The writing has been on the walls for awhile, but now the scrawlings read true: Fisker Automotive has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For almost a year, the company's been sliding down a slope of financial ruin. Production was halted, workers were furloughed, then laid off and the Department of Energy even seized $21 million from the company after becoming concerned it wouldn't be able to pay of its $192 million federal loan.

The bankruptcy filing will help facilitate the company's sale to Hybrid Technology, an investor group that has agreed to buy the remainder of the DOE's original loan, now valued at $25 million. Hybrid says the deal is the first step to putting the Karma back into production (and back on the market), but notes that it still has a lot of work to do. "As we continue to examine Fisker's opportunities, we will be making decisions about the structure and footprint of the new business," a Hybrid spokeswoman told the Reuters. It'll likely take some time for the hybrid sports sedan to make it back to the showroom. Hopefully, it'll give the firm time to work out some of the original Karma's faults.