GM To Investigate Volt Blaze Re-Ignition
Cars charred in Barkhamsted fire: wtnh.com
The Hartford Courant reports that the fire reported on in the video above, which first started in a garage holding a new Chevrolet Volt and a converted electric-powered Suzuki Samurai, re-ignited this morning. According to the report
A fire apparently reignited inside the battery of a new Chevrolet Volt car early Monday, less than five days after the Volt, an electric hybrid, was involved in a blaze that destroyed a Barkhamsted garage where it had been plugged in for recharging.
“The rekindle this morning really adds to the mystery,” Barkhamsted Fire Marshal Bill Baldwin said today.
Representatives from General Motors, the vehicle’s manufacturer plan, are scheduled to arrive in Barkhamsted this evening to examine the car, Baldwin said.
The hybrid electric car was not plugged in this morning when the fire rekindled, Baldwin said.
Investigators still haven’t linked either the fire or the rekindle to either vehicle, but GM’s investigators should be able to help narrow down the cause of the fire.
UPDATE: TTAC Commenter mcs finds the blog of a Suzuki EV converter based in Barkhamsted, CT. One post describes a homemade charging system its owner describes as “certainly not a recommended safe practice.” Hit the jump for a screen capture of the post, or check out the blog here.
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The facts in this case are as clear as mud. The only way to find any answers about the cause of the initial fire is to work backwards from your preconceived conclusions.
@Thornmark- I doubt many recognize the NY Post as expert on anything, particularly the auto industry. btw- the article was written by a disgruntled business manager at a closed Saturn dealership. That makes him a real expert on the industry, huh? Chevrolet just had the largest quarter in history and GM is the largest automaker in the world again. GM will outsell Ford in April, and is likely to accelerate away from them when the new product pipeline starts flowing. GM made over $5B in North America last year in still down market. Sales are recovering in Europe, which did overcome other foreign region's profits to drag the net down to $4.8B. Their net profit margin was only a fraction lower than Ford's.
It would be interesting to check with the city and see how many permits have been pulled for all the electrical work that was done in that garage since the home was built. My guess is you won't find any. Mikey - Stop feeding the GM troll!
As a taxpayer, I am not too thrilled on the return we have gotten on this "investment": http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=GM+Interactive#chart1:symbol=gm;range=6m;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined I believe it would have to get up over 50 bucks for Uncle Sam to come out on the deal. Fat chance.