It's impossible for a government to do anything with a market, for example, regulate, tax or subsidize, without distorting that market. Whether or not those distortions are necessary is a matter of public policy debate, but they're a fact of life. Another fact of life is that if you make your business plan dependent on governmental policies, subject to the ebb and flow of politics in democracies, you may find your enterprise becoming a controversial topic of political debate. That can hardly be good for business. That may explain why Coda has withdrawn their request for $334 million in Department of Energy loans. It also pretty much describes Fisker's current situation as a political football.
Republicans have been using Fisker's suspension of work on their second vehicle, the more moderately priced Atlantic, and layoffs of their complete staff at the Wilmington, Delaware plant where the Atlantic was to have been built, as an excuse to lump Fisker in with the failure of solar panel maker Solyndra and financial difficulties at other companies funded through the DoE loan program. Senators Chuck Grassley and John Thune have asked Pres. Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu about the advisability of the loan to Fisker to begin with. Delays in production and related failures by Fisker to meet DoE benchmarks caused the agency, in May 2011, to put a hold on further drawdowns by Fisker from the $529 million in loans originally negotiated with the startup hybrid car maker. So far about a third of the total loan package has been disbursed to Fisker, used to develop the luxury Karma. While it's been negotiating with the DoE to free up the additional funds to restart work on the Atlantic, Fisker has been actively trying to find alternative funding in the private sector. So far Fisker has received about $1 billion in private equity investment. The report about Senators Grassley and Thune in Autoguide followed quickly upon news that one of those private investors, board member and former Fisker chairman Ray Lane, has started blaming the continued holdup of the DoE loans on presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign. Last week, Romney spokesman Ryan Williams explicitly tied Fisker to the Solyndra bankruptcy and called the automaker a failed investment.
Lane is a managing director of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture investment firm. In his email to Wilmington's News Journal, Lane claimed that the only thing holding up Fisker's continued access to the DoE funds was the Romney campaign's comments.
Lane's second point, that Fisker is a viable company, not a failed venture like Solyndra, was reinforced by bullet points in company founder Henrick Fisker's own email. While acknowledging the truth that his company in fact did not meet DoE timelines, Fisker laid out the company's case for further government funding.
Henrik Fisker also whined a bit about journalists not repeating the company's talking points and, like Lane, took a swing at politicians.
I can understand Fisker and Lane's frustrations but it seems to me that those that live by government funding might die by it too. Once Fisker decided to ask for government funding, it opened the door to entangling their company in the political process. More to the point of Lane's remarks, Romney's campaign and the Republican senators have only recently mentioned Fisker, following the latest round of layoffs at Wilmington. The DoE put the loans on hold almost a year ago, long before Republicans made it an issue (before the failure of Solyndra and similar firms, too). The energy department had ample reasons to suspend drawdowns without political pressure from the Romney campaign. Lane is hardly a babe in the political woods. One of his partners at Kleiner Perkins is Al Gore. A search of campaign contributions databases shows that Lane has made substantial contributions to a variety of politicians. While most of those contributions went to Democrats, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid's name shows up frequently, in the 2008 cycle Lane contributed to Republican John McCain, not Barack Obama. Kleiner Perkins, like all investment firms, is based on managing risk, and Lane obviously manages his political contributions similarly. Fisker's enterprise in Wilmington has received some state assistance as well, so it's a big story in Delaware, Vice President Joe Biden's home state. It's an election year and jobs and the economy are likely to be front and center. Ray Lane is not naive. He's got to know that Pres. Obama's Dept. of Energy would not likely be dancing to the Republicans' tune. Perhaps his statement was a message to Dr. Chu, Mr. Biden and Mr. Obama. Freeing up the additional loans would likely lead to an announcement about jobs in Wilmington. The News Journal described Lane's comments as "suggest[ing] that he believes Fisker's loan has also become a political football". Fisker's been a political football since it first applied for government funding. Mr. Lane is simply running his own plays. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Kicking Around The Fisker Football
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Archive
-
▼
2012
(7297)
-
▼
April
(760)
- Ford Focus ST Priced At $23,700
- 2013 Ford F-150 Spy Photos: A Mild Cosmetic Update...
- 41-mpg Dodge Dart Aero: Same Great Taste, Less Fil...
- Volkswagen Golf/Jetta CC Not Destined for U.S.
- 2012 Audi A8L W12 Instrumented Test: 0 to 60 mph i...
- Name That Shifter, No. 74
- This Is The Analysis Of The Video That Jalopnik Al...
- 2013 Ford Focus ST Wagon Spied; Still Not Coming Here
- 2013 Acura ILX vs. 2012 Honda Civic: Which Would Y...
- VW Polo R Line Adds Show Without the Go
- 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV: Car Seat Check
- Toyota RAV4 EV to Debut May 7
- 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Crowned World's Most Powerf...
- Daily News Briefs: April 30, 2012
- Next-Gen Toyota Prius Targeted For Stateside Produ...
