Guest essay by Eric Worrall
In the wake of a series of severe battery fires, General Motors has just issued a safety recommendation not to park your Chevy Bolt within 50ft of other vehicles, in case it catches fire.
GM tells Bolt owners to park 50 feet from other cars in parking garages, confirms 12 fires
Kalea Hall The Detroit News
Sep 15 2021Detroit — As it seeks a solution to a battery fire risk, General Motors issued yet another safety recommendation Wednesday for Chevrolet Bolt owners: If you’re pulling into a parking deck, keep your car at least 50 feet away from other vehicles.
A customer’s concern about the safety of leaving their electric vehicle in a parking garage led the automaker to provide the additional guidance to owners of the Bolts, all of which GM has recalled, spokesman Dan Flores said.
“In an effort to reduce potential damage to structures and nearby vehicles in the rare event of a potential fire, we recommend parking on the top floor or on an open-air deck and park 50 feet or more away from another vehicle,” Flores said in a statement. “Additionally, we still request you do not leave your vehicle charging unattended, even if you are using a charging station in a parking deck.”
…
GM recently had to recall every Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV — more than 141,000 — after the batteries caught fire in a handful of the electric vehicles. GM and battery supplier LG Energy Solution are working to understand how two “rare” battery defects believed to be the cause of the fires occurred. The automaker has confirmed 12 Bolt battery fires, up from 10 when it issued its latest recall last month.
“We are aware of 12 GM confirmed battery fires that have been investigated involving Bolt EVs vehicles in the previous and new recall population,” Flores said. “There have been three reports of injuries. We continue to share data with NHTSA.”
…
Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/general-motors/2021/09/15/chevrolet-bolt-gm-tells-owners-park-50-feet-from-other-cars/8355134002/
What a gift for insurance scammers – just park a Chevy Bolt in the building, and nobody will question the insurance claim when the building burns down.
On a serious note, in my opinion a risk of this magnitude is going to start having a real impact, on whether EVs are allowed into carparks or on ferries, unless the problem is rectified real fast.
Lithium fires are horribly difficult to extinguish, and emit dangerously toxic fumes which can cause long term or even permanent dementia like brain injuries, along with a host of other usually reversible harms.
Earlier this year I asked a serving fire fighter how they extinguish Lithium automobile battery fires. He said “We can’t. We cordon off the area, and spray a fine mist of water on the fire to try to keep the temperature down, then wait for it to burn itself out.”.
‘Unsafe at Any Speed’ returning to haunt Chevrolet.
Especially zero speed
So, you can’t park your Bolt within 50′ of another vehicle. That’s about 5 parking spaces on either side. So you park your Bolt in the middle of an 11 space gap and what’s to stop others from parking next to you? And you can’t go to the store and plug in at the store while you shop? EVs have become even MORE worthless
It that becomes mandated … I think I might go back to a horse.
Don’t park your horse next to one, either.
🙂
This is why our Experts have been ramming the idea of Social Distancing at us so hard!
Big EV wants to control our lives!
/snark
It’s worse than that. Not just in your row but all around. EVs need to spaced like a wind turbine…and let’s mandate that is all people get to own. With the added bonus of not leaving the car unattended in it’s open field while charging. So much for charging at work or while you sleep.
Come to think of it, they don’t want you driving at all, you need to take a bus or ride a bike. It’s a feature, not a bug.
Open field…grass fires…
Will they have special “extra wide” parking spots for EVs? Or simply attach this sign to each EV, YMMV 🙂
In some places, EVs can use the carpool lane.
Now they will need to use the handicap spots.
This is what Blank Looks Matter Biden calls “Building Back Better”.
Coming soon to parking garages near you!
A large picture of Chevy Bolts, Teslas and other EV cars with a notice that they’re banned from parking or charging.
Each picture has the international symbol of a bright red circle with a red slant line across the vehicle.
Shopping centers will ban lithium battery vehicles from general parking. Instead the centers will jersey wall off a distant corner where they are to park.
With a warning sign to “Do not leave anything you value” and “Do not leave unattended children or pets”
eg; Edsel.
Lemons have fragile sales
No, not Edsel. It was the Corvair that Ralph Nader was talking about.
Corvairs were great cars. The rear engine induced front end float problem was easily corrected with a couple of cinder blocks strategically placed in the trunk over the front wheels. My mom used to race and beat TR4s over the Santa Susanna pass.
Jay Leno likes them:
No, the first version was a terrible car.
Hit anything and the rigid steering column would drive the wheel straight through your neck. The suspension was not equal to the weight and balance of the vehicle, and weighting the front was not a solution. The only solution was to do it right and install a proper rear suspension system.
Read Ralph Nader’s book again.
They did in later versions, when GM put in the necessary engineering work and redesigned them, become as safe and acceptable as the other cars of the era. But the first version was a monument to designers and management complacency and stupidity.
There is no mileage in defending the indefensible, and the design of the first Corvair is indefensible.
For the state of mind which led to it, and which later led to the near death experience of the US auto industry, read David Halberstam’s book ‘The Reckoning’.
That today’s cars are as safe as they are is in large part due to the impulse Nader’s book and the exposure of the Covair gave rise to. Standard air bags, proper handling, crash resistant design, test reports featuring it. The savings in deaths and crippling injury as a result have been enormous. Back in the day none of that stuff was even on the radar.
Rank ignorant safety-ism. I’ll bet YOU are still wearing your MASQUE.
The conspiracy of ignorance MASQUErades as common sense.
Why would anyone design a car with extreme oversteer PLUS a rigid steering column which extended beyond the front axle? Why would anyone aware of the dangers of such a design ever buy one for everyday transportation of himself and family?
You would have to be mad. Or have had the facts concealed from you.
An experienced driver on a circuit with no other cars around and nothing to hit head on may find the handling a fun challenge. A man or woman of 50 or so whose only interest in cars is driving them in activities of everyday living, including occasionally loading it with a pile of stuff which made the handling even worse, will absolutely not expect them to behave the first model of the Corvair did and will have neither the knowledge nor the reflexes to handle it when it happens.
And that steering column? What were they thinking of?
I agree. I was first introduced to performance driving in college while learning to control and use axle-jack in a Corvair. Great fun.
The Edsel was a Ford product. You are thinking of the Corvair.
Edsels didn’t catch fire when parked…
“Unsafe at any Speed” has been revised – the new revision is titled “Unsafe When Parked”
Unsafe Anywhere
I’m old enough to remember when Obama bailed out the autoworkers UNION, err GM and then installed a WOMAN executive dedicated to building “safe”, “clean”, “green” e-vehicles. I am also old enough to remember Obama funneling $hundreds of millions to a FAILED Solyndra solar panel FRAUD of a “safe”, “clean”, “green” manufacturer. And now I’m old enough to remember when Obama’s policies have led to a $1.8B loss to GM … or LG … or whoever will be left holding Obama’s bag of fecal matter.
That’s nothing compared to the fact he literally stole shares of GM and Chrysler from retirement funds to give to the unions, then spent $6 billion to hand Chrysler over to Fiat.
How is the fact that the incompetent GM executive was a WOMAN relevant 🤔?
“How is the fact that the incompetent GM executive was a WOMAN relevant?”
It’s not, it is relevant to the workings of Kenji’s mind though.
Hi, Simon,
Even though you and I have disagreed about that excellent president, DONALD J. TRUMP 😀
I hope you know that I am truly glad to “see” you.
And, that I am grateful for your back-up.
Take care,
Janice
Also, I would like to add that Kenji needs to hang out with some German Shepherds. They don’t think like he apparently does about women.
I’ve worked for a few incompetent women bosses.
And I’ve worked for quite a few competent women bosses.
That does not mean I conflate incompetent with competent.
Hi, Theo 😀
Sure is nice that you often take the time to “talk” to me. Hope your autumn is full of crisp, sunny, days and those gorgeous leaves which so abundantly grace your neck of the woods.
Re: female bosses, of course you wouldn’t. You are too:
1) bright
and
2) fair minded.
