GM has announced that they will have all 8,000 Chevy Volts currently on the road return to dealerships for the installation of a steel plate that will help to prevent a fire like that which occurred after the car was crash tested earlier this year. The steel plate will help to spread the force of any impact to the battery pack, in what we assume would be a side impact crash.
It is important to note that this is not a recall. The company did this before it rose to that level. Because it is not a recall, the government does not monitor or oversee the process and completion of the repairs. The customer service campaign will also fix the 4,400 cars which are listed as being in inventory and have not been sold to the public yet.
Our take? This is a smart move by GM to stop what could have mushroomed into a massive and ugly PR nightmare. Instead of being involved in a stand off with the media and car owners, they were proactive and addressed the issue.
Here’s a link to a Washington Post article on the repairs:
8,000 Volts to be repaired by GM
Yup good move GM . I was doubtful about the volt but there are a few around here and people seem to like them ,I heard some woman in the deli the other morning say she get about 100 miles to the gallon with it.
Yes, get it right! This is important, perhaps our manufacturers can dominate EV’s.
so instead of burning a fossil fuel (gasoline) we burn a fossile fuel (coal), this must be the greatest idea EVER!
Electric cars are dumb and like so many things a false feeling of doing the good thing as if electricity was magicaly coming out of the wall.
WAIT TILL THE ELECTRIC COMPANIES HAVE TO update their grids and everything else as these coal burning, oops, electric cars take hold..
then even the people thatdon’t drive these coal burning cars will pay for their fuel.. nice,
Pinto owners come in and have a mud flap installed to better prevent your car from becoming a fireball in the event of a rear end collision.
Volt owners come in and have a steel plate installed to better prevent your car from becoming a fireball in the event of a collision.
(Fire may occur several days after collision.)
The biggest issue I have always had with this car is the $7K taxpayer subsidy a buyer gets for buying a Volt. The average salary of a Volt owner is around $175K. This is green welfare.
Buy one if you want, but don’t expect the rest of us to help you afford it.