Charging forward with the Volt
Posted January 26, 2012 at 7:23 am 
Filed in: We’re betting that five years from now, the 2011-12 rough patch GM hit with the Volt with be viewed as just that, a rough patch and nothing more. It’d be surprising if a game-changing new product introduction went off without a hitch — they rarely do (e.g., Kindle Fires that turn themselves off too often due to the placement of the on/off button, Blackberry Bolds that take all sorts of unwanted pictures due to an unstrategically-placed button, etc.). And sure, electric cars that catch on fire make for great headlines — but once again the truth is much less exciting, as Sharon Terlep reports in today’s WSJ in her coverage of yesterday’s congressional oversight hearing.
The hearing itself, before the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending carried the catchy (if somewhat worn) title,”Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA Know and When Did They Know It?”
Not surprisingly, NHTSA took it from both sides, as Terlep reported that “GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson told a House panel on Wednesday that . . . a U.S. safety probe of the vehicle in part was politically motivated.”
At the same time, some subcommittee members “accused the agency of waiting to publicize its investigation into Volt batteries for fear of hurting Obama administration efforts to advance electric vehicles.”
Of course it can’t be both and in fact is neither. Anyone who’s ever dealt with NHTSA knows that the staff is stocked with public-minded civil servants who take their mission — increasing safety on the nation’s highways and overseeing fuel economy standards — extremely seriously. In this Administration, NHTSA is led by a Capitol Hill veteran, David Strickland, also widely respected on both sides of the aisle.
The truth is that NHTSA played this one straight. They investigated reports on vehicle fires occuring hours after significant crash-related damage to the vehicle systems. And they found?
“NHTSA closed its safety investigation last week, saying the car poses no unusual risk of fire.” Nonetheless, GM is ”adding steel reinforcements around the car’s lithium-ion battery to prevent damage in the case of a crash. It also will add a sensor to monitor coolant levels and a bracket to the top of the coolant reservoir to prevent an overflow.”
Sounds like a smart move. Another smart move is ensuring that the vehicle is popular in low-emissions vehicle-hungry California,“where the vehicle [previously] didn’t qualify for a state tax credit and unrestricted use in car-pool lanes. GM will soon release a version of the Volt in California that can meet California’s standards.”
It’s a little hard to understand why the first version wasn’t designed to California standards, where Prius-envy may have been leveraged into robust Volt sales. But better late than never. So bet on California (and national) sales to improve significantly — thus reducing oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.
Certified safe and California-friendly: two key ingrediants in the recipe for increasing our energy security through vehicle electrification.
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