Friday, November 11, 2011

Volt Starts A Highly Charged Fire

Jeesh, this is just great. A Chevy Volt caught fire after undergoing a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration testing…three weeks after the accident!

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today it had investigated a fire that occurred this spring, after the Volt extended-range electric vehicle underwent a 20 mile-per-hour, side-impact test for its five-star crash safety rating. The crash punctured the Volt’s lithium-ion battery, and after more than three weeks of sitting outside, the vehicle and several car around it caught fire. No one was hurt.

General Motors believes the fire occurred because the NHTSA did not drain the energy from the Volt’s battery following the crash, which is a safety step the automaker recommends, GM spokesman Rob Peterson said. NHTSA had not been told of the safety protocol, Peterson said. (Source: Detroit Free Press)

So now we have to worry about this supposedly green vehicle catching fire after an accident? I know that GM has said they are going to take pains to try and inform all of this step, but obviously, it doesn’t work every time. Good grief, GM gave NHTSA these cars for the purpose of crashing them and they still didn’t bother to tell the testers this was a possible outcome.

No comments:

Post a Comment