Take care.
Grateful for you,
Janice
Janice, thanks for the nice words. I owned a German Shepherd. Great dog. Sadly died too young.
: )
and
😞😓 Yes. ALL dogs die too young…….tears….. miss my furry kids with tails……waaaaaa. So sorry you had to say “good bye” to such a faithful friend.
When my living situation improves…….someday…….. I am going to get another German Shepherd. The “joy now is part of the pain, then,” (Joy Lewis, dying of cancer, to C. S. Lewis as she tried to prevent him from breaking his heart…. it was too late……), but, the joy of owning a German Shepherd is worth the pain of losing them. Ouch. Don’t want to think about that. 😞
And, just to make my little dream “real,” I have already named him. “Jack.” Don’t know why. Just like it.
“Here, Jack! HEEEEEERR, Jackie boy!” 😀
I hope you, too, will, before long, get to enjoy the loving, intelligent, PLAYFUL, companionship of another G.S..
Bye for now.
Janice
Quite a contrast. A private company, subject to lawsuits, recalls their product after a “handful” of cars catch fire. But a government, not subject to lawsuits, continues to demand everyone be vaxxed. After 1,000’s of deaths attributed to the vax.
I could envision the fascists taking over GM and rebranding the Bolt as “safe and effective.”
How about “Mostly Harmless” or “Mostly Peaceful”?
Stick to the topic. Thousands of deaths “attributed” to “the vax” sounds like anti-vaxxer garbage to me. Just like the “climate emergency” is “attributed” to MSM-made CO2. Same garbage.
It does, doesn’t it. I think we’ve definitely unearthed an anti vaxxer nut in Mr. Johnston
No kidding, No country wants travelers from Israel now ….those antivaxxers 😉
I looked it up on the CDC VAERS database. Over 7000 unverified reports of deaths after receiving the vaccine. Like the 64 year old cancer patient in hospice care who sadly passed 7 days after receiving the vaccine or the report of an entire family dying including the dog after 1 member received the vaccine. Of course their database also includes people dying Months after being vaccinated.
I did like the report of a 13 year old receiving the MMR vaccine in 1971 and it being the cause of his alien abduction and sudden affliction of turning green from anger a day later. Of course this wasn’t reported until 2004.
Problem is the number has exploded in the TWIT-VERSE and other Anti-Social websites
Yeah I have no idea where the truth lies but something is up with the vaccine. There are all these reports of vaccinated people getting Covid. The CDC report from MA was crazy. At first, over 70% of the counties cases were vaccinated denizens.
The drugs don’t work as advertised and they are dangerous (with the long-term danger totally unknown).
Australia had 9 deaths attributed to vaccines (Astrazeneca) out of 19 million doses. Our TGA doesn’t say how many of the 19 million were Astrazeneca. 495 deaths were investigated.
The truth is that there are deaths and the authorities prefer a lower estimate. I don’t know if that justifies claims of thousands, but be polite.
There are only two reasons why we don’t have the exact number of deaths and adverse reactions to the various covid treatments. Either they’re so insignificant they aren’t worth mentioning or they’re much higher than they want us to know. There are many things we’re not being told which they don’t want us to know … because it doesn’t fit the narrative. For instance, what is the mortality from flu this year and last?
The number of deaths and severe adverse reactions to these “vaccines” is substantial and CDC tracks them using https://vaers.hhs.gov/
CDC prevaricates and renames. Eschew ad-hockery.
I believe that E. T. Jaynes first named ad-hockery, but I think I have found it in a review of Karl Popper’s The Logic of Scientific Discovery. It is a real PITA to re-read 700+ pages for a mere mention of an essential concept – from 1945. God Bless Karl Popper.
Once the CDC had to change the very definition of “vaccine” to get these out, I’ve had doubts that they deserve any significant level of trust. Electronic data has a nasty habit of wandering off when you’re not looking.
Thank you for the link.
Investigative reporter Donna Laframboise; “Introduction: Vaccine Voices Film Festival“.
My wife and I know several medical professionals working in 5 different hospitals in western PA, all of them were instructed NOT to report any adverse reactions to this “vaccines”. Now they are being ordered to get the shots or be fired, many are simply quitting. I see a lot of privately owned and operated medical offices in the not to distant future, possibly before Thanksgiving.
CDC, VAERS. Educate yourself.
I looked it up on the CDC VAERS database. Over 7000 unverified reports of deaths after receiving the vaccine. Like the 64 year old cancer patient in hospice care who sadly passed 7 days after receiving the vaccine or the report of an entire family dying including the dog after 1 member received the vaccine. Of course their database also includes people dying Months after being vaccinated.
I did like the report of a 13 year old receiving the MMR vaccine in 1971 and it being the cause of his alien abduction and sudden affliction of turning green from anger a day later. Of course this wasn’t reported until 2004.
VAERS reports aren’t all verified and contain a number of false reports from persons with agendas that aren’t exposed to the light of truth
“persons with agendas” That certainly describes you, good job, buddy.
Remember Swine Flu? 53 people died from Swine Flu vaccine and the program was canceled and never restarted. CDC is admitting 1000s of deaths, 1000s people with major medical problems, many permanent, and 1000s of miscarriges connected to these “vaccines”. But hey! Keep pushing that crap, get it injected into you once a week, try to force it on me or mine and it will not end well for you.
No agenda here. Just another JQP with two of the now 5.8 billion vaccine injections distributed with no ill effects other than a sore injection site from the second injection.
If you are unvaccinated and your children are also unvaccinated then avoid the variants or you might bring it home to them making it your fault they get sick
Yep, keep pushing that agenda, it is all you have. Oh, and I already had the flu and got over it. It is called an immune system, far superior to fake “vaccines”.
Does the injection you proudly strut about on prevent you from contracting any disease?
Bull Sh1t!
The variants are no more dangerous to me and mine than the original. The flu is more likely to eventually finish me and I have not taken a worthless flu shot in more than a decade.
Just in: https://theexpose.uk/2021/09/15/30k-people-died-within-21-days-of-having-a-covid-19-vaccine-in-england/
You win @reshole comment of the month.
Hello pot?
Evidence? Such as a long list with 1,000’s of names?
Do you really believe they would tell us if they knew? Apparently America’s top doctor is confused about whether masks are useful … or even how many it’s best to use (provided they are of use).
Dr. Fauci Explains The Science Behind Masks – YouTube
Therefore, on that notion, an untestable claim. Then again the climate emergency is an untestable claim. Might as well add your own pet one. But perhaps one is on the wrong blog.
It’s to the point where we can’t believe anything Fauci says.
I’m waiting for the trial.
Fauci has too many powerful friends … rather like Mann. Governments find it expedient to always have a few of these around until they need a high profile scapegoat.
https://vaers.hhs.gov/ Educate yourself.
Check out this event on their website
0221579-1
Well, to be fair, there have been articles written in recent days that are claiming thousands of deaths from the vaccine. Most of these articles appear to me to be from fringe publications/blogs or local reporters who may be reporting conspiracy theories as fact. I haven’t seen any major news outlet saying these things. And as pointed out above, where’s the list of all these thousands of people?
Because the “major new outlets” don’t report on any adverse effects.
Educate yourself here.
https://www.worldtribune.com/unexpected-and-heartbreaking-thousands-flood-abc-affiliates-facebook-page-with-vaccination-horror-stories/
They’re now estimating your average claim is going from conspiracy theory to observable fact in 60-90 days.
“I haven’t seen any major news outlet saying these things.”
Because the major news outlets are so reliable? “drink bleach”, “fine people”, “russia collusion”, remember?
My issue is: you have a tracking system that shows a specific pattern, and suddenly there is a drastic change to that pattern. Do you: 1) ignore it? 2) assume it’s because (reason), 3) handwave it away because (resaon), or 4) seriously investigate to see what’s going on?
I see a lot of 1, 2, and 3.
The same news sites that absolutely believe climate alarmism?
Valid point.
