NHTSA

What's Behind Lutz’s Chevy Volt Tirade?

Submitted by Mark Modica on Wed, 02/01/2012 - 11:26

Bob Lutz & Volt Well-respected car guy and General Motors supporter, Bob Lutz, posted a piece on Forbes that attacked "right-wing" criticism of the Chevy Volt. With all due respect and noting that I have nowhere near the credentials of Mr. Lutz, I feel it appropriate to respond to the ridiculous defense that we have seen of a vehicle that is costing taxpayers billions of dollars while offering little in return. I also have some questions of my own for Mr. Lutz and GM.

Gov't Conflict of Interest on Chevy Volt Probe?

Submitted by NLPC Staff on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 08:58

NLPC Associate Fellow Mark Modica last night discussed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation of the Chevy Volt fires with Gerri Willis on the Fox Business Network. Here's a transcript:

Chevy Volt Gets "Worst Product" Award

Submitted by Mark Modica on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 07:43

General Motors' much-hyped Chevy Volt has yet another distinction to add to its long list of commendations. We had all heard repeatedly about Motor Trends' Car of the Year award, Consumer Reports' recommendation and Jay Leno's love affair with the car, but the Volt now gets a less publicized, more deserved distinction from Yahoo Finance's 24/7 Wall Street site. The Volt has made the list of "The Worst Product Flops of 2011" and apologists for the vehicle are sure to, once again, attack the credibility of those issuing the opinion.

UAW Gets $12 Million from GM as Taxpayers Get Scrooged

Submitted by Mark Modica on Wed, 12/14/2011 - 09:35

Bloomberg reported last week that General Motors will be paying $12 million in additional bonuses to its UAW workers for meeting "quality targets." It's nice to see the holiday spirit of giving at GM. Unfortunately; US taxpayers are not faring as well as Government Motors' politically favored union members.

The Obama Administration still refuses to exit its stake in GM with Treasury serving as Money Manager for the American taxpayers. Geithner and friends continue to gamble on a market-timing strategy to "maximize" taxpayers return on its GM bailout (sorry, "investment.") So, how are they doing?

Consumer Reports’ Chevy Volt Safety Double Standard

Submitted by Mark Modica on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 08:51

In January of 2010 USA Today reported that Consumer Reports (CR) temporarily suspended its recommended rating for eight Toyota models. This was in response to the possibility of Toyota models being unsafe as accusations were made that the vehicles had sudden acceleration problems and NHTSA investigated the alleged incidents. In CRs' words, "Although incidents of sudden acceleration are rare, we are taking this action because the vehicles have been identified as potentially unsafe without a fix yet being available to consumers." CRs' response to the Chevy Volt NHTSA fires is quite different from the Toyota response.

Media Suppressing NHTSA’s Suppression of Chevy Volt Fire?

Submitted by Mark Modica on Thu, 12/08/2011 - 11:05

You may have heard of the announcement that there will be a congressional investigation into why NHTSA waited six months to notify the public of the crash-tested Chevy Volt which burst into flames three weeks after the crash-test. If you have, it was probably not through mainstream media networks, which seem to be keeping fairly quiet on the story. I have not been able to ascertain a logical reason for General Motors and the Obama Administration's transportation safety agency to withhold reporting the incident.

Ethics Group Files FOIA on Chevy Volt Fires

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Wed, 12/07/2011 - 13:20

Volt fire photo The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) today filed a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for any and all communications with General Motors (GM).

The NHTSA is investigating three fires in the battery packs of GM's Chevy Volt following collision tests, but may have withheld information of this potential safety problem from the public for several months.

Congress Investigating NHTSA Chevy Volt Report Delay

Submitted by Mark Modica on Wed, 12/07/2011 - 10:20

Detroit News reports that Congress will hold a hearing to determine why NHTSA waited six months to report a spontaneously combusting Chevy Volt which went up in flames three weeks after a crash-test. The news comes three weeks after I first questioned the delay. While there was no justification for NHTSA to keep the incident secret from the public, the skepticism towards a government agency of the Executive Branch being in charge of investigating the safety of President Obama's favorite car is fully justified.

Chevy Volt Buyback Sets Stage for Tax Credit Abuse

Submitted by Mark Modica on Mon, 12/05/2011 - 08:10

General Motors has announced it is buying back Chevy Volts from any purchasers who are concerned about safety risks associated with the vehicle. NHTSA is currently investigating fires that occurred after crash tests of the vehicles when the volatile lithium-ion batteries ignited days after the tests. Any buybacks of the vehicles sets the stage for wealthy purchasers to take advantage of lax rules for the $7,500 tax credit available on the vehicle. Essentially, many purchasers can return their Volts and then go ahead and apply for the credit, even though they do not currently own the vehicle and received a refund of what they paid for the car.

Troubling NHTSA/GM Response to Chevy Volt Fires

Submitted by Mark Modica on Thu, 12/01/2011 - 12:12

Some troubling inconsistencies are arising regarding General Motors and NHTSA's response to the crash-tested Chevy Volt fires first reported a few weeks ago. NHTSA and GM delayed informing the public of the initial Volt incident that occurred about six months ago until recently. According to an early NY Times piece on the exploding Volt, NHTSA and GM claimed that they were unable to replicate the fire that occurred at the time. In fact, according to a CNN Money piece that ran when the story first broke, GM spokesman Greg Martin stated that the Volt battery pack was subjected to more than 300,000 safety tests.