plug-in Hybrid Cars

[Charlie]

A new story entry has been added:

Fisker to Purchase Former Delaware Saturn Plant to Build Plug-in Hybrid Cars

Fisker Automotive has selected the former GM/Saturn Wilmington Assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware to build affordable plug-in hybrid cars. Fisker executives made the announcement inside the dormant facility yesterday, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, Delaware Governor Jack Markell and other state officials. The plant will support Fisker Automotive's Project NINA, the development and build of an affordable, family-oriented plug-in hybrid sedan costing about $39,900 after federal tax credits.

[saturn 51]

Well it sounds good if they rehire from the recent laid of workers,at least someone will have a job.
G.M. quoted plant is closed forever shows they just wanted saturn to go away.

[Starduster_Sat]

This bears watching...

[John10]

$39,900 AFTER tax credits is affordable? Anyone trying to sell a new car at that MSRP had also better hope the credit situation loosens up because currently in the credit market a large number of "average" people are not going to qualify for financing.

[Teh_Freak]

Originally Posted by John10

$39,900 AFTER tax credits is affordable?

Compared to the Karma, yes. The vehicle will most likely be like the Tesla Model S, a competitor for the BMW 5 series, to justify the price. It's actually pretty smart how they're working, from the top end of the market down.

[Dante]

I would really like to see Fisker succeed. The Karma is absolutely gorgeous, but way out of reach for most. The Model S mentioned Teh_Freak is a design by Tesla... not the same company. Tesla currently makes (only) the Lotus Elise-based "Tesla Roadster" electric car (which is pretty cool in and of itself, but mostly as an engineering exercise - they just had Lotus build them a modified chassis into which they dropped a huge battery stack and other custom drivetrain bits and wired it all up to make it go).

Fisker is about design from the inside out with an eye for detail and beauty. Tesla is more like a grad-student project team from MIT. Fisker is more like the BMW design group, sophisticated engineering, inspiring design.

I was quite hopeful and pleased reading the article... until I got to the last paragraph, where it mentioned the UAW. I hope for Fisker's sake they can avoid the morasse of working with the UAW. Just because they purchase the building, they shouldn't be FORCED into working with the slimeballs running the UAW. God bless those people who worked in the Wilmington factory, I hope they all can return to work there to build awesome new Fisker cars, but I hope the UAW has nothing to do with it. I'd bet a Solstice that the UAW will be running the joint before it's all said and done, and sadly, that will add about $4k to the cost of the car, pushing it out of range of a large number of buyers.

I also see the irony of Fisker building electric cars in the ~$40k price range in what used to be a GM plant, right about the time the Chevy Volt hits the streets (and hopefully soon thereafter the Caddy Converj). However, the Volt is supposed to be $40k base, closer to $33k after government tax breaks and such, but I bet they'll go for a premium....

[adventureoflink]

If Fisker must be unionized, they ought make their own union. Not get tied into the circus that is the UAW.