Is the Chevy Volt more dangerous than gas powered cars ?

[Ms Grumpy]

So do you think that the Volt is a dangerous vehicle because of the electric batteries ?


The following article was taken off of the Fox2 Detroit website:

Safety Regulator: 'We pulled no punches' on Volt

Updated: Wednesday, 25 Jan 2012, 11:29 AM EST
Published : Wednesday, 25 Jan 2012, 8:39 AM EST

By FREDERIC J. FROMMER Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The government "pulled no punches" in investigating battery fires in the Volt, General Motors' prized electric car, the head of the federal auto safety agency told Congress on Wednesday.

At a combative House hearing, Republicans questioned whether the government's partial ownership in the automaker created a conflict of interest for the Obama administration in the Chevrolet probe, which began after a test car caught fire in June, three weeks after a side-impact test.

The government still owns 26.5 percent of GM's shares.

"We pulled no punches" during the investigation, said David Strickland, who heads the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Then asked if the company got a pass from his agency, David Strickland replied, "Absolutely not."

But Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who led the hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, said he found it "deeply troubling" that the agency waited until November to notify the public about the fire.

Strickland said he would have gone public immediately if there were an imminent safety risk. He said it would have been irresponsible to tell people that something was wrong with the Volt while experts looked into the cause of the fire.

In response, the committee chairman, Republican Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said, "I hear you, I don't believe you."

Republicans questioned whether the delay was to help broker new mileage standards, which were negotiated last year. Strickland insisted there was no connection and said he had not been pressured by anyone from the administration on the investigation.

After the first fire, two others occurred later related to separate safety tests, and the agency opened an official investigation on Nov. 25. That ended last week, with the government concluding that the Volt and other electric cars don't pose a greater fire risk than gasoline-powered cars. The agency and General Motors know of no fires in real-world crashes.

GM chairman and CEO Daniel F. Akerson said sarcastically that while the company designed the Volt to be a great car, "unfortunately, there is one thing we did not engineer. Although we loaded the Volt with state-of-the-art safety features, we did not engineer the Volt to be a political punching bag. And that, sadly, is what the Volt has become.

"For all of the loose talk about fires, we are here today because tests by regulators resulted in battery fires under lab conditions that no driver would experience in the real world."

But the Republicans' aim was on the safety agency, as Issa told Strickland, "You guys screwed up by keeping a secret."

Some Democrats came to the administration's defense.

"I don't believe this hearing is about safety," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. Instead, he argued, it was part of an attack on the Obama administration's support for GM and the electric car industry.

At first, GM blamed NHTSA for the June fire, saying it should have drained the battery to prevent any fires after the test. But the company quickly retreated and said it never told NHTSA to drain the battery. GM executives also said there was no formal procedure in place to drain batteries after crashes involving owners.

Now the company sends out a team to drain the batteries after being notified of a crash by its OnStar safety system.

The Volt has a T-shaped, 400 pound battery pack that can power the car for about 35 miles. After that, a small gasoline generator kicks in to run the electric motor. The car has a base price of about $40,000.

[grandsport]

Heard that when it's all said and done the total cost to produce each Volt is almost $200k. Government Motors doing what it does best.trying to shove something down the consumers throat that they do not want.

[earthquake68]

A base model Kia Spectra is about $18K I can buy a LOT of gas $22K. The Volt doesn't make financial sense, no matter the safety issues.

[grandsport]

Originally Posted by earthquake68

A base model Kia Spectra is about $18K I can buy a LOT of gas $22K. The Volt doesn't make financial sense, no matter the safety issues.

You can get a Hyundai GLS for that much,with a better warranty. Ask me how I know.

[flash]

It doesnt matter to me if they are dangerous or not as nobody I knows would benefit from a total electric car as it would not hold a charge long enough .We live in the sticks with few luxuries and like it that way. I dont plan on buying anything that new EVER again.

[Ms Grumpy]

My kids are into recycling and protecting the environment. We have tried to tell them that the cost of producing this vehicle with it's electric battery is so much worse for the environment than the government lets on. This is not one of those situations where the end justifies the means.

[flash]

They dont realize how much making all those batteries costs the environment .I recycle anything I can especially if it will pay me such as scrap metal and soda cans and old car batteries. I sell my scrap metal and donate to my favorite charities and we have several we support including the boys home where our foster boys belong .Im afraid our Government causes more environmental damage than we do ,just consider the Cash For Clunkers Program from a few years ago.They forced auto dealers to kill perfectly good cars that were better than my current daily driver that could have been given to poor people in need or nonprofit groups in need .Sorry ,didnt mean to go there.

[grandsport]

Cash for clunkers would really hurt me this time around.