DETROIT — General Motors says it will offer free loaner cars to Chevrolet Volt owners if they’re concerned about the cars catching fire.
The move comes after last week’s announcement that the government is investigating fires involving the Volt’s lithium-ion batteries.
The company says it will contact the owners to reassure them that the cars are safe. But it’s making the offer to make sure Volt owners don’t lose confidence in the cars.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a Volt battery pack that was being monitored after a crash test caught fire on Thursday. The agency says another battery that recently was crash-tested gave off smoke and sparks.
The latest fires are in addition to a battery fire in a crash-tested Volt six months ago.
This is exactly how the Big Oil companies killed the electric car laws in California. They will go after the safety of the vehicles to outlaw them. Even though there has been more than 10 years of safety testing!! Big oil must stop trying to kill off alternative forms of energy. Their desire to stay in our pocket books with fossil fuel from foreign countries is going to destroy our country.
Electric car? That only goes 50 miles on a charge? How about a gas powered car that can be used as an electric car in an emergency? Unless the batteries explode, that is.
oh no, not Obamamobile’s cars getting on fire *sarcasm* those vehicles should of been tested thoroughly before being sold to the public.
@txloanguy – In case you missed it, the Volt is a gas powered car that can be used as an electric car.
Government Motors at it’s best.
Free loaner! If you survive the fire.
Everything about Obama is a failure. Czars, Birth Certificate, Obamacare, Libya, Solyndra, Chevy Volt, I could go on and on. This failure should follow Sarah Palin’s lead and get the hell out of the way.
The Volt received the Top Safety Pick Award by the privately funded Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. So, I’m pretty sure it was tested for safety.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/03/autos/nhtsa_volt_five_star/index.htm
JScott1, actually it is an electric car powered by batteries and a gasoline generator.
Strickland, what the heck do the oil companies have to do with crash tests performed by the government?
These cars are so great that they burn up. What a joke. If they get past this look for real fun when you try to recycle that VERY expensive battery that will have to be replaced in a few years.
50 miles on a charge? I rode in a Volt last week. According the vehicle’s dash board the fully charged electric range was 31 miles not 50.
As mentioned, it is a hybrid and not a pure EV. I don’t really see that distinction mentioned in media reports.
It rode kind of rough like a typical small car. The regenerative breaking system feels different. Since the motor was very quiet road noise seemed amplified.
Hey, I owned a Ford a while back that spontaneously cranked its starter motor nonstop in the middle of the night until the engine and car caught fire. They should not hold these hybrid cars to higher standards than conventional cars (not that I want one).
IT IS A PIECE OF EXCREMENT THAT COMES INTO EXISTENCE ONLY BECAUSE OF THE LIBERAL NO BRAINS LEFT WING DUMB BUTTS.
Is it just me, or does everything Obama and his lap dogs (i.e. Cebelius, Salazar, etc.) touch turns to crap? Yea! I guess you’re right. It’s just me. I mean look…he’s done..uh…they have turned…hmmm..but of course they have improved..uh..ya know..this bunch have just not done a damn thing that has turned out right! Nothing! This Volt Lemon that supposedly set GM on the right track under government control now threatens to banckrupt the company yet again! OK, time for the Obamanistas to dig into those deep pockets and spend more of our money on premature, inept designs that barely make the chart with people who don’t want it! Smart move by an administration who hangs their hat on a healthcare plan that will carry the country completely into bankruptcy that we may never recover from. What an American tragedy this has turned into.