Most people usually made a mistake of choosing the best auto insurance rates based on how cheapest their rates are. It is important for a car owner like you to realize that the best car insurance coverage does not always come from the cheapest insurance rate. There are three important things that you need to know first to find out the best company that offers the best car insurance rate. The first one is who is offering the insurance coverage or the company. It is important that you investigate the company where you would want to get car insurance. The second is what things do the insurance covered and the last is who is being covered by the particular insurance coverage. If you will read this article in full, then you will learn and understand the best auto insurance coverage for you. The most common mistake that policy buyers make is by choosing an insurance company solely based on its marketing campaign. Many people forget about the specifics of the insurance coverage because they are lured with the marketing strategy of the company. It is important for one to realize that each company will have their own downside in their insurance policy and that is what you need to know. The company will do everything to get your attention so you need to stay focus on your goal and that is to find the best car insurance coverage. It is important to make sure that the features and the deductible is according to your need. You can only start calculating the cost of the car insurance policy once you have decided for the deductible and features that you want for your auto insurance coverage. The car that you will insure plays a huge role when it comes to the insurance rate. Most car insurance companies take a look at the value of the car by the age of the car. It is important for a car owner to know that the age of the car is one of the major factors for you to get a higher insurance coverage. The colder the car is, the lower its coverage. If you will opt for additional features, then you should ask for a discount. For example, you get an alarm system it can create a huge difference. An alarm will not always stop bad guys from doing bad things in your car, but your car will be protected from vandalism as well as theft. Many car insurance companies appreciate it and will reward you for that. As you can see there are lots of means to get an affordable car insurance rate without sacrificing the quality of the insurance coverage.
How to get best auto insurance rates for your vehicle
Auto insurance rates vary from people to people depending on a lot of different factors. The rates differ not only for the people but they are different for different cars as well. Though the auto insurance companies work to ensure that the financial security of the investors is maintained even in a crisis situation, but the main of any business is to finally make money and to grow by achieving the task of serving their clients. Due to this motive of the auto insurance companies it is easy for the investors to find ways and get discounts on the premium amount. How does one get them? People buy auto insurance due to the necessity that it holds, however it is really not necessary that a person might need to avail of the services of the auto insurance company while the term of the policy lasts. In case there is no accident or theft or damage to the vehicle then having invested in premium over the months should not go for a waste. Hence there is nothing wrong in expecting a discount from the auto insurance companies. There are some simple steps following which anyone can get the best auto insurance rates. The first and the most important step is to be aware about the rate of the most popular auto insurance companies. If the investor knows most of the rates then the comparison becomes simpler and the choice becomes clearer. Important factors that can get good rates There are some standard factors that help in achieving the best rates for auto insurance. These include the previous impressions of the investors. If the investor has had a clean record as a driver and has not been involved in accidents then it becomes easier for the investor to demand for a discount. The investor can also ask for a discount if they already have advanced security systems installed in their car, this would mean that there are lesser chances of a theft or damage to the car and hence the investor may demand for higher discounts. The auto insurance rates differ according to gender and that means that a women driver may be able to get better rates as women drivers are considered to be safer drivers than male drivers. Finally the negotiation skills of the investor also play a major role in being able to get good rates.
Business partners Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler are visibly on edge. While they want to dedicate every ounce of their focus on this all-important launch of their first baby, the 2012 Fisker Karma, their attentions are being constantly pulled away from it by big conference calls regarding the money and logistics of launching the whole Fisker Automotive franchise. Are they really and truly answering a $95,900-$108,900 question with this bold effort that enough people are asking? It's clear they just want us to fall in love with their lux'd up plug-in extended-range electric sedan.
We've been helicoptered into the infield handling circuit at California Speedway in Fontana to have a brisk go at one of Fisker Automotive's first completed verification prototypes of the Karma, built by Valmet Automotive in Uusikaupunki, Finland. We are already assuming that the build quality and finish of all the pretty parts will be fine, as Valmet has learned a lot about these things while building cars for Porsche to strict Stuttgart standards. We also already know that the car is indeed pretty inside and out, albeit particular to some out there, seeing as Fisker has designed such lovely lady lumps as the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage, not to mention the BMW Z8 roadster.
Fisker Coachbuild started back in 2005 after both Henrik and COO Bernhard Koehler had had enough of slow project cycles at Ford's Orange County advanced design studio. But they liked the area's year-round weather and the plushness surrounding them, so they stayed put in the OC.
