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Title: Solargate Update: Obama pisses away $529 mil of our money on Finnish built electric cars
Source:
ABC
URL Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/car-c ... cars-finland/story?id=14770875
Published: Oct 21, 2011
Author: MATTHEW MOSK, BRIAN ROSS & RONNIE GREENE
Post Date: 2011-10-21 04:57:03 by Happy Quanzaa
Keywords: Obama-doma-ding-dong, bundlerss, kickbacks, Corruptocratic Party
Views: 2162
Comments: 4
By MATTHEW MOSK, BRIAN ROSS (@brianross) and RONNIE GREENE ABC NEWS and iWATCH NEWS Oct. 20, 2011 With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work. Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department's $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland. "There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here." Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money so far has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive. "We're not in the business of failing; we're in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business," Fisker said. "That's why we went to Finland." The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty -- and pricey -- cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore, predicts it will eventually be churning out tens of thousands of electric sports sedans at the shuttered GM factory it bought in Delaware. And Tesla Motors, whose prime backers include PayPal mogul Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, says it will do the same in a massive facility tooling up in Silicon Valley. By MATTHEW MOSK, BRIAN ROSS (@brianross) and RONNIE GREENE ABC NEWS and iWATCH NEWS Oct. 20, 2011 With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work. Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department's $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland. "There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here." Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money so far has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive. "We're not in the business of failing; we're in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business," Fisker said. "That's why we went to Finland." The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty -- and pricey -- cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore, predicts it will eventually be churning out tens of thousands of electric sports sedans at the shuttered GM factory it bought in Delaware. And Tesla Motors, whose prime backers include PayPal mogul Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, says it will do the same in a massive facility tooling up in Silicon Valley. By MATTHEW MOSK, BRIAN ROSS (@brianross) and RONNIE GREENE ABC NEWS and iWATCH NEWS Oct. 20, 2011 With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work. Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department's $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland. "There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here." Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money so far has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive. "We're not in the business of failing; we're in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business," Fisker said. "That's why we went to Finland." The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty -- and pricey -- cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore, predicts it will eventually be churning out tens of thousands of electric sports sedans at the shuttered GM factory it bought in Delaware. And Tesla Motors, whose prime backers include PayPal mogul Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, says it will do the same in a massive facility tooling up in Silicon Valley. For more on the Fisker and Tesla loans and the Obama administration's green auto loan program, watch "Good Morning America," "World News with Diane Sawyer," and "Nightline." An investigation by ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity's iWatch News that will air on "Good Morning America" found that the DOE's bet carries risks for taxpayers, has raised concern among industry observers and government auditors, and adds to questions about the way billions of dollars in loans for smart cars and green energy companies have been awarded. Fisker is more than a year behind rolling out its $97,000 luxury vehicle bankrolled in part with DOE money. While more are promised soon, just 40 of its Karma cars (below) have been manufactured and only two delivered to customers' driveways, including one to movie star Leonardo DiCaprio. Tesla's SEC filings reveal the start-up has lost money every quarter. And while its federal funding is intended to help it mass produce a new $57,400 Model S sedan, the company has no experience in a project so vast. There is intense scrutiny of the decisions made by the Department of Energy as it invests billions of taxpayer dollars in alternative energy. The questions come in the wake of the administration's failed $535 million investment in solar panel maker Solyndra. The company's collapse, bankruptcy and raid by FBI agents generated a litany of questions about how the Energy Department doles out billions in highly sought after green energy seed money. A key question, experts and investigators say, is whether another Solyndra is in the offing. In interviews, executives with Tesla and Fisker said comparisons to Solyndra are...Click for Full Text!
Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland
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#1. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
Bullshit and bullshit.
There are lots of car manufacturing plants closed down. Lots of out of work autoworkers too. Like I said bullshit and more bullshit.
Henrik Fisker (born 10 August 1963 in Denmark) is a leading automobile designer and CEO of Fisker Coachbuild. He has lived and worked in Germany, London, and in Southern California. Henrik Fisker graduated from the short-lived Swiss campus of California's Art Center College of Design in 1989. Best known among his creations are the Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and BMW Z8.
Actually Fisker recently purcahsed the old Boxwood Road auto assembly plan in Northern Delaware with plans to reopen it after retrofitting is complete. This means hundreds of good paying jobs for laid off auto-workers, local content agreements with suppliers and expanded use of the nearby Port of Wilmington. My understanding is that the Finnish plant makes a car that is too expensive for the American market. Fisker needs the revenue from this car to expand his operation here in the United States. The US plant will make a relatively cheaper car for domestic use and export.
With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.
#2. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.
#3. To: All (#2)
#4. To: A K A Stone (#2)
There are lots of car manufacturing plants closed down. Lots of out of work autoworkers too. Like I said bullshit and more bullshit.
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