Auto industry car-fire-2-JPEG-500x375

Published on January 11th, 2012 | by Andrew Meggison

10

Different Standards For Gasoline-Powered Cars Vs. EV's?


 

Over at Plugin Cars Tom Moloughney recently wrote and article titled, “Hysteria Over Chevy Volt Fires Motivated by Politics”. In the article Mr. Moloughney forms a hypothesis that there is a double standard out there concerning cars — gas powered cars get treated one way and electric and hybrid cars are treated another way. Mr. Moloughney makes and interesting and strong argument.

A lot of people write for the internet these days and on a range of topics so broad it can be hard to comprehend. Here at Gas2, we like to do as much independent research on a topic that we can before it appears on the site. Yet, sometimes a writer from another site hits on a topic so uniquely that we feel it must be shared with our readers as well.

The Chevy Volt is arguably the most mainstream eclectic/hybrid vehicles (EV) on the market. The add campaigns for the Volt have been huge, hell the thing even had its own Transformer up on the silver screen. Recently, however, the Volt has taken a hit. Sales of the Volt have been slow; politicians have denounced the Volt, and the much published fire issue with the Volt has left a mark.

It is on the issue of the media frenzy that surrounded the Volt fires that Tom Moloughney bases his arguments. Moloughney’s hypothesis is that there is a double standard out there concerning cars and that electric and hybrid cars are being held to a higher standard than gasoline powered cars. It is an interesting idea, and throw into the mix Moloughney’s question as to do electric cars need to be safer than gasoline cars, and one is left with an interesting conundrum.

To back up his argument Mr. Moloughney compiled a list of automobiles that have been recalled for fire related issues over the past two years. Mr. Moloughney’s list and write up follows:

“On August 22 of this year, Audi began a recall of their 2011 & 2012 R8 Spyder vehicles. It seems a fuel line can rub against a heat shield in the engine compartment and catch FIRE.

A few days earlier on August 15, Ford announced they would be recalling 2007 Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego’s because there were inadequate welds on the fuel filler pipe and gas tank which could leak and in the presence of an ignition source, catch FIRE.

Last month BMW announced they are recalling 32,000 of its 2008-2011 cars (select 5-series, 7-series, X5’s & X6’s) because of a faulty electronic circuit board that could damage the water pump of the car and lead to a FIRE.

On July 29 of this year, Daimler trucks of North America recalled certain 2010 & 2011 Saf-T-Liner C-2 school buses because “The intake air grid heater may short circuit and fail due to excessive internal temperatures. A short circuited grid heater could result in a FIRE and injury to vehicle occupants.” I wonder who might be the vehicle occupants of a school bus? Ya think school buses full of children possibly catching FIRE is a bit more newsworthy than a couple Volts catching fire weeks after NHTSA crash tests? I do!

Then there’s Honda. Last year Honda recalled 646,000 Fits because a faulty power window switch could cause a vehicle FIRE. That’s a lot of recalled cars. I swear I don’t remember seeing this in the headlines for a few weeks last year. On September 12, 2011, Ford began a recall of certain model F-150’s and F-250’s from various years between 1997 and 2003. The reason: The fuel tank straps were defective and could break. This would cause the fuel tank to possibly separate form the vehicle while it was being driven and come in contact with the ground. In other words, it can literally fall off while you’re driving down the highway. This obviously poses a FIRE hazard.

In October 2010, Chrysler recalled about 26,000 cars and pickup trucks because power steering fluid can leak onto a hot engine and cause a FIRE. In June of 2010 Toyota announced they were recalling approximately 13,000 Lexus HS 250 H after testing revealed that the car could leak fluid during a rear end collision and cause a FIRE.

Let’s not forget in March 2011 when Mazda recalled 52,000 Mazda6 sedans. I remember this one did make the news for a day, but only because of how strange the problem was. Mazda said the problem was because “a certain type of spider may weave a web in the evaporative canister vent line and this may cause a restriction of the line.” Blocking the vent line can prevent air from getting into the gas tank. This results in negative air pressure inside the tank. That can lead to a crack in the gas tank and the possibility of a FIRE.”