VAERS deaths in the US 1990 – August 2021 = 5,000.
VAERS deaths in the US due to covid jabs December 2020 – August 2021 = 6,000
The 1976 Flu shot was withdrawn by the US Government after fewer than 100 deaths……….
Whatever you think about the jabs, if Pfizer, J & J, Astrazeneca had liability do you think they would have continued to supply the product?
Links?
https://vaers.hhs.gov/
Are you SPAMMING the blog with that link?
Awww, ain’t you precious? Hiding information from citizens is all you got.
What an I hiding???
Whatever your smoking…please share it
Your agenda is showing, sweety. Now, go do some more meth, you clearly need a fix.
It is my understanding that VAERS is comprised of self-reported issues. I tend to be very skeptical of self-reported incidents unless they are clinically verified.
I’m equally skeptical of government-reported data concerning anything to do with Covid19, alternative treatments, OR the vaccines. Clinical verification has also become suspect. Just more bogus science at times.
The challenge is that only a small number of side effects are actually reported. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5849794/) When even clinicians are only reporting at 5%, and especially when the MSM is ready to bite your head off for not following the narrative, you’d have to estimate that we’re seeing under-reporting.
I was on a call at work with over 20 developers reporting their vaccine war stories….I had to mute for a while.
The reporting system is patient based, voluntary, and few people are told they can report adverse effects from these “vaccines’. Mainly they are being told they can’t sue the manufacturers of these potions.
Mostly because the government makes it near impossible for doctors or hospitals to report any vaccine reaction other than anaphylaxis.
Immediate stroke, Nope!
Immediate heart attack, Nope!
Immediate paralysis, Nope!
etc. etc.
The NIH and CDC have declared all such complaints as impossible.
Yet, the ant-vax attackers here immediately assume:
A) MSM outlets honestly report news.
B) That Fauci’s CDC is altruistic and absolutely correct.
C) That all of the Doctor’s going public with news they are Not allowed to report are fringe nuts.
Amazing! So many reasonable skeptics now vilify people for reporting what they know as truth.
Even so, you refuse the VAER’s database, vilify the entries therein as all being false and seek to find a few entries to verify your refusals…
Y’all, should be ashamed. Or all of you actually alarmists pretending skepticism?
It is funny how “media” are refusing to report on all the medical professionals refusing the shots and speaking out against them.
It is only going to get worse, not better.
These manufacturers have a one-way pipeline that siphons money directly out of governments, they have no motive to kill the golden goose.
But,but,but,,,the “vaccines” are free! Faux Joe and Nannee Pelosi and Little Chucky said so! Never mind those 9 shiny new billionaires created out of all this crap. Got to agree with Accusatory Occasional-Cortex on this one, tax the rich, starting with those new pharmaceuticals billionaires.
She is the very definition of “Unskilled and Unaware.”
The story now is that the “unvaccinated” are a danger to those who have taken the needle.
Think about this.
Israel has a very high rate of injections, and now the WuFlu rate in Israel is higher than ever before.
What exactly do theses drugs prevent?
This is a great question
Believe I’ll stay in the “control” group.
There is / was a lawsuit based upon a CDC whistle blower who swore in an affidavit that internal databases showed 43,000 post vaccination deaths within 3 days, and over 100,000 major adverse reactions. Sorry don’t have the link. Any merit? Who knows?
Please check Dr. Peter A. McCullough, who published the 2 major papers on treating Covid-19.
OOPS! 30 days, not 3
So are Bolts to be banned from vehicle tunnels? Visualizing one of the New York tunnels under the rivers as a special effect in a disaster movie.
What might such a restriction list look like, in addition to tunnels?
1] No indoor parking.
2] No parking in attached garages.
3] No garages constructed of combustible materials.
4] No parking in closely spaced parking lots.
5] No city street parking.
6] No parking in drought prone areas in the proximity of combustible underbrush. (ie the entire state of California)
7] Special parking lots for EVs to be set up in safe remote areas, outside of major population centers and serviced by buses.
8] No unattended charging of EVs.
On the bright side, this will be a boon for metal garage fabricators and companies that produce shipping containers. (lol)
Add: No parking near environmentally-sensitive areas
As for no unattended parking, I don’t think many people would be keen to stand by or sit in their cars while recharging overnight.
It will also cause problems when recharging at work or popping down to the supermarket for a bit of shopping.
( Maybe it will encourage a return to the Victorian era when small boys were paid a penny to look after a horse and cart while the driver was unloading. )
It will not take long for terrorists to figure out how to light one of these up. GM has thus created 141,000 unextinguishable incendiary car bombs.
You got that in one.
Sounds like a good idea, ban EVs from any place their battery fires would endanger property and people!
EVs are at least as dangerous as I thought they might be.
I cannot in good faith even vaguely support something that is this dangerous and impossible to control.
I don’t even like the small lithium batteries in a flashlight that someone gave me. Flashlight works fine on regular batteries.
The real irony is that California is replacing Internal Combustion Engines with External Combustion Engines. The state will be a virtual popcorn machine of battery initiated fires when they finally get all of the ICEs off the road. In this case, one will hope for as many “dud kernels” as possible in every batch.
I can’t wait to see how the Insurance Companies will respond to this (home owner, commercial and auto insurance will all be impacted). (lol)
The insurance companies will just walk away and no one will be able to do a thing about it … since the risks were known beforehand. They simply won’t insure them.
Insurance companies will either deny coverage, or increase premium rates exponentially, until no one wants one simply because of that. A good example is your homeowners coverage: your premium rate depends on where you are located as well as the neighborhood’s crime rate and any local fire hazards (meaning “arson”). Your auto coverage includes you as the owner/operator, and your choice of vehicles.
That “choice of vehicles” alone is enough to keep me from indulging in one of these rolling death traps. I really do not like them, period.
You’re about to be forced to support them, comrade.
Some people don’t like to be forced to do things.
Horses and buggies are safer. 🙂
Rhubarb likes them!
But not accident free. Many fewer fires though.
Who knew and when did they know it?
Yes, why are they selling dangerous products? The battery manufacturers will be asked such questions if their batteries end up causing a catasrophic fire.
I see where the New York Times is reporting that the Democrats in Congress are going to get the oil company CEO’s up in front of them and are going to ask them who knew and when did they know that CO2 was so dangerous.
The danger from CO2 seems to be next up for a new emergency powers plan.
That’s tantamount to running a contest for the best description of the Emperor’s new clothes. The prize is a year’s supply of faerie dust.
They’ll have scientifically clueless lawyers presenting their case before an equally clueless judge to satisfy the political aspirations of clueless politicians to line the pockets of their clued-in financial supporters.What could possibly go wrong?
When do the “GM knew” lawsuits start?
#GMknew #Teslaknew #Mercedesknew #Fordknew …….
#ElonKnew.
Eloon Gantry has deep pockets, time to empty them out.
Unfortunately the Musky Odor in the Bolt doesn’t bear the Elon fingerprint
It does in the tesla, and tesla tech is in everyone else’s EV pieces of crap. Go to the source of the poison and eliminate it.
The source would be the rechargeable battery. Unfortunately they’re everywhere…
Cell Phones
Pagers
Wireless house phones
Laptops
E-cigs
E-bikes
E-scooters
Hoverboards
Even Segues
Who knew and when did they know it??
#EllonKnew
Is it going to be near impossible not to park within 50ft of another vehicle , even if you do manage it,whats to stop someone else parking near you? A big flashing hazard sign.
These cars must be taken off the road surley, if there such potential fire hazards.
Taken of the road, definitely. But there’s no need to be grumpy about it.
Best line of the year!
I agree. Please don’t call me Shirley.
Sorry – the set up was just too good to pass on.
So, what do apartment and commercial building parties – residents, owners, insurers etc, have to say now about on-site ev parking and re-charging?
My guess is they are going to start speaking up. If I lived in an apartment building, I would be asking the landlord what he was going to do about keeping me and his apartment building safe from these EV fire hazards.
They just shouldn’t have cars. Mass transit is good enough for them.
