The Fisker Karma lives up to its namesake in that while you may believe in it, and it's widely talked about, you hardly ever see the thing in action with your own eyes. But for such an ephemeral vehicle, it sure does weigh a lot.

"Wheels" reports that the Karma plug-in hybrid sports car will weight upwards of 5,000 pounds. That's two Mazda Miatas. Yes, its dual traction motors put out the equivalent of 403 horsepower, and the gasoline engine harnesses 260 horses, and it's expected to deliver a sub-six-second zero to 60 mph sprint, but still -- could it be that under those aggressive curves, the Karma is fat? (In the "Mad Men" era, this is known as the Christina Hendricks/Joan Holloway argument.)

Check out the "Wheels" piece here.

 

Great quick piece by Automotive News west coast editor Mark Rechtin about the importance of the Chrysler 200 sedan to the manufacturer. After all, as he points out, the 200 isn't just a slot-filler below the larger 300 -- it's also the re-named replacement to the much-maligned Sebring mid-size.

Rechtin points out the Sebring's many faults -- cheap, poorly engineered and nondescript among them -- before going on to suggest that design chief Ralph Gilles and the rest of the 200 team both knew and addressed those limitations. For me the most telling piece from Gilles was the assertion that they did “every bit, if not more than, what Ford did to the Fusion.” 

 

Lots of big recalls recently. The latest to step up is Nissan, which is calling back 751,000 vehicles in North and South America. 303,000 Frontier pickup trucks and 283,000 Xterras are on the list in the U.S. and Canada. plus Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and other Latin American countries. According to USA Today:

"Nissan said a corrosion problem with the lower steering-column joint and shaft can limit steering movement, making the vehicles difficult to steer. In some cases the corrosion can cause the joint to crack."

 

Two-time independent presidential candidate and consumer-safety legend Ralph Nader is urging the Obama administration to hold off on the initial public stock offering for General Motors, in which the federal government is the majority shareholder. Nader is joined in his entreaty by current and former executives of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, and the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.

Nader says that GM should not be allowed to lobby Congress while the government owns the company, and that the lobbying the manufacturer is engaged in is directly opposed to President Barack Obama's own policies on auto safety and fuel efficiency. 

[UPDATE at 12:09 p.m. PST: Our initial report from yesterday, sourced from "Wheels," was missing crucial information contained in a letter that was posted today to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website: The previously reported steering issues for Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS models could lead to a fire. According to Automotive News, the manufacturer "is targeting model year 2010 and 2011 Lucerne and DTS vehicles following reports of two fires related to electrical arcing triggered by leaking fluid coming into contact with the starter or alternator cable," and "concluded the starter and alternator cables were incorrectly installed so they touch a power-steering line."
Both GM and Chrysler announced recalls today. Chrysler is calling back 16,000 Jeep Liberty vehicles from the 2008 model year for a faulty windshield-wiper system. Chrysler has said that water could enter the wiper motor and stop the wipers from functioning. GM's recall involves certain V8-equipped Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne sedans from model years 2010 and 2011. The recall, according to USA Today, was due to the possibility that an "alternator cable could wear through a power steering line, leading to a fluid leak that could cause a loss of power steering and lead to a crash." 

In its bid to once again compete credibly within the luxury sphere, Lincoln has put quite an enticing offer on the table for those used to some pampering: free maintenance.

Incredibly, that offer, which starts with 2011 model-year vehicles, is set to continue "on a permanent basis," according to the manufacturer. Up to eight visits for routine maintenance, such as oil changes, inspections and tire rotations would be completely covered. This is in addition to the badge's current four-year/50,000-mil​e bumper-to-bumper warranty. 

The Kia Sedona tops the list, with the Mazda5, Ford Escape and Hyundai Santa Fe right behind.

 

No, it's not the “top cars least likely to be bought by enthusiasts” list, although it would fit. It's the least expensive cars to insure.

 

The most expensive are the Acura ZDX, Audi TTS, Audi A5 and Cadillac Escalade, according to InsWeb, an online insurance company.