While Chevrolet is leading the way among car manufacturers when it comes to “going green,” they may be doing so by cutting corners when it comes to safety. An investigation has apparently been launched into the Chevy Volt thanks to reports of battery related fires. While this report may not cripple the company's green initiative, it will almost certainly serve as a substantial hiccup.
Earlier this year, the company announced that it would be releasing a brand new all-electric car, the Chevy Spark. This announcement came despite the fact that, while the American public loves to say they want their cars to be green, Americans do not purchase that many hybrid or electric vehicles. A car that is actually hurting its drivers is certainly not going to help that ailing market all that much.
The problem, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is that in a crash, the Chevy Volt can have its battery damaged. That battery can then lead to dangerous fires as many as three weeks later. Because of these reported fires being started by the batteries, the NHTSA has launched a formal investigation to see just how many times this might have occurred.
General Motors (News - Alert) (the makers of the Chevrolet line of cars and trucks) for its part has to be a bit worried that this kind of investigation is being carried out at all. According to the NHTSA, their discovery actually came after a test crash demonstrated the problem. As of right now, the agency has been very quick to point out that no real-world crashes have actually led to fires. The NHTSA is categorizing this particular investigation as proactive instead of reactive, which will be welcomed among a driving public that has seen far too many new stories over the years of defective cars only being found out after someone was hurt or killed.
GM recently released a statement saying they were willing to work closely with the NHTSA to figure out if the problem is indeed something that might eventually need a recall. At the moment, the investigation is too young to make a determination like that.
Edited by
Rich Steeves
