By now, you should be aware about the current hubbub surrounding the Chevrolet Volt and the NHTSA, and GM’s subsequent response to keep customers happy. But as it turns out, the things that have apparently materialized recently, really haven’t as current as the government agency would like us to believe.
For those that remember, the NHTSA crash tested the Chevy Volt six months ago before they published their flammable findings in November, back in May earlier this year. Why the time lapse? Shockingly, Joan Claybrook, who ran the NHTSA from 1977-1981, told Automotive News that it’s because the agency wanted to protect the Volt from weak sales — despite GM not looking to meet its sales goal for the year, anyway.
Despite the claim, Claybrook offered little to no proof to the table that this indeed was the case, and perhaps a more plausible reason would be that GM engineers couldn’t replicate the fire issue with the Volt’s battery pack until last month. Still, it’s surprising that the NHTSA would withhold such knowledge from the public.
Source: Automotive News
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