Is /DNC more appropriate than /sarc in this case?
A long term rolling disaster is unfolding. Not just for GM. It will fascinating to watch to the next 5 to 10 years.
Wait until they switch to hydrogen, then we’ll see what a disaster looks like.
Hindenburg ?
If you want to see some really big fires, take a look at ethanol train car explosions in the name of renewable fuels, farm supports, and government mandates.
How on earth are you expected to find a parking space in a carpark that is 50 feet away from all other vehicles?
That could only occur if the carpark is almost empty and remains so all day!
And, what is to prevent other cars parking close to yours after you have left it?
Do you have to stand guard all day to prevent others from parking within 50 feet?
What a ridiculous recommendation.
You have been warned. It is your fault if something goes wrong.
It is a ridiculous recommendation but it’s about all they can do.
This recall has cost the car company $1.8 billion. Not a very good start to electrifying the vehicle fleet.
The car companies need a new battery that doesn’t burst into flames. They are getting ahead of themselves.
Well, obviously we will need “contact tracing” apps so that I am notified if I park within 50 feet of an EV, or if an EV parks within 50 feet of my car. I’d say /sarc, but I’m not so sure.
American planners have been forcing extra parking lot space for decades with the slogan “good planning practice” and the unintended consequence of more UHI effects. They will just have to ramp up more bad planning practices now.
With the notable exception of China and Norway sales of EV have been very few when compared to sales of ICEV country by country.
Therefore, potential infernos (exothermic reaction in lithium ion batteries) must be a future serious problem if EV sales increase.
In Australia State Governments require EV to display a blue identification sticker on the front and rear registration plates to alert road traffic authorities and police that they are dealing with an EV.
Add this growing concern to all of the other negatives.
Good grief! Blue stickers?
The lack of an exhaust pipe at the rear and no grill at the front because there’s no radiator isn’t enough to clearly identify an EV from the front or rear?
I guess some people need to mark ‘Front’ and ‘Rear’ on their underwear, too.
(No doubt soon enough somewhere they will pass a law requiring underwear manufacturers to stitch in ‘Front’ and ‘Back’ tags for people too stupid to mark their undies themselves.)
LPG fuel vehicles including dual fuel systems must display a red sticker, gas/petrol and diesel require no identification sticker.
I don’t disagree with the LPG markers, Dennis.
Some vehicles are made in different fuel versions and firefighter or other first responders would need to know if they were dealing with an LPG cylinder or just the usual fuel tank.
I think the sticker thing is done in the U.S. (not 100% sure, but I have seem some LPG vehicles marked).
But BEVs? It takes me just a second or two to spot one, front or rear.
–
–
Whoa! And then there’s the issue of people putting counterfeit blue stickers on their ICE vehicle just to virtue signal.
I think I need to go put some blue stickers on my Cummins Turbodiesel powered truck 😜
Oh, yea, they need large signs on all four sides and roof plus loud sound system alerting people to the fact they are dangerous and all citizens should stay well clear. A nice, piercing endlessly repeating siren would do nicely.
They also need sound systems to warn people who are blind or severely vision impaired that they are approaching. Already such people are saying they are fearful of going out becaus3 of these cars.
I think the training costs for first responders to learn each EV model would be very high. If you want to ride along and check tail pipes and front ends while the first responders while they go about their critical functions, feel free to do so. Or maybe we can just find some of the old plane spotters from WWII and give them outlines of the EVs to memorize. Can you tell I think your comment shows a high level of ignorance?
Can you tell my comment shows how successful I think the Public Education system has been in in dumbing down the general population over the past 30 or so years? The Nanny State has taken over. No need to think anymore. Nanny: “We’ll let you know what to do and when to do it, and pay attention to your underwear. Note the markers.”
We have warning stickers and disclaimers on just about everything now. “Warning! Do NOT put this plastic bag over your head.” Those who can read should know not to do it and the warning is wasted on those who can’t read. And if they use pictograms of the bag over someone’s head, even with a line through it, some one may think, “Step 1. Put the bag over my head.” Good work for the lawyers, though.
TTPN: “Or maybe we can just find some of the old plane spotters from WWII and give them outlines of the EVs to memorize. Can you tell I think your comment shows a high level of ignorance?”
OK. I’ll grant you that it’s easier to look for a blue sticker rather than use common sense to quickly note that there are no exhaust pipes. Some people can’t see the negative space. But one doesn’t need to be able to recognize and know every car on the road to note what a missing feature implies. Training to the level of plane spotters isn’t necessary.
And perhaps you missed that I thought stickers for LPG cars is not a bad thing, because some vehicles are made in different fuel versions but identical on the outside. Who can tell about those? I can’t.
If you think firefighters and first responders are too dumb to figure out if they’ve pulled up to an EV fire or an ICE fire, well, I don’t know enough about the current knowledge of first responders to say yea or nay.
So I’ll leave it to the firefighters reading here to tell us if they can tell the difference once the blue sticker has burned off in the fire. Perhaps one will drop by and tell us if they have ever fought the wrong car fire because there was no marker on the car. I honestly don’t know. Maybe it happens.
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Above, I was only joking a bit about people using blue stickers on their ICE vehicles to virtue signal… and of course to get those plum EV parking spaces that are always mostly empty.
Mock EVs is a thing. A few weeks ago, it came up in comments here, I did a search on dummy charging ports you could attach to an ICE vehicle. To my surprise, there are choices and how-to instructions! I don’t know how many people are doing that now, but blue stickers will be much easier to fake than charging ports, and it will happen. It is already happening.
How will firefighters know they are fighting the right fire? I suppose they’ll just have to look to see if there are any exhaust pipes, just to be sure.
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To close this comment, please note that I am also trying to play nice. To me, the blue stickers may not work out as envisioned by nanny state bureaucrats and seem to insult the intelligence of first responders.
“I’ll leave it to the firefighters reading here to tell us”
Ok I will
If you think firefighters and first responders are too dumb to figure out if they’ve pulled up to an EV fire or an ICE fire, well, I don’t know enough about the current knowledge of first responders to say yea or nay.
Has nothing to do with “too dumb” and I find that comment a bit insulting. With the adrenaline going on scene and the focus you have on getting your job done, it’s VERY easy to get tunnel vision and miss something like that, whereas a big in-your-face warning could get through that tunnel vision so you can see what’s going on.
And frankly, it’s not the FIRE that I’m worried about. I’ve never had to deal with a EV fire so I don’t know, but I would guess it has a rather different nature than ICE, and we would CERTAINLY know once we put water on it. (Try 100gpm at 120psi on a car with magnesium and you’ll see how quickly you can tell). The MUCH bigger issue is extrication. Standard ICE extrication procedures such as cutting the posts to roll back the roof can KILL someone trying it on a EV.
So yeah, when my LIFE is on the line in the heat of the moment, I’ll take the extra warnings.
Thank you TonyG.
As I said, I did not know how firefighters viewed BEV fires and would wait for one who actually has or might have to deal with a BEV fire.
So, knowing the wide readership here I expected a firefighter would weigh in on the topic. I truly appreciate you reducing my ignorance of the firefighters’ take on the subject.
And BTW, I do often take the long way ’round on a point, but I thought that people would pick up on the fact that I had confidence that firefighters today still have a lot of intelligence and common sense. My observation being that (it would be pointy head bureaucrats) some have no faith in the intelligence of firefighters and figured the blue stickers were necessary
Maybe the younger ones have been shorted a bit on traditional school topics, but I thought it clear that I didn’t think the smarts had been drummed out of firefighters just yet.
Sorry if you took offense, but then you said that was all off the table anyhow. You tossed in that from your experience, well, smart or dumb just really isn’t a factor in the *ahem* heat of the moment.
Obviously, from my comments, I wasn’t considering the typical, necessary instinctual reactions needed that you pointed out.
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I did bring up one honest question/observation/point that you didn’t clarify for me. What happens if the blue sticker is burnt off when you get to a vehicle fire?
