More post-crash battery fires involving Chevy Volt - Business - Autos - msnbc.com 2nd Chevy Volt's batteries catches fire... (following crash test!) WASHINGTON — A safety investigation of the lithium-ion batteries in General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Volt is under way to assess the risk of fire in the electric car after a serious crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday. One Volt battery pack that was being closely monitored following a government crash test caught fire Thursday, the safety administration said in a statement. Another crash-tested battery emitted smoke and sparks, the statement said. GM, which was informed of the investigation on Friday, said in a statement that the Volt "is safe and does not present undue risk as part of normal operation or immediately after a severe crash." The fires are in addition to a battery fire in a crash-tested Volt six months ago. NHTSA learned of a possible fire risk involving damaged Volt batteries in June when a fire erupted in a Volt that was being stored in a parking lot a test facility in Burlington, Wis. The fire was severe enough to cause several other vehicles parked nearby to catch fire as well. The car had been subjected to a side-impact crash test more than three weeks earlier, on May 12, during which the battery was damaged and its coolant line ruptured. Last week's tests of three battery packs were designed to replicate the May test. In that test, the Volt was subjected to a simulated side-impact collision into a narrow object like a tree or pole followed by a rollover, the agency said. The first battery tested last week didn't catch fire. But a battery test on Nov. 17 initially experienced a temporary temperature increase, and on Thursday caught fire. Another battery tested on Nov. 18, which was rotated 180 degrees within hours after the test, began to smoke and emit sparks shortly after the rotation. The tests were conducted by NHTSA and the Energy and Defense departments at a defense facility near Hampton Roads, Va. So far, no fires have been reported in Volts involved in roadway crashes, NHTSA said. More than 5,000 of the vehicles have been sold. <IFRAME id=dapIfM1 height=0 src="about:blank" frameBorder=0 width=0 allowTransparency name=dapIfM1 scrolling=no></IFRAME> It's too soon to tell whether the investigation will lead to a recall of any vehicles or parts, but the government will ensure consumers are informed promptly if that occurs, the agency said. With electronic safety systems that are part of the car, "GM knows real time about any crash significant enough to potentially compromise battery integrity," the automaker said. "Since July, GM has implemented a post-crash protocol that includes the depowering of the battery after a severe crash, returning the battery to a safe and low-powered state." Electric vehicles are critical to President Barack Obama's plans to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He has called for putting 1 million of the vehicles on the road by 2015.
yeah i saw where they are opening an investigation into the volt cars just more money spent to make themselves look good what ever happened to "if its broke, just fix it" like if my car doesnt work does congress investigate that?
Wonder how much petroleum-derived material is used to produce the Volt, and how much petroleum-derived energy is used in the production? Smoke & Mirrors.
The Chevy VOLT is just like the Hybrid vehicles other car companies produce. They are so the owners can pat themselves on the back & have a smug sense of superiority over other car owners. They take even more energy to produce. They don't pollute the air, they pollute the earth when their batteries need changed. An it takes just as much or more energy to run them since electricity don't come from nowhere!!! Back in the mid to late '80s Ford produced a car called Festiva. It got 45mpg in the 4 speed version. Later 5 speed versions it was rumored flirted with the 60mpg number. An yet today Hybrids that get 35mpg are celebrated? WTF!!
As I recall, not so very long ago, GM had a test model out that was electric and everyone loved...they even made a documentary about it, What Killed the Chevy________(drawing a blank now)------? It was discovered that the oil companies went beserk over the new technology, and put the kibosh on the manufacturing! They had it, it worked, and they tossed it away! I saw the cars being rounded up and crushed....Same here in Arizona, APS (Arizona Public Service) had all electric vans and such...1991
DF, it is "Who killed the electric car?" Saw it years ago from Netflicks. Gee, where does the power come from to 'electrify' the electric car? Coal powered plants, hydroelectric, (tear them down, poor fish), Nat. gas ect...Get rid of the windmills, kill birds 'ya know. PC idiots......... OH, you can still see the signs for fueling stations in CA for the cars. Never sold them only 'leased' them so they could do a 'recall' on them. Really recomend the film, and I rarelly do so..
I Wiki'd up the stories on the GM EV1 (their first more-or-less successful E-car), the Chevy Volt and the Chevy Spark. I didn't see much to interest me personally in these cars - too expensive, too little range, just not yet versatile enough.... for ME. YMMV. From reading, it looks like if GM hadn't shafted their own EV1 project, we'd likely have some much better E-cars onthe road by now. The people who leased the EV1 (they were never 'sold') all seemed to pretty much like it. The markets were limited to just a few cities, and the entire effort was basically a sort of 'beta test' of the practicality. GM gave several excuses for killing it -loss of parts and service revenue, expensive production reducing the profit margins, and California's CAFE regulations getting draconian, etc.
In 85,I was delivering auto parts in the Orlando metro area in a 1986 Chevy Luv Diesel pickup. It was averaging 58mpg in the city,and 64mpg hwy.It wouldnt hardly get out of it's own way on take off,but easily did highway speeds once you got going. This was in 1985!!What's up with that?? In Lakeland,Fl.A guy built a pure electric three wheeled 2 seater car in his garage called the"evette"(check Youtube). It looks like a shortened Lamborgini,will do 100mph+,will outrun most hotrods in the eighth mile,and runs approx 250mi per charge if driven like a normal car.It's also fairly nimble offroad even with it's low ground clearence. Whats really special about it is that it does all this using a bank of regular old deep cycle golf cart batteries.Whats up with that?? Now you see why I dislike the Hybrids,and pure electrics.THEY ARE A JOKE!! I would much rather figure a way to plug in a hybrid,or pure electric to power the house,than plug into the house to power the hybrid/pure electric. One would make for an awfully expensive whole house mobile generator though. Matt
