“ Bankruptcy now appears unavoidable, and a political reckoning is coming” writes the New York Time’s Bill Vlasic today about Fisker Motors, the Obama administration’s pet electric car company that received millions in federal loans. Vlasic described the car company as the “Solyndra of Electric car companies.”

As Congress prepares to grill the leaders of Fisker Motors this afternoon, here are 47 depressing facts about Fisker:

In 2009, the untested Fisker company secured loan guarantees from the Obama administration totaling $529 million, more than the company had initially requested. - Wall Street Journal

$192 million in taxpayer funds was disbursed to the company, even though the Dept. of Energy halted funding in June 2011. - Detroit News.

In 2009, the company claimed the Fisker Karma would get 67.2 MPGe and 50 miles of electric range. In October 2011, the EPA rated the Karma with 52MPGe and 32 miles of electric range - Engaget

According to a study, the money spent by Fisker compared to the amount of cars produced was approximately $660,000 per vehicle. - Autoblog





The company produced only about 2,500 vehicles. - Autoblog





In 2011, Fisker only shipped about 1,500 Fisker Karmas. The production goal for 2011 was 7,000. - Autoblog





In November 2011, Fisker insisted that Karma would meet a production target of 15,000 in 2012. - Autoblog





On February 7, 2012, Fisker laid off more than 60 workers and contractors in California and Delaware. - New York Times





“I think we’re beating the odds,” Henrik Fisker said about the company in a interview published on February 14, 2013. - Autoblog





“We’re alive, we have money in the bank, we’re selling cars and we’re expanding the market,” Fisker added in the same interview. - Autoblog





On April 7, 2013, Fisker laid off 160 of its roughly 210 employees – Autonews





Hours after dismissing about 75 percent of its workforce, Fisker was hit with a federal lawsuit alleging failure to give advance notice of the dismissals – Autonews





The Fisker plant in Delaware was reportedly ‘absolutely empty’ on April 17, 2013 – Delaware News-Journal





Fisker failed to make $10 million payment to the Dept. of Energy, which was due April 22, 2013 - Detroit News.





In response, the DOE seized $21 million in assets from the company’s reserve account - The Hill





“Given the obvious difficulties the company is facing, we are taking strong and appropriate action on behalf of taxpayers,” DOE spokeswoman Aoife McCarthy said in a statement - The Hill.





The government is still owed $171 million. - L.A. Times.





In June 2010, a DOE official warned in an email about the potential failure of Fisker - Associated Press.





Fisker continued to receive money until June 2011. – Associated Press.





In October 2011, news reports revealed that Fisker would be assembling their first line of cars in Finland - ABC News





“We’re not in the business of failing; we’re in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business,” Fisker said at the time. “That’s why we went to Finland.” - ABC News





A123, the sole supplier of lithium-ion batteries for the Karma, went bankrupt in October 2012. - New York Times





Former Fisker Automotive Chairman Ray Lane blamed Mitt Romney for the delays in receiving more federal loans for the failing company. - Autoblog





“Don’t forget, you put $90 billion, like 50 years’ worth of breaks, into — into solar and wind, to Solyndra and Fisker and Tesla and Ener1. – Romney said in October 2012, calling the companies he cited “losers.” - CBS





At the time, Fisker already had money issues, a recall and one of Consumer Reports’ worst ratings ever for a passenger car. - Jalopnik

In December 2011, Fisker recalled the first 239 Karma plug-in hybrids due to a fire hazard. – New York Times





In May 2012, a Fisker was blamed for starting a fire in Texas that burned the owners house to the ground. - Autoweek

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In June 2012, Fisker announced a recall for Karma sedans due to a fire hazard – New York Times

In August 2012, a Karma caught fire in a California parking lot – ABC News





Fisker responded by recalling 2,400 Karmas citing a faulty cooling fan - Reuters





One owner, an Austin, TX-based programmer, recorded a 41-minute video about how bad the car’s control panel was. - YouTube

“I’ve got to take a breath before I start talking about this. This is awful. This makes you wonder what two-year-old designed it,” he explained in his video. - Autoblog





“I ordered this car because I wanted an eco-friendly ride that didn’t suck,” one user wrote on the Fisker owner forum. “But this car isn’t seeming so eco-friendly right now since my Aston gets the same MPG on gas. Plus, the crappy tires that wear out in a year, and the 0-60 has been downgraded to 6.3 seconds. It just gets worse and worse every day that this drags on… sooo… disappointed.” - Fisker forums





One Fisker owner says his car broke down four times over the span of a few months. – Wall Street Journal





Justin Bieber reportedly gave his Fisker Karma to a friend to use while he was on tour – TMZ





Fisker blamed the “the overly negative media that were sometimes very politically biased” for the car company’s woes in February 2013 – Autoblog





During a Consumer Reports test drive, the Fisker Karma broke down – Digital Trends

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“It looks awesome, it is low, it is sleek it is sensuous,” declared a Consumers Reports staffer in this video, “It’s also broken.” - Digital Trends





More than a dozen Fisker Karma’s caught fire and exploded at a New Jersey Port after Hurricane Sandy - Jalponik

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On December 28, 2012, Fisker sued its insurance company after the company was denied some $33 million in damages. - Reuters





Fisker reportedly dropped the lawsuit on Feb. 21, 2013. - Autoblog









Henrik Fisker has wined and dined 25% of all Karma buyers as part of his marketing strategy - Autoblog







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“If I was aware of the company’s dire financial situation, I would not have purchased the vehicle,” – a Fisker Karma owner. - New York Times





In January 2013, one of Fisker’s friends and founders “struck a deal” with Fisker to provide a Karma with a Corvette ZR1′s supercharged 6.2-liter V8, 638 hp engine. The gas powered car’s new name is the VLP Destino. - Wired