After reading through the list, fact checking, and checking the Gas2 site there were defiantly some of the stories on Moloughney’s list that Gas2 did not cover – yet we are still covering the Volt fire and its impact.

What I am saying is that Tom Moloughney makes a great point. Electric and hybrid vehicles have been under the public microscope for years now. Is it the fear of something new/ fear of change? Or are powers at work here deliberately trying to give hybrids and EVs a bad reputation?

Republican Congressman Mike Kelly, who owns are car dealership, has made pubic his opinion that there is no market for the Volt and recently introduced legislation to repeal the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles. It should come as no surprise that Republican Congressman Mike Kelly is directly involved with the Phillips-Conoco oil company.

It is not hard to connect the dots around Republican Congressman Mike Kelly and his line of interests. We know that the big oil companies are not too thrilled about the advances of the EV and hybrid market either. Also widely known is the fact oil companies do have deep pockets and are able to push their agenda when cornered.

But, we also know that some consumers have legitimate worries about driving EVs. Concerns like having no place to plug the car in while on long drives or in rural communities and concerns that their trusted mechanic might not be able to work on their new EV. These are valid issues that must be addressed if EVs are going to really take off.

Yet, for now, it seems that it is best to ignore the negative attention; if you have EV related questions ask and if you are curious about EVs go for a test drive. As Tom Moloughney has shown fire is a hazard that all types of cars face — you just might not hear about it on the evening news.

Source: plugincars.com

Andrew Meggison was born in the state of Maine and educated in Massachusetts. Andrew earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Government and International Relations from Clark University and a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Northeastern University. Being an Eagle Scout, Andrew has a passion for all things environmental. In his free time Andrew enjoys writing, exploring the great outdoors, a good film, and a creative cocktail. You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewMeggison

 

 



MAKE SOLAR WORK FOR YOU!





Next, use your Solar Report to get the best quote!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


About the Author

Andrew Meggison was born in the state of Maine and educated in Massachusetts. Andrew earned a Bachelor's Degree in Government and International Relations from Clark University and a Master's Degree in Political Science from Northeastern University. In his free time Andrew enjoys writing, exploring the great outdoors, a good film, and a creative cocktail. You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewMeggison


Related Posts



  • chuck stone

    Good discussion, but let’s get to the point. When an engineer at a large company is designing the future car his/her company will sell, they are limited in freedom to design the best they can. Instead they are told about the project standards and the company standards, and the specific lifeline to be applied to the parts and systems.

    A need is to be developed so the company can sell special tools and dealers can get the repair business rather than after market companies like Pep Boys. The company goal of maximizing the profit rules. So dumb designs go into production. Dealers buy new tools every year which Pep Boys are not allowed to buy or can’t afford because they don’t get that many customers for that vehicle problem. The consumer pays extra for all this activity plus the electronic gadgets they may not want. Prices go up and consumer ability to afford the product shows up in reduced sale.

    What does this have to do with your article? Well, really new ideas for electric, alcohol, propane, water, or hydrogen fueled cars are to forward looking for the auto company management to visualize at the parts level. The internal debates between the financial, marketing, safety and engineering departments produce compromised designs at best.

    New fuel systems and parts designs should be promoted to their best possible in hopes of being a long term success. But they are built to be failures so consumers will reject them and return to gasoline made from oil. When I was a young designer in the V-8 engine department in 1955, I was directed to be sure the parts would fail at a certain mileage in order to create a demand for repair parts.

    After I transferred our successful dedicated alcohol (methanol) fuel project to Ford, they changed the design to Flex-Fuel cars using ethanol alcohol. They lowered the compression from12 to 1, down to 8.5 to 1, to allow use of 87 octane gasoline or alcohol with no adjustments. They built and sold millions of these poor performing vehicles and claimed they had fixed the oil shortage problem for America.

