Danish designer Henrik Fisker will have stylish new hybrid cars for sale in the U.S. and Europe early next year.  Fisker has rethought the traditional model of an auto manufacturer and outsourced many fixed-cost operations.  His $87,900 Fisker Karma is a 402 horsepower, 125 mph car that, under ideal conditions, will go 50 miles without engaging the GM-supplied gasoline engine.  After 50 miles the engine kicks in to replenish the electric charge, but one might cover 100 miles using only one gallon of gasoline, under certain specific conditions.  The car also looks good enough to hold its own in Ferrari/Aston Martin territory.

The various components will be assembled by Valmet in Finland, a company that has assembled thousands of cars for Porsche.  That answers any questions about quality.

Fisker Karma

In Northern California Fiskers will be sold by three dealerships:  one in Marin, one in Sunnyvale, and one in the Sacramento area.

Another example of new thinking comes from Aston Martin.  Faced with the problem of meeting full economy standards, without compromising their powerful high performance cars, Aston has teamed with Toyota.

Aston Martin Cygnet

Toyota will supply their clever city car, the I.Q. Aston Martin will give the car a traditional Aston grille and an opulent, high style Aston Martin-style leather interior plus other, as yet undisclosed, style elements.  You’ll be able to buy a Cygnet, as it is called, to go with your Aston Martin.  An elegant Aston leather interior will be balanced by the extraordinary economy and space efficiency of the Toyota/Aston Martin Cygnet.  Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin, says the concept is that of an exclusive tender for a luxury yacht.

Worthy, Interesting and Under $30,000
Three very different and worthy new cars recently came our way.  The Nissan 370Z is a two-seater, 332 horsepower, closed sports car, equivalent in most ways to a Porsche Cayman but 40% less expensive.  If they are equally competent, the Porsche has to justify its premium price with its charm.

Nissan 370Z with a Porsche Cayman in background

Driving the Nissan reminds me of the 240Z introduced 40 years ago when Nissan (then called Datsun) set the sports car world back on its heels by redefining performance, style, reliability and value.  While this 370Z isn’t quite such an earthquake, it’s still quite a benchmark.  The only thing objectionable is a very messy dashboard design; functional enough but certainly not an aesthetic high point.

Going from sports car to station wagon, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI (diesel) is a totally satisfying and useful everyday car.  At a recent journalists’ test day, I had the opportunity to drive forty new models. 

Volkswagen Jetta Diesel

The VW came first.  I loved it and wondered if any of the other cars would outshine it.  None did!

Its total quality feel, quiet diesel economy, vigorous performance, and 5-door wagon practicality make its $29,000 price quite amazing.  It’s going to be a strong player in the duel between hybrids ad diesels.

Finally, the very middle-of-the-road Mazda 6, a four-door car competing with Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Subaru Legacy, made a strong impression.

No one quality stands out; it’s the seamless blend of clean design and ergonomic planning, practicality and effortless performance that will charm you.

Mazda 6

The outside rearview mirrors include a flashing lighted image that appears when a car is in a parallel lane in your blind spot.  If you actuate the turn signal indicating your intention to change lanes, a gentle beep sounds, in addition to the illuminated signal.

Our test car, loaded with leather, navigation, sunroof and premium sound system had a sticker price of $29,000.  A little shopping and you might do even better.

A Sour Note
Consumer Reports was disappointed in the Honda Insight Hybrid and a test drive will show your why.  Although it drives very nicely, with a tight, firm feel and good road sense, and looks well tailored, it fails in two important ways.  It is a noisy, hard-riding thing, and looks and feels cheap.  Very un-Honda like.  You can expect trouble-free Honda performance and good economy, but there are more satisfying choices for the $23,000 price of this car.