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NEW YORK (AP) -- General Motors will buy Chevrolet Volts back from any owner who is afraid the electric cars will catch fire, the company's CEO said Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, CEO Dan Akerson insisted that the cars are safe, but said the company will purchase the Volts because it wants to keep customers happy. Three fires have broken out in Volts after side-impact crash tests done by the federal government.
Akerson said that if necessary, GM will recall the more than 6,000 Volts now on the road in the U.S. and repair them once the company and federal safety regulators figure out what caused the fires.
"If we find that is the solution, we will retrofit every one of them," Akerson said. "We'll make it right."
News from The Associated Press (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLT_BATTERY_FIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE =DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-01-14-56-43 - broken link)
NEW YORK (AP) -- General Motors will buy Chevrolet Volts back from any owner who is afraid the electric cars will catch fire, the company's CEO said Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, CEO Dan Akerson insisted that the cars are safe, but said the company will purchase the Volts because it wants to keep customers happy. Three fires have broken out in Volts after side-impact crash tests done by the federal government.
Akerson said that if necessary, GM will recall the more than 6,000 Volts now on the road in the U.S. and repair them once the company and federal safety regulators figure out what caused the fires.
"If we find that is the solution, we will retrofit every one of them," Akerson said. "We'll make it right."
News from The Associated Press (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLT_BATTERY_FIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE =DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-01-14-56-43 - broken link)
Unlike most manufacturers who will stall, lie, and generally try to get out of any recall or repair that costs more than $1.00. Kudos to GM for stepping up to the plate. Good article, thanks!!
NEW YORK (AP) -- General Motors will buy Chevrolet Volts back from any owner who is afraid the electric cars will catch fire, the company's CEO said Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, CEO Dan Akerson insisted that the cars are safe, but said the company will purchase the Volts because it wants to keep customers happy. Three fires have broken out in Volts after side-impact crash tests done by the federal government.
Akerson said that if necessary, GM will recall the more than 6,000 Volts now on the road in the U.S. and repair them once the company and federal safety regulators figure out what caused the fires.
"If we find that is the solution, we will retrofit every one of them," Akerson said. "We'll make it right."
News from The Associated Press (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_VOLT_BATTERY_FIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE =DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-01-14-56-43 - broken link)
Good for GM, I hope people read the rest of the article which explains the situation in more detail and what is going on.
Quote:
"The fire broke out seven days later. Not seven minutes. Not seven seconds," Akerson said, adding that the company wants to fix the problem so people continue to have faith in Volts and other advanced technology cars. The company is notified of any Volt crash through its OnStar safety system and dispatches a team with 48 hours to drain the battery, preventing fires, he said.
...
The NHTSA testing, Akerson said, intruded into the Volt's battery pack by four to five inches, beyond the normal testing standard of about two inches. Then the cars were rotated 360 degrees to simulate a rollover crash. He said anytime there's a new technology introduced like the Volt, problems will arise. GM is dedicated to fixing them.
...
Earlier this week GM offered loaner cars to all Volt owners until the cause of the fires is found and fixed. So far, Akerson said 16 Volt owners have inquired and only two have taken the loaners.
So, the fire took place 7 days after the crash and only after NHTSA decided to do a "what if?" catastrophic crash test where they punctured the battery pack beyond all reason and rolled the car completely over. I wonder what would happen if we punctured a gas tank and then rolled a car completely over....
To me it sounds like GM is simply being as proactive as they possibly can on the issue and doing all they can to ensure customers that they stand behind their product. On the customer end, out of 6,000+ Volt's currently on the road, 16 owners looked into a loaner and only 2 took one, so it looks like the owners are standing behind the car too.
Good for GM, I hope people read the rest of the article which explains the situation in more detail and what is going on. Read the rest of the article? That would not support the stance Cyberguy is taking. Don't you dare read the rest!!!
So, the fire took place 7 days after the crash and only after NHTSA decided to do a "what if?" catastrophic crash test where they punctured the battery pack beyond all reason and rolled the car completely over. I wonder what would happen if we punctured a gas tank and then rolled a car completely over....
To me it sounds like GM is simply being as proactive as they possibly can on the issue and doing all they can to ensure customers that they stand behind their product. On the customer end, out of 6,000+ Volt's currently on the road, 16 owners looked into a loaner and only 2 took one, so it looks like the owners are standing behind the car too.
Please inform me when and where. I want to be at least a mile away.
So, the fire took place 7 days after the crash and only after NHTSA decided to do a "what if?" catastrophic crash test where they punctured the battery pack beyond all reason and rolled the car completely over. I wonder what would happen if we punctured a gas tank and then rolled a car completely over....
Yeah, its going to be bad news for a any Volt owner involved in a side impact or roll over who ends up being trapped in the vehicle for 1-3 weeks.
So you wouldn't be worried where the vehicle is parked AFTER a 7day waiting,most will..
From the article you posted...
Quote:
The company is notified of any Volt crash through its OnStar safety system and dispatches a team with 48 hours to drain the battery, preventing fires.
So, I crash my Volt, GM sends a team out (these are actually Volt trained techs from dealers so they are all over the place, not just flying out from the RenCen) to drain and recover the cooling fluid within 48 hours. Even then this step is only necessary until they determine the root cause of why it happened.
I guess this answers the question as to whether or not this was actually a defect. Conclusive proof I would say. A total buy back. You can't get any more of an admission of liability than that. So much for the comparison with the Audi acceleration problem.
I guess this answers the question as to whether or not this was actually a defect. Conclusive proof I would say. A total buy back. You can't get any more of an admission of liability than that. So much for the comparison with the Audi acceleration problem.
Insanely poor choice of words. A total buy back would imply that GM is forcibly repurchasing all of the vehicles sold. They are not doing this. They are simply offering to purchase back any vehicle that an owner no longer wants. There's a big difference between those two concepts.
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