Coachbuild work all by itself was pretty boring, so the two set their active minds to building an entire car company instead. As the story goes, one day, Fisker saw materials showing an abandoned U.S. military project for special ops called "Aggressor," which was a high-performance stealth hybrid-electric vehicle built by Quantum Technologies Worldwide. Not long thereafter, Fisker Automotive was born when Quantum and Fisker hooked up in 2007. And then, as quickly as January 2008 at the Detroit Auto Show, we saw the Fisker Karma concept car.
The Karma's initial reception was much warmer than luke, but the design frankly needed a little tweaking and most didn't give the Karma a serious chance at making any difference in our automotive lives. That was just before all of planet Earth became obsessed with greenery and eco and feeling badly about having destroyed nature to further our bipedal needs and desires. And then, of course, the world economy melted like a Dali clock and we all reassessed our capitalistic selfishness and whatnot. Basically, the timing was ideal for Fisker Automotive to try and cash in on the several innovative green and generally smart thoughts it was having. We, the guilty, are drawn to this stuff like yuppies to mesquite.
By late 2009, Fisker Automotive was coming out of essentially a nine-month hiatus during which Lucifer rose from Hell and swallowed mankind whole. Or so we thought. But investors finally felt like investing again, and just short of half a billion bucks had been promised to our heroes, much of this attracted by the imminent huge loan being talked about from the Department of Energy. Everything rode on that razor edge – not just for the Karma itself, but also foranyfuture plans. That $529 million loan from you and me came through in September 2009 and Fisker Automotive went directly from vaporware to a $1 billion, fully-funded company with big cigar-chomping (but from sustainable tobacco farms) plans.
So, here we are in Fontana.
The first noteworthy item is that the design tweaks carried out after the January 2008 debut remain, and they still look good. These had to do mostly with the face and grille, which were not in keeping with the rest of the car's melody. We still don't care for the door handles that look to our eyes like something off a cute little Daihatsu – they're too small and size matters. But all the rest is fine and well within the developing Fisker DNA.
You want wheelbase? By golly, we got some. 124.4 inches of some, to be precise. So, we have a Porsche Panamera- or Jaguar XF-length vehicle with the wheelbase of a 2012 long-wheelbase Jaguar XJ. This was needed primarily to fit all the plug-in EV with extended-range motor paraphernalia within the space between the two axles. Between the long-legged profile, wide tracks, and low 52.4-inch height, the Karma does look the business. Toss in standard 22-inch fair-weather wheels – called "Fisker Circuit Blade" for boldness points – and the whole package looks more showcar bodacious than the actual original concept. A rarity in this world.
When we suggested that maybe 20-inch Goodyear Eagle 1 tires and Fisker wheels might deliver more everyday comfort, rather than just scoffing at our practical ways, Fisker said, "If we went anywhere below 21 inches, the center part of the steering assembly would come dangerously close to the ground." We looked under there, and he's right. The winter tire set is 21 inches, by the way. As we look at the Karma, it hits us a bit like the Panamera in the sense that any wheel less than 21 inches starts to look perilously like 14-inch steelies on a Toyota Camry.
And we sit in it, press the brake pedal, and press the ignition button. Of course, seemingly nothing happens, but everything does light up nicely. Primary sight stealers are the driver instrument cluster and standard 10.2-inch haptic touchscreen of the Fisker Command Center onboard diagnostics/climate/entertainment/navigation unit created with Visteon.
The default mode is Stealth – in honor of the dropped special ops project Quantum was banking on (and sort of still is) through Fisker – and it can take us for a range of 50 miles on pure electric propulsion at speeds up to 95 mph. Acceleration to 60 mph can happen in this ninja-killer state in 7.9 seconds, which is not bad considering the Karma weighs just over two tons, not unlike a Panamera 4S. (Exact curb weight has not yet been revealed and, as any society lady knows, such questions are not to be asked if it can be helped.)
Stealth mode includes a soundtrack that's being called the "signature Fisker external sound," which all can hear up to 30 mph when it cuts out. The idea is that, for around-town driving, the car makes enough noise as it approaches so as to warn everyone in the vicinity who isn't also sitting in a car. It's an appropriate audio track, right from the semi-successful recent remake of Tron. It sounds more like an electric hovering sound with no internal-combustion simulation at all, which was unexpected and a pleasant surprise.
One basic driving fact about the Fisker Karma is that it is, at the very least, the first upper-premium four-door purely electrically driven car in this current electric tidal wave that we're living in. You could call it a plug-in electric and leave it at that, but, like the Chevrolet Volt, it's more interesting than that due to the range-extending engine. Unlike the Volt, however, the Karma is a pure series EV – the ICE up front does not in any way directly power the forward progress of the driven axle.