And one other question, and it will happen; what will firefighters do when they arrive at the scene of a burning car with an apparent charging receptacle and a blue sticker, but it is actually an ICE?
Would you please give some insight on those questions?
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Just my uninformed guess, but as BEVs become more common, and I am guessing, firefighters will quickly look for blue stickers and or a tailpipe.
And I think – don’t know – that there will be a distinct difference in the characteristics of the two different fires so that firefighters will shortly just be able to pull up, look at a car fire and know “EV” or “ICE” and the heck with tailpipes or blue stickers.
What say you?
A fair and reasonable reply.
I did bring up one honest question/observation/point that you didn’t clarify for me. What happens if the blue sticker is burnt off when you get to a vehicle fire?
Actually, I thought I did. It’s not the FIRE that I’m worried about. While I haven’t experienced a lithium fire, I HAVE run into magnesium (both in a structure fire and a vehicle fire). I would expect magnesium and lithium fires to behave much the same. And they are significantly different in behavior to a gasoline fire. When I encountered magnesium for the first time, I immediately knew what it was despite never having seen it before – it’s THAT different.
My bigger concern is regarding extrication. We practice many different approaches depending on the situation. A couple examples are cutting through the posts (that connect the roof to the top of the body) to roll the roof back, or cutting through the bottom to get to the passenger compartment. EVs run power cables through those posts. If we hit one of those there is the potential for a fatal electrical shock. A clear and obvious warning would have us instantly evaluating alternatives.
Likewise, the bottoms of EVs are practically impervious to penetration by our standard tools. As I understand (from training, not experience), that’s also where the batteries are located on many models. Although in THAT case you may be right that we might recognize the lack of a fuel tank. But again – I would prefer to avoid risking lives on might. Going through the trunk I expect would provide similar challenges.
If you’re suggesting extrication from a burning vehicle, well, as painful of a decision as it is, we’re not going to attempt that vehicle that’s burning to that level. And if we throw water on it and get a chemical reaction, see above.
what will firefighters do when they arrive at the scene of a burning car with an apparent charging receptacle and a blue sticker, but it is actually an ICE?
I don’t understand where this question comes from. But again, focusing on the FIRE, I don’t see the issue, for reasons I’ve stated. Such a scenario would result in us possibly limiting our extrication choices.
By the way, the extrication issues are a big reason I don’t want, nor want any friends, to have EVs. Our options are SEVERELY limited by comparison, which means that if someone seriously injured in a EV and is trapped, our chances of rescuing them in time to save them are significantly reduced.
Also, we don’t train on them. Especially in rural departments. We rely on donations for vehicles to train with, and just don’t see EVs being donated (IMO the manufacturers should be the ones addressing that, but should and is are vastly different)
Just my uninformed guess, but as BEVs become more common, and I am guessing, firefighters will quickly look for blue stickers and or a tailpipe.
Or other things. You’re probably right about that, at least to a degree. They’re discussed in our training now. But application of generic theoretical training in the field (we can’t cover all possible EV configurations) is hit or miss at best. That’s why we practice. See above.
there will be a distinct difference in the characteristics of the two different fires so that firefighters will shortly just be able to pull up, look at a car fire and know “EV” or “ICE” and the heck with tailpipes or
I hope I addressed that sufficiently above.
The lack of an exhaust pipe at the rear…
I’m guessing you’ve never run up to a car that was in a wreck and tried to help the people trapped inside
Actually, I have in a previous life. They were dazed and needed help. Jaws of life not necessary, but they weren’t getting out without help and someone to get them focused and get them going. I really do understand the term ‘dazed.’ I’ve seen it.
(BTW, EVs were limited to golf carts at that time. If it was a wreck, it was an ICE. EVs weren’t part of the equation then.)
Long story that. (I wrote it out and then deleted it. No one cares or wants to read that much. As much as it interests me – remotely, possibly you – I’m sure it’s wasting electrons here for everyone else. Just under an hour of writing…. highlight and phzzt! Gone.)
But yes, one time only, many years ago way out in the country on a bad curve where the Mrs. and I were the first on the scene and had to “do sumpthin”. It was us or no one unless some other car would have happened by.
Actually, I have in a previous life.
In that case I retract my comment and thank you for stepping up when needed.
An audible warning, in addition to a visual warning should also be required. If you are in a Walmart parking lot and want to be sure your vehicle is safe, with a visual sticker, you have to check every vehicle around you within a fifty foot radius.
However, if every EV is required to broadcast a “TICK-TICK-TICK” sound it will save a lot of time. 🙂
They could just have a special EV parking lot with very few spaces.
Haven’t they done that already?
In the UK nearly 300.000 BEVs were on the road in August 2021 and 305,000PHEVs (Plug in Hybrids), Meanwhile there are over 30 million cars on the road in the UK.
The IEA in their best scenario estimate there will be just over 70 million EVs in the world by 2040.
There are approximately 1.4 billion cars in the world today and that figure is expected to rise to 2 billion in 2050. EVs are going to remain niche products.
How long before electricity suppliers start banning EV recharging from residential and commercial premises because the local area grid cannot handle the extra load without very expensive upgrading including new sub-stations?
Upgrade every part of the distribution systems, plus new power plants, plus transmission systems
What could go wrong, if you have 50 EVs, each with an 80 kWh battery, owned by tenants in a multi-story apartment building, charging at the same time?
All hell would break loose, if a fire would occur, say at 2 AM
Maybe an “electricity rationing scheme” would be appropriate. Or a very very very smart controller on the charger.
In the UK they already want to – didn’t we have a story on here recently about electricity suppliers stopping them re-charging during the peak hours of electricity use. Uk-wise that is from 4 in the afternoon thro 10 in the evening and 6 thro 10 in the morning?
It’s why Smart Meters are ‘required’ for UK homes, although the cars themselves will be their own (less than) Smart Meters
Then = Another Problem > Folks are gonna want ultra powerful chargers to use during the hours when they are allowed to charge these less-than-funny joke-mobiles.
Expense expense expense for Consumers but ££££ for the Tax-Man.
But rapid charging destroys life-expectancy of the the batteries and sets them (and their chargers) on fire.
so then what?
Silly question: More rules, regulation, control, expense and tax
Typical Modern Socialist Government….
……’fix’ one thing and another problem comes right up
We really are doing so many things, all of them so dumb & stupid as to take ourselves clean off the map.
(As if eating sugar wasn’t dumb & stupid enough)
The UK has already announced that new home (and business) EV chargers will not operate between 0800 – 1100 and 1600 – 2200 to reduce the demand during peak times.
Boom in late-night television programmes approaching. Or alarm clocks!
Faulty engineering, materials, build quality, or is this the nature of the Li-ion beast?
Batteries have oxidiser and fuel in the same package, like explosives or a solid rocket engine, so it may be an unfixable risk. Proponents of solid state lithium battery technology claim they have a fix, but they have yet to prove their claims.
I think it’s the nature of the lithium battery. Elon says they have improved their batteries, but I don’t know if these improvement make them any less of a fire hazard.
There are other alternative batteries being put forward. A sodium-ion battery looks promising. One Chinese company is starting to produce them.
inversely, don’t park near one
I didn’t need another reason to not buy electric but my conviction is hardened.
0bama built that!
With uncertainties like this who would want one? You don’t dare park it in your garage. How practical is it to find parking 50 ft from vehicles or structures? This should be a show stopper. Especially when you consider the benefits are so immaterial.
Saving the earth is a big benefit. Just ask any democrat. If one polar bear is saved it will be worth it.
Oh yes, Doonman. Save the Earth! Save the endangered species! Spend $trillions putting up wind turbines.
Save the penguins! Save the Polar Bears! Save the Eagles! If just one Eagle is saved, all that money spent will be worth it.
Oh wait………..
… Well then, Save the penguins! Save the Polar Bears!
I read yesterday where you can get you a 430 horsepower, 4.3L Chevrolet internal combustion engine, ready to drop in the engine bay, for about $3500.00.
