Engadget posts picture of GEM electric truck on fire
Our Engadget buddies have posted a picture of a GEM electric truck on fire. There is really no explanation with the article except "GEM neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV) burning peacefully on the UC Riverside campus, January 15th, 2008." The post is titled "And you thought that laptop fire sucked..." and some comments have concluded it's a fire caused by the electric car's battery or wiring.
TG Daily is reporting that the UC "campus Police Department said it could have been a test burn." TG Daily also says GEM cars have started two other fires. If I were GEM, I would look into this one quickly because the post has over 400 diggs, more than 60 comments at Engadget and, while shocking, the picture is kinda cool. That's the perfect recipe to start a very bad rumor about GEM's cars.
Related:
[Source: Engadget thanks to tipster Remy]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GoodCheer 6:57PM (1/17/2008)
Oops, that's no good.
Anybody know what kind of battery is in those things? I would have guessed lead acid, but I didn't think that they would burn like that. (I know I've cross-wired batteries when trying to jump-start my car before and nothing much happened.)
Reply
GoodCheer 7:03PM (1/17/2008)
This page
http://www.gemcar.com/models/default.asp?ID=359
also suggests lead acid.
Reply
mike 7:53PM (1/17/2008)
Can we get pics of how ALL the new tech burns? How about Hydrogen?
Reply
ev2g 10:01PM (1/17/2008)
Well....if your Ev is not NANOSAFE not only are you playing with fire ... but you also can't rapid charge.
Like i said before to Big Auto and Big Utilities out there: "Play it safe...Nanosafe"
NanosaferEv.com
Reply
ev2g 10:28PM (1/17/2008)
ps.- forgot the link
http://www.altairnano.com/documents/NanoSafe_Datasheet.pdf
Reply
David Fox 11:59PM (1/17/2008)
y'all reported on this one a year ago:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/27/unplugged-electric-car-likely-cause-of-building-fire-in-san-fran/
Reply
Chris M 2:49AM (1/18/2008)
Like other NEV class vehicles, the GEM uses lead acid batteries that are not particularly flammable. If you notice, it is the upholstery and plastic body parts that are burning.
However, lead acid batteries can produce a lot of power, and if short circuited can overheat the wiring very quickly, which could ignite any flammable materials nearby.
Reply
tio 7:27AM (1/18/2008)
It's the new Fiero! or as we called ours after it burned to the ground in a blob of plastic flames, "Fire Oh"
Reply
Nicholas 9:13AM (1/18/2008)
Big Oil...
Reply
Lascelles Linton 8:08AM (1/18/2008)
Am I the only one that thinks this looks a little staged? The picture is just too perfect. Look at the wheel, the frame, etc. The picture had to be one of hundreds taken of the burn. Why is no one fighting the fire? I would guess this is a fire fighting class or something. If not, it's the best picture anyone can use to say electric cars have fire risks.
Mike, Sorry no pictures of other clean cars on fire but A123 has an interesting video I wrote about...
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/08/13/video-nail-drilled-through-a123-battery/
Reply