fire

More than three-quarters of the American public say limited driving range is a point of concern when considering an electric vehicle, while almost 30 percent indicated that they thought EVs were more dangerous than conventional vehicles, Consumer Reports said, citing responses to its 2012 Car ...

Maybe this will calm some of the "plug-in cars are scary!" fears that are out there. Recently, a Nissan Leaf driver rear-ended a school bus in Oregon, causing minor injuries but no fire, the Yamhill Valley News-Register reported. The Leaf's front and side airbags deployed during the accident, ...

General Motors has launched an advertising campaign touting the safety of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in electric vehicle, just as its CEO testified to Congress that a recent Volt fire that took place after a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash test would never occur ...

General Motors has prepared an advertising campaign that would be launched in the event that more reports of Chevrolet Volt fires generate public interest or a Congressional hearing, USA Today reported, citing GM Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick. The advertisements are "honest" and ...

When news of a fire in a North Carolina garage housing a Chevy Volt broke last week, green car enthusiasts – and, no doubt, General Motors – sucked in a collective breath. Had the lithium-ion battery pack in the range-extending hybrid suffered from some sort of defect? Or was perhaps ...

Not good. The third plug-in vehicle related fire in 2011 has come to our attention. This time, Reuters reports that an electric bus in downtown Shanghai, China caught fire while transporting passengers. The bus is reportedly manufactured by Shanghai Leibo – partner of Anhui Ankai Automobile ...

Back in early May, the second plug-in vehicle related fire in 2011 came to our attention. Sometime in mid-April, an electric Zotye Multipla taxi burst into flames in Hangzhou, China. Firefighters supposedly arrived on the scene within minutes, but couldn't control the blaze and the vehicle ...

While some have been quick to point fingers at the 2011 Chevrolet Volt involved in two separate incidents at the Barkhamsted, CT home of Storm and Dee Connors, General Motors has updated its earlier statement to improve the clarity of the situation. GM's preliminary investigation of the matter ...

While a new flame retardant interior fabric treatment may not seem very "green" at first mention, understanding the toxicity of current fabric treatments will certainly suggest that more environmentally friendly alternatives are needed. Currently, fire retardant fabric treatments – required ...

The first known instance of a plug-in hybrid car going up in flames occurred on June 7 in Columbia, South Carolina to a 2008 Prius that had been converted to plug-in capability for the Central Electric Power Cooperative. The conversion was performed with a Hybrids-Plus PHEV15 conversion kit that ...