I thought that was a pretty good price. I wonder how my old chevy pickup would perform with 430 horsepower under the hood. I’d probably get myself in trouble. 🙂
“ do not leave your vehicle charging unattended”
So you’re supposed to stay near it in case it bursts into flames, but then won’t you just be incinerated as well? This is silly advice anyway, if it catches fire there’s not much you can do, maybe go help evacuate neighbors or something.
I love this recommendation. There are not a lot of EVs in Portugal so far but I do see a few and the owners of a large shopping mall in Porto recently sacrificed a double lane of parking spaces under roof to put in an EV charging station. Since discovering this, I’ve made it my business to keep a weather eye on the thing. So far, no fires but a few non-EVs using the spaces, and a few EVs charging. To date, I have never seen the driver standing by while the vehicle charges, presumably they are off shopping.
If/when one of these vehicles fails catastrophically it will be terrible. The upper decks will probably collapse and then there are all the shops and a huge grocery store close at hand. Because of the location of this mall, it is very popular and usually crowded with people so parking spaces under the roof are at a premium. Under normal conditions, exits are adequate but I shudder to think what will happen when an EV catches fire and everyone wants to get out immediately.
Aren’t these things expected to be charged overnight at home in your garage? So, you have to sleep in your garage? Oh wait, sleeping would be leaving it unattended so you aren’t allowed to sleep or I guess family members can take turns on watch. Oh, but you shouldn’t be even putting it in your garage so the watch must be done outdoors, rain or snow (infantry boot camp training suggested). I hope GM provides a long enough charging cord to allow you to park 50 feet away from any other vehicles or structures, or trees for that matter.
so the advice given is to not park your EV within 50 feet (what’s that like 10 spaces?) of another car… but what about the cars who pull into those empty spots after the EV driver leaves?How often are you checking what kind of car is parked 10 spaces down on either side of you in a garage?
5 feet per space? You guys got skinny cars.
I’m just picturing our ‘Brave New (zero carbon) World’ … Saturday afternoon shoppers … multi-level parking garage … hundreds of EVs, cheek to jowl … all topping up their batteries. First sign of disaster – the store has a brown-out. Then, for reasons know all to itself, a Bolt bursts into flame, triggering the Tesla next to it to follow suit. Within 30 minutes the entire city gets to watch the magnificent spectacle of 500 – 1000 electric vehicles self immolating for the next 12 hours followed by several city blocks.
Hollywood needs to make a film about this and I suspect it is just a matter of time until some studio execs weight the potential profits against the potential harm to their good buddies and decide to go with the profits! This is one I might even pay to see in a theater….
Because everyone has a spare 100 feet of space at their home.
50 feet in every direction. pi R squared is around 8000 sq feet, not quite a 5th of an acre free of buildings or vegetation.
If you disregard this recommendation and your electric car catches fire and causes damage to other property, does this mean that insurance companies have another excuse not to pay out on insurance claims? Would it make the owner of the electric car personally liable for any damage caused?
I would say that if an insurance company insures an electric vehicle, they would have to specfically rule out paying for a battery fire incident. If they didn’t rule it out, then they would be responsible for paying the damages caused by a battery fire.
They will want a premium to cover the eventuality but governments won’t allow extra charges for electrics so everyone’s rates will go up.
You may very well be right. Let’s hope it doesn’t go that far.
We have had spate of fossil fuel cars bursting into flames after a crash, here in Australia. Probably the same number per year as always but there has been unprecedented number making it on to the news.
Maybe but that’s after a bad crash not simply parked. Are EV’s just as likely to burst into flames after a bad crash or less likely. I would guess just as likely or even more so. There are not many on the roads yet here in Australia so we’ll just have to wait and see I guess.
The point was that the media think its much more news worthy, presumably to counter the news of electric cars catching alight while parked.
Yes, the leftwing media propagandists are pretty savvy about pushing their ideology, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they were deliberately emphasizing internal combustion engine fires at this time, when electric vehicle fires are starting to make the news.
The thing that really needs to be emphasized is that an internal combustion engire fire can be put out in seconds if you have a fire extinguisher handy, and if not, the Fire Department will have it out seconds after they arrive.
If the electric vehicle catches on fire, we just have to let it burn itself out, hoping it doesn’t set anything else near on fire, and avoiding the toxic fumes the fire creates while it burns.
There’s no comparison.
If the battery casing is ruptured, the battery will catch fire. So I would say a fire after a crash is much more likely for an EV.
Most car fires are a result of engine overheating, not accidents.
You can rest assured your local “news” staffs have been instructed to specifically search for reports of cars burning, and then some enterprising “reporter” got the idea to help out by paying some local hoons to set a few to up their evening ratings. Crime is the only “free enterprise” leftists ever embrace!
“fossil fuel” car fires are usually confined to the engine compartment. They are oil fires, difficult to put out without foam but easily contained and not nearly as hot as the Lithium battery fires. And almost always a result of poor maintenance: oil leaks and overheating due to cooling system problems.
I imagine that the Channel Tunnel will have issues, too.
(PS: please, please, please, learn to use commas correctly. It constantly jangles my reading flow when spurious commas are inserted, as in the first one in your snippet above.)
There are other ‘griffs’ you can get from lithium device. Two days ago I was topping up on vitamin D in a sunny part of Europe and going through emails on my mobile (cell) phone with its back black cover exposed to sun, when I got warnning / notification ‘battery temperature too (or excessively) high’. Knowing danger (suddenly bursting into fire or even exploding in my hand) I threw it into shade couple of feet away and after about couple of minutes approached it with due care and turned it off. Now it hardly holds charge, a new battery is on order.
I once left my mobile on the garden wall in the sun while busy with a garden chore. When I picked it up it was very warm and there was a warning on the screen that it was too hot. Lesson learned, won’t be doing that again.
Thanks for the warning, vuk.
One question; where do you get sunshine in England? You weren’t making that story up, were you?
😜
Not wishing to make you envious
DMS Lat: 43° 40′ 33” N
DMS Long: 7° 17′ 22” E
Nice place you live in.
I heard it was sunny over there… once… at that one spot. Now I know where to go. But it’ll be crowded since you gave away the location.
So you got lucky, eh? Other than the phone battery (bummer). I hope you had a very nice day. 👍
Long time ago as a low budget East European student I neatly spent outdoor night in the gardens, but someone spotted me and security garden chuck me out and locked the gates behind me. I said thank you and will be back soon. It took longer than I planned but now I have an uper floor pad there (5min 12 sec in the video)
https://youtu.be/1LhW_ihMQ3U
Would you like a time-date stamped photo when I pop out later ?
Close up of any bit in the video ?
Ooooo… very nice in Nice, vuk.
Thanks! This ignorant old Yankee was unfamiliar with that place.
I thought you were stuck in London. It seems you are not.
Thanks again.
Before traveling restrictions I use to spend about 30% of my time down here, fortunately restrictions are easing again. For pleasure of using the gardens we have to pay for maintenance and security about $600 a year. Palace has a colourful history and is home for the city’s historic archives.
It’s beautiful, vuk. I’ll bet when you told that guard you’d be back it wasn’t this way that you had in mind. Now you get to say “Good morning!” to the guards and they say, “Good morning sir! (monsieur)”
Good on ya!
For all the downs life throws at you, you get some ups, and this is one of them. Congratulations!
(And you have a great kid, too. That’s even more important than the little perks.)
Oh by the way, the $600 (pounds, euros, whatever… not important) is $50/month.
I pay $43 per month for unlimited carwashes for all of my cars.
I’d rather be paying $50/month and getting your deal in Nice.
👍
It sucks to be me. Up above, you wrote, “Not wishing to make you envious […]”
Big fail on your part. I am really, really envious. I have nice, clean cars. You have……………… Heaven! That place is awesome!
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BTW, I mentioned elsewhere how happy I was for your great kid. I have one too. He’s successful, pulling down very good $$$$, and loves what he does.
