2023 Fisker Ocean One Sport Utility 4d on 2040-cars

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Fisker Alaska electric pickup is one of the coolest Cybertruck and F-150 Lightning rivals yet

The Fisker Alaska electric pickup truck. Fisker US EV startup Fisker unveiled an electric pickup to take on the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T.  Fisker says the Alaska will start at $37,900 after incentives and go on sale in early 2025. It offers an ingenious bed that extends from 4.5 feet to 9.2 feet.  EV startup Fisker wants to snag a chunk of America's pickup market from giants like Ford and GM.  The company on Thursday laid out plans for its next batch of products, including a very cool truck called the Alaska. Fisker didn't mention too many details, but we now know a few things about the upcoming truck.  "I think it's very important for us to say that we want to create unique vehicles," company CEO and designer Henrik Fisker said during the event.  The Fisker Alaska electric pickup truck. Fisker Fisker says it'll start at $45,400, or $37,900 after a $7,500 federal tax credit. That should make it one of the most affordable electric trucks in the US when it goes on sale sometime in early 2025.  The F-150 Lightning (a bigger truck, but still) was supposed to start at just under $40,000, but rising materials costs have pushed the entry-level model to $51,990. The Rivian R1T, a bigger, higher-end offering than the Alaska, costs $73,000 and up.  The Fisker Alaska electric pickup truck. Fisker That makes the Alaska look like a mighty compelling deal, if Fisker can keep the price where it is. There's also currently nothing like it. All the electric pickups out right now — the Lightning, GMC Hummer EV, and R1T — are fairly large. The soon-to-be-released Tesla Cybertruck looks like a pretty big boy too.  Fisker revealed three brand-new electric models and a new version of its Ocean SUV during an event in California. Fisker Fisker says the Alaska will fit somewhere between the compact and midsize categories. So think bigger than a Ford Maverick and smaller than a Toyota Tacoma. It could strike a chord with buyers who want an electric truck for casual errands but don't need anything huge.  During Thursday's product-reveal event, Fisker's CEO said the company didn't want to compete with full-size trucks and wanted to build a pickup that works well as a daily driver.  The Fisker Alaska electric pickup truck. Fisker Still, he wanted the Alaska to provide pickup utility when people need it. Thanks to a retractable wall between the cab and bed, the Alaska's 4.5-foot bed can fit items as long as 9.2 feet — if you fold the back seats and drop the tailgate.

Weekly Recap: Aston Martin to add another sports car, new Lagonda sedan, EVs

Aston Martin will revamp and expand its lineup as part of a five-year plan laid out by the company's new executives. If it succeeds, the strategy will position Aston for growth as an independent automaker with a more stable future in its second century. Aston will replace all of the cars in its current lineup and add a fourth sports car to its stable. It currently has three: the DB9, Vanquish and Vantage. The unnamed sports car will be joined by a production version of the DBX concept – an all-wheel-drive electric car that treads near crossover territory – that was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. Aston's electric strategy also includes a potential electric-powered Rapide. Eventually, Aston plans to build a new four-door Lagonda. Though Aston will diversify its portfolio and the range could expand to seven vehicles, it will limit production to around 7,000 units annually, said Aston Martin marketing and communications director Simon Sproule, who described the company's strategy in an interview with Autoblog. CEO Andy Palmer, who joined Aston last year from Infiniti, has also spoken recently about remaking the company for the future. EVs are a major part of Aston's future, Sproule stressed, because they allow the automaker to "balance" its portfolio. Aston is studying the feasibility of an electric Rapide and is working with an undisclosed engineering firm. It's likely to use a plug-in setup and would cost $200,000 to $250,000 or more. It could use either a rear-wheel or all-wheel-drive configuration. View 14 Photos "It's a study, but we're serious about it," Sproule said. He added for emphasis: "If not this, there will be an electric Aston Martin in the future." Aston has taken note of what Tesla has done with the brisk-driving Model S and decided that's the dynamic it wants for some of its own cars. Even though EVs don't emit the same sonorous note as a V12 – they're better than the alternative, Sproule said. "The sound of silence is much more preferable than the sound of a four-cylinder whining away under the hood of an Aston Martin," he said. Speaking of V12s, they're not going away. Aston will continue to make its own V12 engine, but will source its V8 from Mercedes-AMG (whose parent, Daimler, owns a small stake in Aston). While the V12 is sure to please the faithful, Aston admits EVs and the crossover-like DBX will rankle many. Sproule argues those are the moves that will keep Aston relevant.

Fisker has filed patents for solid-state batteries

It seems that we're on the cusp of a solid-state battery revolution. The latest company to announce progress in developing the new type of battery is Fisker. It has filed patents for solid-state batteries and it expects the batteries to be produced on a mass scale around 2023. Though Fisker is a very small car company that is currently taking deposits for its upcoming EMotion electric sedan, there are reasons to believe that the company could fulfill this promise. One of the members of the battery-development team was a co-founder of Sakti3, a company that formed to develop new batteries and announced its research into solid-state technology back in 2011. That company was purchased by Dyson, the vacuum cleaner company, which also intends on producing electric cars that AutoExpress reports will feature solid-state batteries in 2020. Toyota is also expected to have solid-state batteries just ahead of Fisker around 2022. The reason all these companies are working on developing solid-state batteries is because they present a whole host of advantages over what you'll find in today's phones, computers and cars. The two big ones are greater energy density and rapid charging times. Fisker claims the batteries it's developing have an energy density 2.5 times that of current batteries, and they should be capable of providing a 500-mile driving range. The company also says the batteries could be recharged in as little as a minute. Both claims are similar to past claims from others, including Sakti3. Other benefits include lower estimated cost than conventional lithium-ion batteries as well as very little risk of fires or explosions. Fisker also announced that it will display the new battery technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. It will be on display along with a close-to-production EMotion, which will be using more conventional lithium-ion batteries from LG Chem. That car has its own impressive claims with a range of more than 400 miles and the ability to regain around 125 miles of range in about 9 minutes. It will also retail for around $130,000, and the company is taking $2,000 reservations now. Fisker intends for it to go into production in 2019. Related Video: Featured Gallery Fisker EMotion View 14 Photos News Source: Fisker, AutoExpress Green Fisker Technology Emerging Technologies Electric Future Vehicles Sedan solid-state battery