The 255-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged and direct-injected GM Ecotec four-cylinder engine is cradled in a front mid-engine layout, and it powers the 175-kW generator while in Sport mode, which then pumps the 315-cell 606-pound lithium-ion battery pack full of kilowatt energy. It's the 20-kW battery pack that finally feeds the two 201-hp, electric motors placed fore and aft of the single-speed rear differential. Combined, the whole works is good for a stonking 981 pound-feet of torque. Thus spinneth the rear axle and hence the forward thrust. In this Sport or, may we suggest, extended-range mode, top speed is let out to 125 mph and acceleration to 60 mph now happens in just 5.9 seconds whether we like it or not. We'll come back to that.
Claimed maximum range in Sport mode is 300 miles. The fuel tank for the ER engine holds just 9.5 gallons, thus saving lots of sloshy pounds. Claimed possible autonomy per gallon in this longest range mode is 100+ miles, because you'll definitely be recharging the batteries two or three times overnight before you burn through all the liquid fuel. Fisker predicts "people will stay in Stealth mode for over 80 percent of the time they're driving." A noble forecast, O, Danish wise man.
There we were, still in Pomona, yes, and we had polished off two spirited Stealth laps, grabbing the overly stylized steering wheel through several tight curves. We already were blown away by the dynamics of the all-new very stiff Karma chassis. Shall we risk a shower of disbelief from commentators by saying the Karma is the best handling large premium car in this entire segment? Why, yes, we shall. The steering itself could always be more communicative for us, but here it is still among the best of the biggies. The gaping wheelbase of the all-aluminum chassis and large wheels attached had us wondering however could this be, but it was so.
Suspension structure on all four corners is by forged aluminum double-wishbone, while front dampers are straightforward units and rear dampers are fancy self-leveling. This arrangement takes the consequent dynamics of the 47/53 fore/aft weight distribution to new heights. We were even shorting curves over the rumble strips and sliding the tail around slightly whenever needed. Certainly, the big Goodyear Eagle 1 tires helped a bunch – 255/35 WR22 (99W) front, 285/35 WR22 (102W) rear – as did the ironclad vented Brembo performance brakes that stopped us consistently all day. We were hauling butt and racing around in a battery-energized car and not complaining about the cornering dynamics! Ka-loo ka-lay, wake the entire village!
We really appreciated the interior as well throughout all of this action. Fisker is not immune to designing great premium sports car interiors, and he's done a winning job of the grand tourer variety here. The trim to get is the mid-range $103,900 EcoSport, as it includes all the base EcoStandard abundance plus Scottish hides all around (sourced from a self-sustaining establishment in the Scottish Highlands where cows roam freely and are fed well until they are slain and skinned). The final and top trim is the $108,900 EcoChic, which uses faux leathers of the best quality so you can have nothing on your conscious food-chain-wise. All woods seen are harvested from already fallen or sunken timbers in the upper Midwest and feel very nice. If there's a chink in the Karma's packaging, it's that luggage space totals just 7.1 cubic feet, meaning that despite the car's generous footprint, you'd better ring NetJet for longer trips.
We'll risk another pronouncement that leaves us open to thrown darts of criticism. As good as Audi's MMI and BMW's latest iDrive interfaces may be, they have a real competitor in the first-generation Visteon-Fisker Command Center. The touchscreen is terrific work and handles its several clever menus and graphics intuitively and attractively. If it only gets better from here, Fisker may be in the onboard computer functionality and interface business before long.
Oh, but wait, there's one big, sad note to report besides the one about there being no right-hand-drive cars for people who still drive on the wrong side of the road (all 70-plus countries of you). It has to do with Sport mode as it is inserted with a pull of the left steering wheel shift paddle. If we are switching to Sport while at a stop or at low speeds prior to accelerating, it functions well enough. The Ecotec ignites and the cabin gets a pretty decent new atmosphere with bass and baritone notes, though the notes should still be lower so as to hide the fact that it's a four-cylinder mill at our feet.
But then when we squish the throttle pedal to try and experience all the promised added oomph of Sport, the range-extending engine chimes in sonically wayyyyyy too much and with an unpleasant sound to boot. See, the exhaust pipes exit right at the back of the molded composite front fender panels mounted way down low, and there are the corresponding nicely designed heat extractors, too. This is aesthetically beautiful, to be sure, but functionally and packaging-wise, it's a real headache, quite literally. With the 6,300-rpm max revs of the 2.0T motor revving at will under throttle, the sound becomes completely uncharacteristic of a $100,000 four-door anything. This, friends, must be addressed. Fisker COO Koehler assured us that "we are aware of what you say and a new muffler has been ordered that should solve the issue." We hope so.
