Things were looking pretty good for the California-based company until the U.S. Department of Energy decided not to give them the full amount of the intended $529 million loan, and because they were around $336 million short the automaker had to layoff 65 workers. Analysts will have varying views on this; some will say things are fine while others suggest this is the end for Fisker.

Autoblog has been reporting that the Obama Administration could be to blame for reducing the loan amount but could they really go out of business without the loan? It’s hard to feel sympathy for an automaker because of the bailouts other carmakers have had in the past, and while this comes out of taxpayers money it’s always Joe public who ends up paying in the end.

While the idea of the Fisker Karma and Nina are great for the environment we have to wonder why they should be given such treatment from the government, then again isn’t it better to help a company such as this compared to a multi-billion dollar company like General Motors?

Fisker has only been around since 2007 and the thought of helping a company out that is looking to the future is surely worth the risk, although when you consider how much Fisker is asking for their models it does leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Maybe Fisker is going about it all wrong, instead of trying to get loans from the DOE they should start canvassing for more private investors who share the same vision as the automaker. However, they need to be careful because they are already in trouble with one investor who is now trying to sue them.

There is one other issue that the Karma has, which could be affecting interest from other investors and that’s the thought of achieving the same fuel economy as the Prius hybrid. While Toyota’s vehicle will not be able to achieve the same kind of speeds some drivers would rather trade this off when compared to the cost, and this could be the main reason why investors are slow in coming forward.

According to PlugInCars production will being in March and deliveries will be expected soon after, therefore it would be fair to say that people may begin receiving their vehicles in late Spring 2011, delays aren’t expected, however don’t be too surprised if this slips to early Summer 2011.

Fisker Automotive hope to build and sell roughly 15,000 Karmas in 2011, if they manage this figure it will bring in a huge amount of money, remember there are three different models available ranging from $95,900 to $108,900, you can see full pricing details on the pre-order form.

Some people were annoyed that Fisker increased the Karma’s price from $87,900 to $95,900, however once you take into account federal tax incentives the difference is only a few hundred dollars, we have embedded an image below which gives you a rough idea about the car’s performance.

If you are seriously considering buying the Fisker Karma we have some great links for you to check out, click on the following words for the relevant info: Performance, Drivetrain, Technology, Design, Audio and Safety, also worth checking out is the gallery.