New Post-Accident Chevy Volt Engine Fires Prompt Investigation Read more: http://www

dontworrybehappy said:

Damnit Adam, quit moving the goalposts.

First I said that this is a huge problem. Now, I didn't specify why other than it being electric. That was my bad. So after being asked why and having people point out other cars with recalls, I pointed out that the taxpayers were subsidizing this car, neither of the recalled cars. Then the goalposts are moved again and you say that Ford and Toyota were receiving gov't subsidies for their hybrids. Ok....stop. Apples to apples people. One car with a safety issue and two other cars with safety issues. Difference? Ford and Toyota got screwed, not the American taxpayer. As Orielly says, stop the spin.

Nobody ever said that no other hybrid receives subsidies from the gov't. The title and subject of this thread is the safety of a vehicle that the gov't is pushing by subsidizing it heavily. It's not about other hybrid cars. When Obama pushes the Volt himself, and yet this car has some serious safety issues that need to be dealt with, that's really bad. The gov't needs to stay the hell out of the auto industry.

President Obama Takes Chevy Volt Electric Car for a Test Drive | The Rundown News Blog | PBS NewsHour | PBS

You say only 2 out of 5000 have caught fire. That's not very good, out of those 5000, how many have even been in accidents? 10? 20? Lets look at a much more heavily produced car, the Corolla. As of 2007, 37,000,000 Corollas have been built. If you work out the math, if 2 of every 5000 built caught on fire, that would be 14,800 Corollas bursting into flames. I bet you wouldn't be standing idly by if you'd heard that 14,000 of one model of car had caught on fire. You'd be livid. You'd be even more upset if you found out the gov't had been subsidizing the Corolla and pushing it with your taxpayer dollars.

Well, that's how I feel about the Volt.

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"It's a technology-laden car, and there are still issues with batteries," Dave Sullivan, an analyst for AutoPacific is quoted as saying. The lithium ion batteries used by the Chevy Volt are just like the ones in our laptops and netbooks – known for some time to have problems with overheating. "GM's going to have to reopen their safety book to prove that these vehicles are indeed safe," he added.

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dontworrybehappy said:

And they also said this. You left this little snippit out:

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AdamT said:

Dude ... THEY WERE SUBSIDIZED!! That is what a tax rebate is. It makes hybrids less expensive for the consumer and thus provides a direct benefit to the manufacturer.

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1Perry said:

Requirements like seat belts and converters were not subsidized and somehow manufacturers added them.

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AdamT said:

Wow, would someone lend this guy a clue?

Seat belts and converters were MANDATED.

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1Perry said:

Exactly. Mandate higer CAFE standards and the automakers will have to develop the cars all without other people's money.

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liblady said:

oh, but that would be anti-market, right? let the market take care of it!

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liblady said:

oh, but that would be anti-market, right? let the market take care of it!

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AdamT said:

Yes, apparently it would be cool with Perry if, instead of subsidizing EVs, the government mandated that car makers could ONLY manufacture EVs.

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