The bottom line is that the Fisker Karma is a rolling dream machine for anyone who wants something very different that works and drives exceptionally well for any company's first go at it all. If Fisker Automotive in SoCal and Valmet in Finland can just eliminate any hint of this anomalous Sport racket, the car can and should be an unqualified hit. There are 3,000-plus pre-orders of intent and deliveries are due to begin in late May of this year. Full-scale production of 1,500 units per month should be reached in October, they say, and in 2012, volume should already be at its 15,000/year maximum, a total comprised of three Karma body variants – the sedan, the convertible two-door Karma S, and a third model to be revealed at this September's Frankfurt Motor Show.
Armchair quarterbacks have been quick to charge Toyota with losing its engineering nerve, labeling it a brand content to churn out safe, middle-of-the-road milquetoast offerings for every segment in which it competes. Admittedly, this isn't the same company that once marketed a supercharged, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive minivan shaped like a suppository, nor is it the same company that sold homologated rally specials alongside its workaday iron. But to say that there are no bold spirits in Toyota City just ain't so – just look at the bonkers LFA supercar, for goodness' sake.
But you needn't have a millionaire's bankbook to see that the Japanese automaker still has cheek to spare – just check out the 2011 Lexus CT 200h. Not only is Toyota's premium marque dipping its toes into America's compact luxury market – a segment that nobody but Mini has figured out how to make big dollars on – it's doing so with a hybrid, an expensive powertrain configuration that, Prius aside, only sells in marginal volumes.
Admittedly, Lexus has made no bones about the fact that it's squarely targeting Europe with the CT (a market where hatchbacks consistently do big business and "small premium" is not an oxymoron), but make no mistake, this is a brave bet. Lexus says it's gunning for 1,000 units a month – a small number in the grand scheme of things – but it's expecting the moon when compared to competitors like the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and Volvo C30, which typically sell in the hundreds per month. Yet this bold bet is showing early signs of paying off. Thanks in part to heavy advanced marketing, Lexus cleared its decks of over twice that many units in March – 2,199 – the CT's first month on sale.
Continue reading 2011 Lexus CT 200h...
"Toyota" and "hybrid" may go together like Starbucks and Apple, but adding a meaningful dose of driving entertainment to the gas-electric formula has proven to be elusive. Despite this, the CT aspires to a higher level of driver engagement, with the Japanese automaker's marketing efforts touting a sporty, youthful experience. In short, with the CT, Lexus is suggesting it isn't ready to throw in the organic cotton towel on performance just yet.
Looking a bit like a premiumized Mazda3, the CT is certainly more aggressive and visually appealing than Lexus' other stand-alone hybrid model, the hapless HS 250h. Combining a broad stance with an assertive lower fascia that effectively masks a long front overhang, Lexus' least costly offering (hybrid or otherwise) looks smart, with a visage livened up by LED eyeliners and a thin fillet of chrome bridging the grill. The profile is pure hatchback, with a high beltline, tapering greenhouse, attractive 17-inch alloys and a dynamic C-pillar that artfully segues into a small rear spoiler over the narrow band of rear glass. There isn't a single element here that stands out as earth-shattering design, but the whole package gels nicely into a form that is at once attractive, utile and wind-cheating, with a drag coefficient of 0.29.
From the off, the interior outs itself as a tech-rich experience, with the instrument panel in our tester topped off by an available motorized sat-nav screen and a broad center console between the seats that houses everything from the oddly sculptural chrome drive selector to the stereo controls and a rotary drive mode selector.
Everything within reach is nicely padded and grained, with fluid actions to all of the major controls. The trio of analog gauges are concise and handsomely backlit, and the leather-wrapped wheel is right-sized, although the three spokes seem annoyingly and needlessly thick. Optional leather chairs cosset and support in equal measure (convincing synthetic hides are standard), and the close-to-the-floor seating position quietly reinforces the CT's sporting intent. Rear seat ingress and egress is a bit tight, and adults won't want to ride back there forever, but it's just fine for around-town duty. As with nearly every hybrid we can think of, cargo room takes a hit thanks to the encroaching 168-cell battery pack, but it's still not bad, offering 14.3 cubic feet with the seats up.