You, as a papa, know what I mean when I say all the rest is just so much trash compared to raising a kid who makes his way doing something he loves, and will probably exceed papa’s financial situation.
Happy and financially secure kids. I’m sure you know what I mean when I write, Ahhhhhhhhh…… yesssssss!
We ‘papas’ would give up all we had to get that outcome.
Bonus! We didn’t have to give up all we had! They did it! We have something left over for toys. Isn’t that quite the blessing?
Best wishes to you and your family, vuk.
Thanks H.R.
So only park your EV in the shade. Even more restrictions!
I am not surprised by this. The Bolt was an “adapted” model, not a ground up design. This was always going to be a problem.
The problem is in the battery, not the design of the car.
Chinese made for a Korean battery supplier to GM–This is a harbinger of bad things to come.
You are wrong. The chassis of the Bolt was “retro-fitted” for a battery and electric motor. The whole design is a massive compromise.
Yes, the problem is that while electric cars may be a lot better than ICE if we just consider noise and pollution in heavy traffic areas, the fact is that lithium batteries of the required capacity are not a fit for purpose energy source for them, on the scale required to replace ICE.
This news makes it once again obvious that to replace ICE with EV will require a complete restructuring of personal transport. There will have to be far fewer cars, partly because of the greater cost and partly because of the use restrictions imposed by safety and charging times.
And this in turn will lead to huge consequential changes in how and where we live work and shop.
What will happen is that when the scale of all this becomes apparent, governments will pedal back from the replacement agenda, and the auto industry will be handed the bill.
The only way this is possible is if the industry develops batteries which are safe, far cheaper than lithium, don’t burst into flames, have the energy capacity of a tank of gas in not too much bigger a weight and size envelope, and don’t take a lot longer to recharge.
I don’t see any signs of mass production of such things. We are asking for safe storage of a huge amount of energy in the form of electricity in millions of individual machines in crowded buildings and on crowded roads. Even small blowup rates will be catastrophic.
But we live in hope.
The unspoken intention is precisely that, to have far fewer cars. The majority of people will be forced away from personal transport and onto public transport.
“What will happen is that when the scale of all this becomes apparent, governments will pedal back from the replacement agenda, and the auto industry will be handed the bill.”
I think you are right. The automobile companies ought to think about that before going plunging ahead.
The Free Market is the only way to work this out properly. Government trying to force changes on society is just going to make things worse, not better.
And government is trying to force this on society as a means to control CO2 when there is no evidence that CO2 needs controlling.
All this insanity is built on lies that promote the notion that CO2 is the temperature control knob of the Earth’s atmosphere, when there is not one shred of evidence to back up this claim. Yet Government proceeds as though this is an established fact.
Btw, thanks to the person who recommended reading the book, “The Delinquent Teenager who was mistaken for the world’s top climate expert”, by Donna LaFramboise.
If you want to read about who the people making all these claims about CO2 are, you should read this book. You would be surprised at how many inexperienced and politically motivated people are involved in pushing this claim that CO2 needs to be controlled. It looks like a three-ring-circus of climate change activism, not science. We are being misled by people with an political agenda, and it is costing the world Trillions of wasted dollars, and apparently the mental health of a large portion of young people, who believe the climate change lies.
People, we are being misled by Charlatans at the United Nations who are disguised as scientists. Read the book.
Human-caused Climate Change is the biggest science scam in human history. And nearly all our leaders have bought into the scam.
See who our leaders are looking to at the United Nations IPCC for their information. This is all about politics.
It’s unbelievable that it has gone this far. The reason it has gone this far is because the radical Left recognizes this climate change scam as the perfect vehicle to impose their ideology on everyone else, and the radical Left has control of the Media, the Voice of Authority in our society (much as I hate to say that).
One thing about it: These climate change scam artists don’t have the facts on their side. So far, that hasn’t made much difference, but I can’t see that lasting forever. Let’s just hope it doesn’t last long enough for the Left to impose their will totally.
Yes, the auto companies ought to think about it before plunging ahead. But they have ALL made that decision, proving that auto company decisions are made by non-technical heads without technical input. They think that political decisions forced on them by politicians can overcome the forces of nature Or, just maybe, they never even properly think about it. Big rethink coming, I hope.
“They think that political decisions forced on them by politicians can overcome the forces of nature”
That’s what the politicians think, too. “Make it so”, they say.
Leftist thought is all about believing that your ideas replace facts, truth and nature.
And how exactly are visually impaired – blind people especially – going to be warned not to fall over cables trailing 50 ft to recharge these frankenstein vehicles? Or people in wheelchairs or with prams negotiate the hazards?
The U.K. has smaller roads and lots of terrace houses in towns and cities where the idea of finding any parking ten, never mind fifty, feet from next door or another vehicle is impossible.
My little town is already seeing annoyance and rows starting where cables are run across a pavement. That arch brainless dolt Lord Deben was given BBC time yesterday to argue that in rural areas all street lighting should be turned off at night. Obviously he won’t compensate anyone who is injured by tripping over a cable or has losses from the huge increase in crime that will follow from his latest saving the planet wheeze.
You can see the cut , ripped out cables, and superglued charging points that will ensue as this inevitable conflict between greenie posers and the rest of sane society escalates. People will only suffer so much virtue seeking eco-stupidity.
I can see a ban on EV’s in city centres for environmental reasons. Oops!
Though GM is okay with parking your butt inside the car!
I see Unsafe At Any Speed already hit the thread. I could just see Ralph losing his mind over the numerous safety issues with EVs. Hell, because of him USG destroyed 1000s of jeeps, the farquing bastich!
Nader is a dyed in the wool environmentalist. All-in on the climate change agenda. He’d never oppose EV’s. His opposition to various automobiles was driven more by a desire to eliminate them all than any valid concerns.
Totally in shock that fishfaced enemy of the people is still alive. Perhaps dementia has set in, the Nader I remember would have been screaming at the top of his lungs over the self-driving debacle much less the spontaneous combustion.
Had this argument with a younger work mate earlier this week.
He was musing about how much he really wanted to get a hybrid or a full EV and just live in the country and never go into the city.
I ignored the fact that hybrids are only ‘useful’ in stop start traffic (aka Not Country Driving) when the regenerative braking can kick in, otherwise you are carting around a lot of extra gear that is dead weight and suggested that an EV would be fine as long as they didn’t catch fire and burn your house down.
He got very defensive. EV cars don’t catch fire! Lithium batteries only burn when they are damaged! Petrol and diesel cars catch fire too! Lithium fires can be put out!
Oh to be in my early 20s and know everything again.
Stop and go driving is when regenerative breaks perform the worst. Below a certain speed (10-15mph?) breaking is 100% friction.
“get a hybrid or a full EV and just live in the country and never go into the city”
Talk about out of touch. I LIVE in the country. EV just won’t cut it.
Its weird, and you can see it on this thread. There are people who feel they have to defend EVs against any criticism, including criticism of their batteries, and it takes them into total denial of reality. And in this case chemistry of combustion.
And further down you’ll find people who feel they have to defend of all things the Corvair against any criticism.
Both are equally irrational, equally indefensible, and both are the result of lining up with ‘people like us’ who all have the same world view, and this dictates what they think about issues. Don’t bother them with the facts.
You find it with the Hockey Stick. Nothing, but nothing, will ever convince the faithful that the Hockey Stick was and is pure hokum. No matter how many observations you cite from all around the world to show that the MWP was real and was global. Or even when you show them the leaked emails, and the way the decline was hidden.
And nothing will convince the faithful that the original Corvair was a disaster. Not even the fact that in September 1959 a couple of Ford test drivers got hold of some early examples from a Chevy dealer, and took them out on the track. They lost control. Not even all the suits against GM by the people who crashed them.
It was a fine family car sabotaged by left wing near communist agitators, and who needs seat belts anyway….? It had to be, because for some reason defence of the Corvair, like defence of the Hockey Stick, or the Tesla and Bolt lithium batteries, has become not so much a matter of reality, its more, never mind the facts, I am telling you who I am.
