Tag Archives: volt fires

Volt Fire Hearings Pits Ideologues versus Engineers

In the end how you view this low-voltage Congressional short circuit – with lots of smoke but no fires – depends on how you view Obama Administration actions that used taxpayer-funded subsidies to encourage production of the Volt. These include $151.4 million in stimulus funds for LG Chem, which produces lithium-ion polymer battery cells for the Volt, and $105 million given directly to GM, as well as an end-user federal tax credit of up to $7,500 per Volt purchased. Such subsidies will likely be hotly debated for all industries during the election. Continue reading

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NHTSA Keeps Chevrolet Volt Battery Fire Probe Open

GM said this morning that it was “optimistic” that no recall would be required, a politically sensitive issue since the federal government, which NHTSA is part of, still holds a large 27% stake in GM. For GM’s part, a safety recall is arguably more damaging to the reputation of the Volt than the proposed customer service action. Last year Chevrolet sold 7,671 Volt models , which cost more than $40,000 without taxpayer subsidies to its mostly rich buyers, another political controversy in itself. Continue reading

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GM Changes Chevrolet Volt to Protect Battery to Stop Fires

It was not immediately clear whether NHTSA would require that Chevrolet Volt EVs be recalled or whether the modifications can be done as a customer satisfaction procedure. There remains at this moment an ongoing NHTSA engineering analysis, which could lead to a recall. GM said it was “optimistic” that no recall would be required, a politically sensitive issue since the federal government still holds a large stake in GM. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Volt Earns 5 Stars in Euro NCAP with No Battery Fires. GM Announces Volt Export Plans to China Next Year

At the same time the National Highway Traffic safety Administration was preparing to announce that a formal investigation had begun over Chevrolet Volt battery fires, the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) released its latest results, which gave the Opel Ampera a top 5-star rating. The Ampera is a virtual clone of the Chevrolet Volt.

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