    Now General Motors is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the biggest engines in history for the Cadillac and Corvette. Guess what………they are to guzzle gasolines. The fact that the taxpayers had to bail them out with tax dollars has made these people more reckless than ever. The Volt people are low on decision power inside general Motors. The money rules, and the money is with Wall Street/Big Oil,Defense, and the auto guys want to get back into that group of decision makers. Let the European people play with the low powered little cars and alternative fuels. It is an ego thing, and it will not go away soon.

    But hope is on the horizon. Look at the Honda Corporate Dreams for the Future video addressing hydrogen from water as the fuel of the future. We have those concept engines in work today in Fresno California. I may even buy an electric car soon just to run to the store. My Lincoln Towncar is starting to look too big for city use.

  • george

    I like Mike!

  • george

    What happens when you throw water on a Lithium battery fire……MORE FIRE!

  • Anthony

    I agree 100% with Mr Moloughney on this one. There is most certainly a double standard, but that’s not terribly uncommon with new technologies, often they are held to a higher standard than the established technology that we have become accustomed to. However this is different in my opinion because of how aggressively certain politicians and pundits are attacking these cars. Electric cars are nothing less than a disruptive technology and will shake the auto industry to it’s core. Politicians like this Kelly guy from Pennsylvania who have made millions from from the oil industry and still own millions of dollars in oil company stock should be ashamed of themselves putting their personal gain before the country. Electric cars run on domestic energy, not foreign oil and while they aren’t currently equal to their combustion brethren, they are just starting. In less than a decade they will be equal or better than gas cars in just about every regard and we’ll be using less foreign oil and reinvesting our energy dollars in our local economies. The people attacking electric cars today in my opinion are nothing less than traitors.

  • Stephane

    Anthony, your last three phrase just sum it up.

    I would add more insult to your 4th to last sentence but for a first post, I’ll refrain.

  • Nixon

    There is one very big difference between a Volt battery fire, and say a Ford gas tank fire. The amount of energy stored in a Volt battery pack at the time of an accident would only be maybe the same amount of energy as 1-2 gallons of gas. So there is much less energy to be released in a fire. There also isn’t any explosive qualities to batteries, so the rate of energy release is much less dangerous.

  • Kramer

    I think we are missing the point here. It’s the business/government connection/collusion that’s creating the frenzy. Were it not for the taxpayers 30% stake in GM (with the Volt being the administrations flagship project), the media frenzy would not be as vitriolic. As a casual observer, and not someone that follows recall with ferocity, I’ve seen a substantial difference in the way the NTSA handled the Toyota recall last year. Especially, when compared with this Volt event. I would call it a Volt recall, but apparently “newspeak” has taken over. It’s not even labeled a recall. Sounds like a double standard in favor of the EV to me.

    Are there other EV fires that are getting a ton of attention in the media. What EV cars – other than the Volt – are under scrutiny right now? If they’re the only one, then I would say that the extended life of this story is directly connected to the politics of bailing out private companies, socializing their losses, and the conflict of interest created when you “regulate” your own company and its competitors.

    • http://www.sublimeburnout.com Christopher DeMorro

      @ Kramer

      Ford just recalled over a half-million vehicles this week. Where is the media hooplah over that?

  • alansanmateo

    I agree that the government bailout has caused much of the vitriol. But that does not excuse people from their own stupidity. The FACT is, gasoline powered cars are wayyyy more dangerous than the Volt is. But don’t let facts get in the way of your vitriol.

  • http://canddautorepairs.com foreign car repair

    At this point in time I don’t trust the batteries that they put in EV, They don’t last and some of the cars batteries if they discharge all the way, they will never recharge. Also the batteries only last around 30K miles (less for some car, more for others) and replacing the batters is more then half the cost of the car brand new! I am going to stick to gas for now, although at 4$ a gallon electric is looking better every day!

Back to Top ↑

© 2014   Sustainable Enterprises Media, Inc.



Back to Top ↑