Its the end of the Enlightenment, and some of us see we are living through it.
In 1971 the NHTS released their report on testing the ’60-’63 Corvair handling. They found that the Corvair was no more nor less safe than the other compact cars of the day. Rather, it just handled differently. They also tested against other rear engine/swing axle cars available in the US, specifically the VW Type 1 and Renault Dauphine, and found that the Dauphine, with it’s relatively heavier cast iron, water cooled engine and higher rear weight bias was more prone to sudden oversteer than the Corvair. An analysis of road accidents showed that the Dauphine and VW were much more likely to roll over than the Corvair.
The report also devotes an entire section to the Ford testing and found that it was not a valid analysis.
https://www.intergarten.com/halffast/index_htm_files/PB211015-NHTSA-Corvair.pdf
“Additionally, we still request you do not leave your vehicle charging unattended, even if you are using a charging station in a parking deck.”
Opps, missed that line on first read through.
So much for charging your EV at night while you sleep. Now you can charge your EV at night while you sit up and watch it.
OEM’s advice. I wonder if this now means if your EV does go pop while charging that GM will not accept blame unless you can prove you were monitoring it the entire charge time.
And absolutely DO NOT charge the vehicle in your garage or even near your house!
A recent report on new S Korean electric car noted that the front seats fold almost flat, so the driver can nap for an hour whilst the car charges!
If you’re asleep you are not “attending” to the car while it is charging.
They could hang a smoke detector above the car and the alarm would wake up the sleeping car owner. Then, the car owner can jump up and run away as fast as he can.
I hadn’t realized that the reason for “attending” to the car was so you knew to run away. But now that you mention it, that does seem like the only option. In which case I suggest the owners not bother with “attending” and just run away!
Next Michael Moore movie–“Who killed the family that owned the electric car?”
In theory, EVs could improve historically unreliable brands and models. The Bolt upends that thinking just in time for mass rollout of many more models. It puts a whole new light on the just-in-time-inventory concept and replaces it with just-in-time battery scares.
I wonder how much hesitancy the electric car fires put in people? I guess we’ll see when we get the numbers of EV cars purchased in the future.
I will keep my money at least 50 ft away from the car or any transaction for purchase.
That means a person can’t recharge his/her Bolt in a garage attached to the house, without fear of burning the house down (the frames of most garages are made of flammable wood). In some suburbs close to major cities, the lots on which houses are built are only 50 feet wide, so a Bolt owner can’t safely recharge the car on his/her own property!
Another question: will insurance companies pay for damages from a battery fire in an electric car that burns a house down? Would that be covered by auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance? Will insurance companies charge higher premiums for electric car owners due to the risk of battery fires?
Even if increased CO2 in the air caused the climate to warm by a degree or two over the next 100 years, it still wouldn’t be warm enough for anyone’s house to spontaneously combust. That seems a lot safer than everyone driving electric cars!
“Take your Chevy to the levee”—and park it there!
So exploding batteries get a pass from NHTSA but fuel line leaks in ICE cars do not?
You can count on it!
Don’t give them to the Afghan refugees–they’ve been through enough live fire.
Lithium Electric Vehicles really are a danger from a terrorist attack viewpoint.
If all it takes to start a lithium fire is to damage the battery, that can be done quite easily with a small pipebomb or handgrenade. One Tesla parked in an underground parking garage would be a disaster waiting to happen from that perspective.
It seems like only yesterday there were glowing reviews of the Bolt. i.e. not flaming
Once upon a time a company I worked for bought a lithium battery powered remote data logger. We put the batteries in it and went to lunch. When we got back from lunch, there was a fire engine outside of the building. The remains of the data logger were in the parking lot, still smoking. The carpet, some of the furniture and the ceiling of the lab had fire/chemical damage. The place smelled terrible. The data logger of course was destroyed. It turned out that one of the C size battery holders had been mis-wired at the factory. The manufacturer replaced the data logger after an attorney had a chat with them. Most of the equipment that was in that lab suffered from corrosion, even after being decontaminated. Anything storing that much energy should be handled carefully and have built in disconnects and other safety features.
UNDERSTATING CO2 EMISSIONS PER KILOWATT-HOUR TO HYPE EVs AND HEAT PUMPS
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/some-ne-state-governments-play-deceptive-games-with-co2-emissions
EXCERPT:
THETFORD; July 2, 2021 — A fire destroyed a 2019 Chevy Bolt, 66 kWh battery, EPA range 238 miles, owned by state Rep. Tim Briglin, D-Thetford, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Technology.
He had been driving back and forth from Thetford, VT, to Montpelier, VT, with his EV, about 100 miles via I-89
He had parked his 2019 Chevy Bolt on the driveway, throughout the winter, per GM recall of Chevy Bolts
He had plugged his EV into a 240-volt charger.
The battery was at about 10% charge at start of charging, at 8 PM, and he had charged it to 100% charge at 4 AM; 8 hours of charging. See Note
Li-ions (pos.) would plate out on the cathode (neg) each time when charging from 80 to 100%.
Li-ions would plate out on the anode (pos) each time when charging from 10% to 20%, especially when such charging occurred at battery temperatures of 32F or less.
Fire: Firefighters were called to Briglin’s Tucker Hill Road home around 9 AM Thursday.
Investigators from the Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit determined:
1) The fire started in a compartment in the back of the passenger’s side of the vehicle
2) It was likely due to an “electrical failure”.
https://www.vnews.com/Firefighters-put-out-blaze-in-car-of-Vt-State-Representative-41272606
https://www.engadget.com/gm-chevy-bolt-fire-warning-215322969.html
https://electrek.co/2020/11/13/gm-recall-chevy-bolt-evs-potential-fire-risk/
GM Recall of Chevy Bolts: In 2020, GM issued a worldwide recall of 68,667 Chevy Bolts, all 2017, 2018 and 2019 models, plus, in 2021, a recall for another 73,000 Bolts, all 2020, 2021, and 2022 models.
GM set aside $1.8 BILLION to replace battery modules, or 1.8 BILLION/(68,667 + 73,000) = $12,706/EV.
https://insideevs.com/news/524712/chevrolet-bolt-battery-recall-cost/
https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/568817-gm-expands-bolt-ev-recall-to-include-73000-more-vehicles
Owners were advised not to charge them in a garage, and not to leave them unattended while charging, which may take up to 8 hours; what a nuisance!
I wonder what could happen during rush our traffic, or in a parking garage, or at a shopping mall, etc.
Rep. Briglin heeded the GM recall by not charging in his garage. See URLs
https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2021/09/16/electric-social-distancing/
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/some-ne-state-governments-play-deceptive-games-with-co2-emissions
NOTE:
– Cost of replacing the battery packs of 80,000 Hyundai Konas was estimated at $900 million, about $11,000 per vehicle
https://insideevs.com/news/492167/reports-lg-chem-cost-hyundai-battery-recall/
– EV batteries should be charged from 20 to 80%, to achieve minimal degradation and long life, plus the charging loss is minimal in that range
– Charging EVs from 0 to 20% charge, and from 80 to 100% charge, 1) uses more kWh AC from the wall outlet per kWh DC charged into the battery, and 2) is detrimental to the battery. Also, it requires additional kWh for cooling the battery while charging.
– EV batteries must never be charged, when the battery temperature is less than 32F; if charged anyway, the plating out of Li-ions on the anode would permanently damage the battery.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/how-does-lithium-ion-battery-work
See section Charging Electric Vehicles During Freezing Conditions in URL
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/some-ne-state-governments-play-deceptive-games-with-co2-emissions
“THETFORD; July 2, 2021 — A fire destroyed a 2019 Chevy Bolt, 66 kWh battery, EPA range 238 miles, owned by state Rep. Tim Briglin, D-Thetford, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Technology.”
LOL !!!
Karma, anyone?
Tom,
He had been bragging about range was not an issue, even in winter.
By his own admission he had been range driving, filling and emptying the battery every day, which is against ALL recommendations
That A hole has never answered my emails