GM's PR Disaster= Volt?

[Blue Maro Demon]

According to the news in todays Autoline Daily less people are now interested in buying a Chevrolet Volt now due to the bad publicity it is getting over the NHTSA testing where they left a battered Volt for months causing the battery to catch fire. I can't believe how this is getting soooo blown up out of proportion! He even says alot of people love to see bad things happen to Government Motors,

[Rock36]

It's what happens when people just read headlines without reading the article unfortunately.

[motorhead]

It will blow over. If people are still buying toyotas knowing that it can decide to take off on them at any time ,then they will surely have no problem buying volts that may catch fire after sitting for a month after a horrific crash.

[Blownhotrodder]

Id rather see some cng or hydrogen powered vehicles myself.

[ffrcobra_65]

isn't it strange that when a problem with other companies get highly publicized, we jump in but when it happens to a company we like, it is getting "blown outta proportion."

[coolman]

Originally Posted by ffrcobra_65

isn't it strange that when a problem with other companies get highly publicized, we jump in but when it happens to a company we like, it is getting "blown outta proportion."

To me this is blowing it out of proportion. The car was already crashed and had been sitting in a parking lot for days when it caught fire. It can hardly compare to a problem like the random acceleration of countless toyotas that happened while consumers were driving them. When they start catching on fire in peoples garages (undamaged) or while driving well, then I would say it's time to look into it.

[BigDan]

Too much doom and gloom just like the nightly news that I dont watch. I prefer FLD for my auto news vs the guy's doom and gloom coverage.

[derklug]

I am not a fan of the Volt, or any electric car, but I think there are legions of naysayers who want the Volt to fail just becaus it comes from GM. If Honda had come out with the Volt it would have been the second coming for the eco-weenies.

[JusticePete]

News Flash Gasoline Powered Vehicle Catch Fire

The NHTSA has discovered that gas tanks damaged in severe crashes catch fire at accident sites. "We have initiated an in depth study to determine if gasoline burns."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a statement on its investigation into a Chevrolet Volt fire that occurred at the organization's facilities. NHTSA had done a side-impact test on a Volt then parked it outside, and three weeks later Chevy's plug-in hybrid caught fire. The battery was determined to be the cause, after its coolant line was ruptured during the side-impact test. That led the NHTSA to consider a ruling forcing hybrid and electric-car batteries to be drained after a wreck.

On Friday, NHTSA said it is opening "a formal safety defect investigation" to study the risks of fire in Chevy Volts that have been in major accidents. To be clear, though, the larger story is that this isn't just about the Volt, this is about any vehicle with a battery pack, with NHTSA gathering "additional information about the potential for fire in electric vehicles involved in a crash...."

NHTSA conducted three more tests on the Volt's battery packs over three days, each test involving damaging the pack and rotating the car to simulate an accident and rollover. The battery pack in the third test began to smoke and spark almost immediately, the pack in the second test caught fire a week later. It is due to these results that the formal investigation has been opened. Follow the jump for NHTSA's complete statement.

Can you image a shorted battery sparks?
The fire risk is not at the accident it is days or weeks later.
If the battery is discharged, there is no fire risk.

Excuse me because I have to disconnect the main power line coming into my house so the electricity does leak out of the outlets while I sleep

[Indpowr]

They always blow stuff out of proportion but if you look at the numbers, I will never buy one of these and I was shopping for a Elec or hybrid too.

48k for the car (minus 7k for taxes) = way to high
35 miles for the eclectic charge then turns on gas = who cars about going only 35 miles

I will wait until they can come out with something good or if the government allows it since they make so much money on taxes with oil, I am sure they are holding it back

[BigDan]

Originally Posted by derklug

If Honda had come out with the Volt it would have been the second coming for the eco-weenies.

So true.

[hightower]

This is ridiculous. I like the volt, I rode in and drove one. It's an excellent vehicle in my opinion.

[Zabo]

Originally Posted by Blownhotrodder

Id rather see some cng or hydrogen powered vehicles myself.

Oh jeez.. talk about up in flames. I still wonder how the heck they get LPG trucks on the road. Heck Chevy and to my knowledge Ford/Ram have LPG options for the HD truck lines..

And yet people freak out about the Volt, when there are other rolling gas bombs out there they nobody raises hell over (and they shouldn't). Oh well, time to wait for a Leaf to go up and everyone ban golf carts from golf courses..

[BigDan]