Government Motors

[James48843]

Crash safety is a huge selling/confidence point to a owner or future owner.

The fire question wasn't something that happened IN a crash.

The fire question was something that happend WEEKS after a crash, when a car with an exposed battery plate was left outside, and rain water dripped into the core when the plastic case split in the side-impact collision, and caused it to short and overheat.


No risk to the safety of occupants - as it wasn't something that happened IN the collision.


Now, since we've just rehashed this for about the nth time, can we all agree that there is NOT an operational safety problem with the Volt, and it's safety record is, in fact, better than most cars out there.

 

[James48843]

For the record- the Volt has a 5-star crash rating.



You are welcome to compare that to any other similar size car of it's class.
Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Enjoy.

 

[nnuut]

The fire question wasn't something that happened IN a crash.

The fire question was something that happend WEEKS after a crash, when a car with an exposed battery plate was left outside, and rain water dripped into the core when the plastic case split in the side-impact collision, and caused it to short and overheat.


No risk to the safety of occupants - as it wasn't something that happened IN the collision.


Now, since we've just rehashed this for about the nth time, can we all agree that there is NOT an operational safety problem with the Volt, and it's safety record is, in fact, better than most cars out there.

Like I said, reminds me of a Time Bomb, TICK, TICK, TICK, BOOM!
So every time you get a fender bender yoru car could blow up anytime, guess you would have to get the battery pack disassembled and inspected after every accident, no matter how severe?

 

[Viva_La_Migra]

Like I said, reminds me of a Time Bomb, TICK, TICK, TICK, BOOM!
So every time you get a fender bender yoru car could blow up anytime, guess you would have to get the battery pack disassembled and inspected after every accident, no matter how severe?

I guess this can be said of any vehicle out there. Gasoline cars can explode, and have. A fuel cell vehicle could explode if the hydrogen tank ruptures near sparks or flames. CNG vehicles can also explode under similar conditions. The safety rate of EV's right now is only high because there are so few of them on the road relative to the number of other fossil fuel powered vehicles on the road.

The high initial cost of the volt will keep me from getting one. That, and the high cost of electricity in CA, which is only going to get higher as the summer months get closer. I would also prefer that they do a hybrid with a diesel engine, so I can use biodiesel.

 

[paydirt]

Like I said, reminds me of a Time Bomb, TICK, TICK, TICK, BOOM!
So every time you get a fender bender yoru car could blow up anytime, guess you would have to get the battery pack disassembled and inspected after every accident, no matter how severe?

After Chevy installed the reinforcement in the center battery tunnel, NHTSA retested and the Volt successfully passed. These tests are very severe, so unless you crash like a NASCAR driver, I don't think I'd be too worried.

 

[Mapper]

Yeppers!
Better stick to keeping safe fuels/fluids like gas, oil and CNG in our cars. At least we know THOSE aren't flammable and it's perfectly safe to pump them into our engines at high PSIs all while starting the motors with lead acid batteries. Whew! I feel sooo much safer. Oh, wait a second?

 

[nnuut]

Yeppers!
Better stick to keeping safe fuels/fluids like gas, oil and CNG in our cars. At least we know THOSE aren't flammable and it's perfectly safe to pump them into our engines at high PSIs all while starting the motors with lead acid batteries. Whew! I feel sooo much safer. Oh, wait a second?

Of course you know that the Volt has a Gasoline Engine also.

 

[Mapper]

Yes, I sure do; and I noticed we weren't discussing the safety of that...just the batteries.

So, what are we really worried about, safety or a challenge to the status quo?

We can speculate all we want but it will be years before we learn if there are any egregious engineering oversights that make the Volt unsafe. What we do know is that the Volt is engineered to the same occupancy protections standards as any other car and has performed as well or better at protecting occupants than most cars in it's class during crash tests. There will always be freak accidents but, at this point, to suggest the Volt has engineering defects rendering it any more unsafe to drive than any other car is baseless.

 

[Viva_La_Migra]

Yeppers!
Better stick to keeping safe fuels/fluids like gas, oil and CNG in our cars. At least we know THOSE aren't flammable and it's perfectly safe to pump them into our engines at high PSIs all while starting the motors with lead acid batteries. Whew! I feel sooo much safer. Oh, wait a second?

Wow, you aren't being sarcastic at all.

 

[Minnow]

Anyone here ever have to fight a metal or alkaloid metal fire? If you have, then you know you do not fight these things the same way that you fight a conventional fire. So, exactly how confident do you feel that your local fire department has the equipment (an ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher will do in a pinch -- but you really need a Lithium X entinguisher) and the know how to actually fight the fire properly.

