Industry News: House Commitee Planning A Hearing Into The Volt Fire

[William Maley]

William Maley

Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com

December 6, 2011

Earlier today, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee it plans to hold a hearing in late January on the Volt battery issue.

"It gives us great concern that recent reports indicate important safety information may have been omitted in testimony before our committee just a few weeks ago. This is a serious situation that our committee will look further into," said Jeff Solsby, a spokesman for the committee.

The hearing Solsby is referencing to was a hearing on fuel economy standards and had Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials testify.

The announcement comes a few weeks after NHTSA revealed a Volt caught on fire a three weeks after a side impact crash and couple weeks after NHTSA announced an investigation into the Volt batteries after further testing found two out of the three batteries had a thermal event.

Many conservative commentators have criticized the Volt and and the government's investigation, saying the Obama administration was trying to protect GM.

Also, the former head of NHTSA, Joan Claybrook said in Automotive News this week,

"Not to tell them anything for six months makes no sense to me. NHTSA could have put out a consumer alert and I think they should have done so."

Claybrook went on to say, "I believe they delayed it because of the fragility of [Volt] sales."

"I believe the Volt is safe to drive," said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to reporters.

LaHood said the government isn't protecting GM by not immediately disclosing a fire with a crashed Volt.

"We're not in the business of protecting the auto industry. We're in the business of making sure cars are safe."

LaHood declined to comment on status of the Volt investigation.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), The Detroit News

Related:

Chevrolet Volt Fire Prompts Investigation Into Batteries

NHTSA Opens Investigation Into Volt Batteries

GM Offering Free Loaner Cars to Volt Owners During Battery Investigation

Chevy Volt Tops Consumer Reports Owner Satisfaction Survey

GM May Redesign The Volt's Battery *UPDATED*

A "couple dozen" Chevrolet Volt Owners Take Up GM's Buyback Offer

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[Justin Bimmer]

What a f@#king joke!

[Drew Dowdell]

Again! There is a THREE WEEK DELAY BETWEEN IMPACT AND WHEN THE BATTERIES CATCH FIRE. If you are still in your car three weeks after you crashed it into a tree, chances are, you're dead already and they just haven't found your body yet!

[Camino LS6]

Those clowns in DC really need to pay attention to something that matters for a change, instead of wasting time on this.

[67impss]

Like the debt

[Intrepidation]

See this is why those of us who aren't retards can't stand the GOP. They make something out of nothing and are using it to distract people from far bigger issues they should be working on instead.

On top of that they're hypocrites. I thought the GOP was all about government not meddling in the private sector, what a load of $h!.