Hasta La Gadget!

Recall Fisker’s latest fiery episode last week that left the front left quarter panel of a Karma hybrid EV burnt to a crisp in a Woodside, California parking lot? As promised, the company has completed its investigation with Pacific Rim Investigative Services Group into the scene, reporting that it’s “located the ignition source to the left front of the Karma, forward of the wheel, where the low temperature cooling fan is located.” As such, Fisker has decided to issue a full-on recall of the unit, although it’s currently unclear if this and it affects all Karmas on the road. That said, Fisker is also stressing “that the incident was not caused by the Lithium-ion battery pack, new technology components, engine component packaging or unique exhaust routing of the Fisker Karma” — naturally, the usual suspects for these types of accidents that keep plaguing the fledgling automaker. At least its new CEO Tony Posawatz is extremely qualified to handle the task at hand — after all, a few weeks ago he was Volt-maker, GM’s, Vehicle Line Director. Hit up the press release after the break for details about the investigation and its findings.

Update: When asked about whether the recall affects all Karma models currently on the road, a representative simply (and promptly) replied to us stating, “yes” — well then.

Continue reading Fisker completes investigation of latest Karma hybrid EV fire, issues vehicle-wide cooling fan recall

Filed under: Transportation

Fisker completes investigation of latest Karma hybrid EV fire, issues vehicle-wide cooling fan recall originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Aug 2012 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Digital Reader has done some clever sleuthing to find a filing by Amazon’s shell company, Harpers LLC. The filing shows a fairly large, 10-inch 4:3 screen device that should launch in the fall.

You can see the filing here.

The image doesn’t give us much – just the sticker placement on the device – but since the rest of the files will be unsealed in December, we can expect this thing to launch a month or so before that. Amazon uses front companies to file applications for their new products, thereby ensuring some modicum of IP security.

While a single line drawing of a tablet does not a confirmation make, we can at least expect to see a bigger Kindle Fire coming out before the holidays, potentially for the same market that was shopping for the monstrous Kindle DX.

Fisker Automotive can’t seem to catch break — because its Karma hybrid EV sedan has yet again become too hot. Similar to an incident last spring that left a model burnt to near smithereens and damaged its owner’s house, the Karma above caught fire in a Woodside, CA parking lot while powered off. Jalopnik was the first to get word of the incident, noting that the damage remained reserved to the front left of the vehicle, near where an exhaust is located. As the story goes, the owner found the vehicle emitting smoke after returning from a grocery run, prompting a call to Fisker and then the local fire department, which arrived as it was already engulfed in flames. In a statement to Wired’s Autopia, Fisker has been vehement to note that the damage appears to be far from where the car’s battery and sensitive electrical components are located, and that it wasn’t plugged in for a charge — furthermore, it’s already had correspondence with the owner and is actively investigating the matter with plans to issue an update when there are findings to share.

All that said, it remains to be seen whether the Karma’s battery system, supplied by A123 Systems (and the focus of previous recalls), had any role in igniting the car. Thankfully there were no reports of injuries from the incident, but as you can tell from the photo, the car was essentially totaled. You’ll find a video of the Karma in flames being quelled by firefighters after the break, along with the official statement by Fisker given to Autopia.

Continue reading Fisker Karma owner returns from grocery run to find hybrid EV on fire

Filed under: Transportation

Fisker Karma owner returns from grocery run to find hybrid EV on fire originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired Autopia  |  woody77atgmail (YouTube), Jalopnik  | Email this | Comments

At 1000fps, fire and dance are elevated to an artform unlike any other. In this video, the flames look almost like silk, or water, shimmering glossy in the control of the trained dancers. Beautiful. [Reddit] More »

If you’re a normal person who happens to find yourself in a desperate need to light a fire and you have, like, no fire lighting equipment… you’re screwed. But wait if you can pee, you’ll be totally fine. The guys at The King of Random figured out how to light a fire with urine. More »