Now add on that cost to the public for providing the equipment to the local fire depts. plus the training in fighting those fires to the costs of the volts being on the road.

The risk may indeed be low but you can be darn sure that it will not escape the watchful eyes of the insurance industry and their risk assessment teams. Bank on it.

Still seems too high a price to pay for what amounts to a boondoggle with no proven results.

From inception to tires on the pavement, an economical gas engine or diesel seems both more economical, efficient and more environmentally friendly for those still on their green trip.

 

[paydirt]

Anyone here ever have to fight a metal or alkaloid metal fire? If you have, then you know you do not fight these things the same way that you fight a conventional fire. So, exactly how confident do you feel that your local fire department has the equipment (an ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher will do in a pinch -- but you really need a Lithium X entinguisher) and the know how to actually fight the fire properly.

Now add on that cost to the public for providing the equipment to the local fire depts. plus the training in fighting those fires to the costs of the volts being on the road.

The risk may indeed be low but you can be darn sure that it will not escape the watchful eyes of the insurance industry and their risk assessment teams. Bank on it.

Still seems too high a price to pay for what amounts to a boondoggle with no proven results.

From inception to tires on the pavement, an economical gas engine or diesel seems both more economical, efficient and more environmentally friendly for those still on their green trip.

Well, sometimes that's progress, you know, like "boldly go where no man has gone before," and "which one of you nuts has got any guts."

 

[Mapper]

Well, sometimes that's progress, you know, like "boldly go where no man has gone before," and "which one of you nuts has got any guts."

Now that's the American Spirit!

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

Now that's the American Spirit!

No, the American Spirit is doing it without Government support, true entrepreneur-ism...

 

[Minnow]

Well, sometimes that's progress, you know, like "boldly go where no man has gone before," and "which one of you nuts has got any guts."

Well, your first quote came from Star Trek... frankly I don't want my tax dollars going where no man has gone before.

The second is from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest while Randle P. McMurphy was trying convince mental patients to change an insane mental ward policy/schedule.

So your quotes, while cute and most certainly clever, are more apropos to an individual defending my position.

By the way, if I haven't welcomed you to the message board, then "Welcome." And I sincerely respect the way you state your positions. Cudos to you.

 

[Mapper]

No, the American Spirit is doing it without Government support, true entrepreneur-ism...

Oh sure.

Well if that were the case we'd be sitting under candle light discussing horses and buggies...via pen and paper delivered by the Pony Express. Of course us folks in the West would probably not be here because the non-existent Federal Gov't wouldn't have bankrolled the land purchases/swaps/grabs or defended the pioneers OR promoted westward expansion during the era of the Homestead Act. Of course if you want to go down that road we could also discusses the technological advancements made by the government during WWII. No, nope, this government supported research & development is totally new

 

[RealMoneyIssues]

Oh sure.

Well if that were the case we'd be sitting under candle light discussing horses and buggies...via pen and paper delivered by the Pony Express. Of course us folks in the West would probably not be here because the non-existent Federal Gov't wouldn't have bankrolled the land purchases/swaps/grabs or defended the pioneers OR promoted westward expansion during the era of the Homestead Act. Of course if you want to go down that road we could also discusses the technological advancements made by the government during WWII. No, nope, this government supported research & development is totally new

Yuppers, giving tax credits to consumers for buying products promoted by a government owned company is the way of the future... sad

 

[Minnow]

No, nope, this government supported research & development is totally new

Good point Mapper. Have you checked out any of the links on Thorium that I have scattered on TspTalk? If so, I would like to hear your thoughts. I wouldn't mind tax dollars going toward that.

 

[Mapper]

Yuppers, giving tax credits to consumers for buying products promoted by a government owned company is the way of the future... sad

Good Morning Sir! Welcome to Reality.
Sometime look up the story of how building the transcontinental railroad was funded or how the vast majority of our military technology gets developed (I could go on, and on, and on) and then get back to me about how this is the "way of the future".

 

[Mapper]

Good point Mapper. Have you checked out any of the links on Thorium that I have scattered on TspTalk? If so, I would like to hear your thoughts. I wouldn't mind tax dollars going toward that.

Yes, I have. If the information available is correct than I agree with you completely. Unfortunately so much of the information is scattered...and thorium is hardly something I would consider myself educated about...because the information is so scattered. When I read about it I kept wondering about what was missing, because it seems too good to be true. If it is true, it should be acted upon.

 

[Mapper]

Back on subject:

Chevy Volt and corporate twin Opel Ampera just named European Car of the Year by the European Motoring Press. Congratulations GM...and whichever Americans own you!

Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera Are Jointly Named European Car of the Year - NYTimes.com