Our tester's optional hard drive-based navigation system utilizes the same unusualRemote Touch haptic-feedback 'mouse' systemthat we've experienced on other Lexus vehicles like the RX and HS. While getting used to its button arrangement takes some time, it's intuitive enough to use that you won't find yourself reaching into the glove box in search of the instruction manual. It would be nice if Lexus still bundled Remote Touch with their touchscreen expertise as a supplementary way to interact with the system, but that isn't part of the program. Additionally, we'd still like to see hard buttons for the stereo presets for improved ease-of-use.
As you'd expect, there's also plenty of tech underhood, where a 98-horsepower 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder is augmented by an electric motor whirring up 80 more ponies and 152 pound-feet of torque with juice from a Ni-MH battery. Combined system output is rated at 134 horsepower, certainly an adequate sum to pull around the CT's 3,100+ pound frame, but nothing to cinch up your Pilotis over. Lexus quotes a leisurely 0-60 mph time of 9.8 seconds and a top whack of 113 mph.
Yet Lexus plainly promises a sporty driving experience with a European flair... what gives?
Back to the drive mode controller. Lexus' intent to appeal to Continental buyers is evident throughout the CT, from its footprint and body style to its driving dynamics (the brand remains a niche player, but parent Toyota has big aspirations). An integral part of Lexus' play to appeal to Europe is a sportier driving experience, and to that end, they're making a big to-do about the three-position rotary knob. Utilizing a trio of drive modes (Normal, Eco and Sport), everything from the throttle mapping to the power steering weight to the stability and traction control systems is influenced in the name of enthusiastic or parsimonious driving.
Moving from Normal to Sport mode won't actually make the CT any faster, but it does open the drivetrain's taps earlier, firms up steering effort and give a bit more leeway before the electronic nannies dig their heels in and curb your fun on a winding road. As we show you in the Short Cuts video below, the drive mode selector brings with it some well-done visual changes in the gauge cluster, and it does make it more fun to drive, with the whole experience coming off as slightly quicker than it actually is. Still, given this front-driver's athletic intentions, we're curious as to why Lexus didn't go the extra mile by fitting paddle shifters. We've experienced plenty of similar setups paired with continuously variable transmission units like that of the CT, and they add a needed dollop of driver involvement.
Eco mode, as you might expect, will only be entertaining to those who find joy in hypermiling their lawnmower and composting their own table scraps. The throttle response is just too torpid, the steering is finger-light and we didn't notice a huge improvement in fuel economy. Finally, there's a pure EV Mode button adjacent to the jog drive mode selector, and pushing it will give you around a mile of electric-only propulsion.
If there's a clear forte in the CT's portfolio, it's the well-sorted handling. Combining a conventional MacPherson strut architecture up front with a double wishbone array in the rear is a good start, and Lexus has gone a step further with unusual lateral dampers front and rear that reduce vibrations, in turn delivering improved steering feel from the quick electric rack-and-pinion setup (just 2.7 turns lock-to-lock). Lexus says the costlier damper system is more effective than using conventional shock tower braces, and they may have a point – the CT tracks faithfully and grips with a conviction not generally found with low rolling-resistance tires. Ride quality is much firmer than we've come to expect from Lexus, but not objectionably so – even on Detroit's post-apocalyptic road surfaces.
Brake progression and pedal feel issued by the discs (10-inch vented in front, 11-inch solid out back) is good by hybrid standards, though at very low speeds – say, 0-3 mph when you're negotiating a tight parking space – it's got a bit of the binary 'on/off' nonlinearity that plagues other regenerative braking system. Even so, you'll have more fun staying off the binders and trying to preserve momentum wherever you can.
At the end of the day, the CT is more entertaining to drive than most other hybrids (save much costlier models like the Infiniti M35h and Porsche Panamera), but it isn't as engaging as some less expensive hatchbacks offering similar space – the aforementioned Mazda3 and Ford's 2012 Focus come to mind. The CT 200h's trump card is its handsome 43 miles per gallon city/40 highway EPA rating, figures that are easy to replicate if you don't cane it around in Sport mode all day. Yes, Mazda's new SkyActiv 3 promises the big four-oh and the Blue Oval can be had with a special high-mpg model that manages the same, but neither will touch the CT for urban economy, and the Lex has nicer materials inside. But at an as-tested price of $38,239 for our Premium model, it ought to. (The CT starts at $29,995 with destination, while our CT Premium tester begins a little higher at $31,775 with destination but before options.)
Lexus' latest isn't perfect, but we think Toyota is onto something here, if for no other reason that it's better to drive than most everything else the marque offers, and helps that it's the cheapest way to park an L-badge in your driveway. The CT 200h is handsome, well screwed together, and while it doesn't shout about it, it's one of Toyota's boldest offerings in years.
