Fisker Automotive has again delayed the delivery date of its Karma sports car, but the sleek plug-in electric still shines. Volume production is now expected to start in the first quarter of next year, rather than this summer as the Energy Department promised when it awarded a $529 million government loan to the company last year. Fisker is blaming financial, not technical, difficulties for the slip.

Despite the delay, the muscle-bound Karma casts a long shadow. The four-door luxury car has two 201-hp electric motors and a top speed of 125 mph. After 50 miles, a gasoline-powered generator kicks in to recharge the lithium-ion battery pack. The car will sell for between $88,000 and $115,000. We ran into a Karma prototype last weekend at a car show in Palo Alto.