- There’s a “Huracan” Coming To Your “Urus”
- Cars.com Buzz Index: April 2012
- Morgan 3 Wheeler Being Offered To Eccentric Americ...
- This Weekend’s World Challenge Event Shows What’s ...
- Piston Slap: Crystal Ballin’ the Bling-Free Altima!
- Dodge Dart Gets “Aero” Package To Break 40 MPG
- Junkyard Find: 1990 Ford Escort Pony
- BMW May Takeover Nedcar Plant
- Should the EPA Have Changed the BMW 328's Mileage?
- Trackday Diaries: Two wheels good, four wheels pro...
- At Forbes, Gordon Chang Lacks Adult Supervision
- Gleanings Of The 2010 Beijing Auto Show: Breasts D...
- Review: BMW 335i 6MT Sport Line
- GM And Isuzu Want To Rekindle Old Tie-Up
- What Went Wrong For Peugeot In India?
- GM and Isuzu In Bed Again?
- Hammer Time Rewind: The Seven Deadly Sins
- Most-Read Car Reviews of the Week
- Junkyard Find: Toasty 1965 BMW 700
- Car Collector’s Corner: 1962 Mercury Monterey 4 Do...
- Ed And BS Meet For Cars And Coffee
- Kicking Around The Fisker Football
- This Week's Most-Read Stories
- Mitusbishi Mirage: Yes For Canada, Maybe For America
- Most-Watched Video Reviews of the Week
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: Discover Some ...
- 2013 Dodge Dart First Drive: Fiat and Chrysler’s F...
- Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Dodge Dart
- Dodge Dart Aero to Get at Least 41 MPG Highway
- Italian Masterpieces on Display at L.A.’s Petersen...
- Why Torontonians Love The Smart Fortwo
- 2013 Scion FR-S Video
- Capsule Review: Aston Martin V8 Vantage
- Ferrari Plans Hybrid Powertrain
- Biden: “Osama bin Laden Is Dead And General Motors...
- Mercedes Opens First AMG-Only Dealership in Beijing
- Mazda Gives Us Another 1,000 Chances To Buy A Rota...
- Daily News Briefs: April 27, 2012
- Massage-Off: Jag, Mercedes, and Audi Seat Massager...
- Setting Music To Marques
- This Aggression Will Not Stand, Man: Portland Decl...
- Junkyard Find: 1992 Geo Prizm
- For Honda, Next Accord Must be a Hit
- Junkyard Find: 1992 Geo Prizm
- Which Cars Fit Three Car Seats?
- Gleanings Of The 2012 Beijing Auto Show: Seat Intr...
- Confirmed: 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Rated at...
- Gleanings Of The 2012 Beijing Auto Show: Car Blogg...
- Go-To Car Music Keep Families in Harmony
- Gleanings Of The 2012 Beijing Auto Show: Toyota Op...
- Coda Withdraws DOE Loan Request Worth $334 Million
- 2012 Audi A1 Sportback First Drive: Two More Doors...
- Lamborghini’s Latest Trademark Application: “Huracán”
- 2013 Shelby GT500; 662 Horsepower, 200 MPH. WHY???
- China Gets Its Dual Clutches From The Borg
- The Acura NSX Concept Gets Painted Proper Sports-C...
- Gleanings Of The 2012 Beijing Auto Show: Victimize...
- Aston Martin Will End Current DBS Production with ...
- What's the Most Affordable Compact Crossover?
- MG’s Icon Concept Unveiled in China [Beijing Auto ...
- 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser: Car Seat Check
- Vellum Venom Vignette: 1991 Toyota Camry (emblem)
- 2013 Aston Martin DBS Spied: 550 hp and One-77 Looks
- Toyota Prices Limited-Edition Tacoma TRD T/X Baja ...
- Is Status For The Smart Or Stupid?
- 2012 Ford Focus Electric to Serve as NASCAR’s Firs...
- Daily News Briefs: April 26, 2012
- 2013 Audi Q5: First Look
- BRB Driving Police Cars
- Time Machine Dilemma: It’s 1973 and You Have Enoug...
- Chevrolet Orlando Finally Becomes Top Small Miniva...
- 2012 Buick Regal GS Automatic Tested: That’s Right...
- Automated-Vehicle Cheat Codes: How to Get the Most...
- Cars.com's 2012 Mock Draft: Top Car Prospects
- Junkyard Find: 1981 Toyota Corolla Liftback Coupe
- Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Volvo XC60
- New NHTSA Website Helps Parents Choose Right Seat
- Toyota Dear Qin Sedan and Hatchback: Don’t You Wan...
- Toyota Yundong Shuangqing Concept: What’s Happenin...
- In Hot Pursuit of Cold Milk: A Look at the New Ind...
- The Continental: Nine-Speeds Are Coming, Legalizin...
- 2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Drive...
- Volkswagen Launches China-Only New Lavida [Beijing...
- Jaguar/Land Rover Officially Launches Engineered t...
- Commercial Break: A Quick Example Of A Good “Gen Y...
-
▼
April
(760)
No comments:
Post a Comment