ABC News Investigates Obama’s Stimulus Funded Finnish Sports Car

Obama’s Stimulus Created 500 Manufacturing Jobs In Finland

Read More At ObamanomicsOutsourced.com

“With The Approval Of The Obama Administration,” Fisker Automotive Began Assembling Its First Line Of Electric Sports Cars In Finland. “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.” (Matthew Mosk and Brian Ross, “Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland,” ABC News, 10/20/11)

• “Fisker Used The First $169 Million In Taxpayer Funds To Bring To Market The Karma, A Flashy $100,000 Hybrid Sports Sedan That It Assembles In Finland.” (Matthew Mosk, “Fisker May Never Build Electric Cars In US,” ABC News, 5/30/12)

“Since Being Launched, Sales Of The Vehicle Have Been Minuscule And The Company Had To Recall More Than 200 Of The Plug-In Electric Hybrids Due To A Battery Problem That Could Cause A Fire.” (Michael Wayland, “Unplugged? $1000 Fisker Karma Electric Plug-In Breaks Down During Testing,” MLive.com, 3/11/12)

• Another Karma Is Suspected In Causing A Fire In Texas Which Destroyed The Owner’s Home. “More recently, one of the high-priced cars went up in flames in the garage of its Texas owner. Fisker said the car was unplugged at the time of the fire and the battery pack was intact and still working after the blaze — all clear indications, they said, that neither the car nor its battery had anything to do with the fire. A spokeswoman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told ABC news the agency is ‘aware of the incident and is working with local authorities to evaluate whether there are any potential safety implications.’” (Matthew Mosk, “Fisker May Never Build Electric Cars In US,” ABC News, 5/30/12)

While Fisker’s Cars Were Being Built In Finland, American Workers Who Were Supposed To Be Building Fisker’s Cars Were Laid Off

Fisker Was Supposed To Use The Stimulus Funds To Employ 2,000 Workers At A Former General Motors Plant In Delaware. “Fisker received federal funds in part to help purchase a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware, where it predicted it would one day employ 2,000 auto workers to assemble the clean-burning gas-electric family car, known as the Atlantic. But company executives began hinting in February that it would reconsider that plan and look for a cheaper place to build the car after the Department of Energy froze the $529 million green-energy loan the company had received, and had been drawing on since 2010.” (Matthew Mosk, “Fisker May Never Build Electric Cars In US,” ABC News, 5/30/12)

• In April, Fisker Laid Off 12 More Workers At Its Delaware Plant Leaving Only A Skeleton Crew On Site. “Fisker Automotive, the startup hybrid-electric carmaker backed by the state and federal governments, has laid off another dozen workers at its Newport-area factory. The layoffs, which occurred quietly Friday, come as the company continues closed-door negotiations with the U.S. Energy Department for a loan that could determine whether Fisker ever builds a car in Delaware. Meanwhile, the state continues to pay the utility bills for the factory, holding out hope that the automaker will still put scores of Delawareans back to work. (Jonathan Starkey, “Fisker Plant ‘Absolutely Empty,’” The News-Journal , 4/17/12)
• “Today, Fisker Employs Only A Small Maintenance Team At The Site ‘Protecting Plant Assets And Maintaining The Facility,’ Said Fisker Spokesman Russell Datz.” (Jonathan Starkey, “Fisker Plant ‘Absolutely Empty,’”The News-Journal, 4/17/12)
• In May, Fisker Automotive Announced That It May Not Build Its Hybrid Electric Vehicles In The United States. “The luxury carmaker Fisker Automotive continues to signal it could ditch plans to build its next generation hybrid electric vehicle in the United States, despite the nearly $200 million in Obama administration loan money it has already received.” (Matthew Mosk, “Fisker May Never Build Electric Cars In US,” ABC News, 5/30/12)