The big three automakers in the US are under intense pressure to come up with a plan to save their industry by building a fuel efficient car Americans want to buy.
Now an outsider may have figured out a way to do it, a hybrid that may bring Detroit good karma.
The Fisker Karma is a plugin hybrid; it can get 80 kilometres on an electric charge before a gas engine kicks in to power its lithium ion battery.
With a top speed of 200kmh, they say the average driver will get about 160 kilometres per 3.7litres of gas.
The initial price tag is set at US$80,000, but within a few years Fisker hopes to produce a US$40,000 version of the lean green machine.