A three-day teardown and cataloging of components from a Chevy Volt has shown its electronic controls to be exceedingly sophisticated and apparently designed for future upgrades.
Performed by a team of automotive engineers for Munro & Associates of suburban Detroit and attended by Reuters and EE Times, this sort of thing is more often done privately by automakers looking to reverse engineer competitors' vehicles.
In its 2012 Car Brand Perception Survey, Consumer Reports added a couple of questions to assess "America’s pulse" on plug-in vehicles.
The "unnatural relationship" between the Obama administration and US carmakers in the wake of the 2009 auto bailouts may have led to a delay in disclosing a potential safety defect in Chevrolet Volts, Republican lawmakers claim in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee report.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a formal hearing to discuss and to investigate the potential fire risks associated with the extensively damaged Chevrolet Volts. Darrell Issa, R-CA, chairman of the committee, told members of the House that the hearing—titled "Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA know and when did they know it?”—will be held on January 25.
On Thursday GM announced it had engineered an expedient but effective solution to post-crash-test battery fires reported by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and will ask Chevrolet Volt drivers to return to their dealers for the one-day reinforcing procedure.
Despite ongoing distortions of facts by critics including one Fox News pundit who suggested the vehicle might “blow up,” federal authorities have repeated that the Volt is safe and GM says its voluntary measure is intended to keep showing why the Volt is rated #1 in customer satisfaction.
General Motors said today that a “couple dozen” Chevy Volt owners have indicated that they plan to take the company up on its offer to buy back Volts from customers worried about potential fire dangers raised by a recently announced NHTSA test.
Following news of an industry wide federal electrified vehicle investigation announced two weeks ago, General Motors has since found itself the subject of a preliminary probe after impacted Chevy Volt batteries caught fire, and GM is responding to allay concerns.
On Friday the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) said following two fires created this month in a crash lab – although too soon to predict – a recall might even be necessary.
“NHTSA is continually working to ensure automakers are in compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, culling information to identify safety defects, and ensuring manufacturers conduct any necessary safety recalls,” said NHTSA, while adding further down in its statement, “While it is too soon to tell whether the investigation will lead to a recall of any vehicles or parts, if NHTSA identifies an unreasonable risk to safety, the agency will take immediate action to notify consumers and ensure that GM communicates with current vehicle owners.”
General Motors announced this week that its forthcoming Chevy Malibu Eco will be priced to start at $25,995―including a $760 destination charge.
Last week Magna E-Car Systems and General Motors of Canada announced a joint project to evaluate a fleet of nine battery electric Chevrolet Equinox crossovers.
The converted vehicles are to be studied by a number of interested stakeholders as a step toward possibly producing these types of electric vehicles.
“Collaboration between automakers, suppliers, utility companies and the government is essential in order to develop solutions for future mobility,” said Ted Robertson, Vice Chairman, Magna E-Car Systems. “Such collaboration can enhance innovation and reduce costs, particularly in fleet projects such as this where the resulting data and lessons learned are useful to all participants.”
A Chevrolet Volt that was side-impact tested for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and caught fire three weeks later has prompted the same agency to begin investigating lithium-ion batteries from all makers.
The second Volt now known to have been involved in a fire in early June after the 20-mph impact did not make the press five months ago, and might have gone unreported if not for the investigation just begun.
NHTSA's full revelation was reported last week, and details included that the fire might have been prevented if it had known to implement GM’s post-crash protocols. In a statement, NHTSA did not raise undue alarm.
