Second Fisker Karma Erupts In Flames - w/Video

By all accounts, the Fisker Karma is one hot car. For a couple of owners though, perhaps it's a bit too hot.

Similar to a situation in May, when one of the luxury extended-range electric-drive vehicles apparently spontaneously combusted in a garage in Texas, a Karma has burst into flames in a Woodside, CA parking lot. Rudy Burger was returning to his shapely plug-in hybrid after a bit of grocery shopping when he caught the car in the act of self-immolation. According to Jalopnik, he immediately called up the automaker which, in turn, advised him to call 911.

Firefighters appeared to have arrived quite quickly and the flames were subdued before much more than just the front driver's side was consumed. Considering that the A123 Systems' battery runs down the center of the car under the passenger compartment, it is possible that the pack was not responsible for the blaze.Wired got a statement from Fisker, which furthers this line of thought. It reads, in part:

Fisker understands damage was limited to the driver's side front corner of the car, away from the lithium ion battery and electric motors. The car was not being charged at the time.
In an electric vehicle, immediate suspicion is focused on the battery and high voltage components. The location of the damage to the vehicle in this incident appears to rule out that suspicion. Fisker has not had any battery or high voltage fire incidents with any of its vehicles.

Fisker says it has hired "an independent fire expert to assist the investigation" and says that once the probe is completed and the cause pinpointed, it will issue a statement on the matter. You can read the current statement – and find a video of the Karma conflagration – below.