{"id":430,"date":"2011-11-28T16:00:55","date_gmt":"2011-11-28T20:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jparnell.com\/blog\/?p=430"},"modified":"2011-11-28T16:00:55","modified_gmt":"2011-11-28T20:00:55","slug":"the-nhtsa-and-the-chevy-volt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/?p=430","title":{"rendered":"The NHTSA and the Chevy Volt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After years of promoting the development of electric cars, the federal government now finds itself in the position of investigating a key safety risk. Batteries in the Chevy Volt caught fire in three recent crash tests, prompting the NHTSA to investigate.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052970203935604577064663206681538.html\">http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052970203935604577064663206681538.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But don\u2019t worry. Both the NHTSA and GM stress that everything is OK. Instead of just focusing on the Volt, the NHTSA is also asking <em>all<\/em> electric car producers for information on steps recommended to ensure safety after a crash. The inference is that any problems are both minor and linked to the technology, <em>not<\/em> GM.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not suggesting that the batteries are problematic; I don\u2019t know. But it\u2019s interesting to note that GM is not getting the <em>Toyota treatment<\/em> here. Ray LaHood hasn\u2019t advised Volt owners to stay off the roads. Neither LaHood nor Congressional Democrats are demanding hearings. Nobody is accusing GM of scoffing at safety in an effort to produce a cheap car.<\/p>\n<p>The reason that the NHTSA and GM are merely going through the motions is simple. Neither can afford to cross the other. With huge government stakes in GM and the \u201cgreen\u201d economy\u2014not to mention the UAW\u2019s ownership position\u2014Washington can\u2019t afford to damage GM. In need of tax credits, electric car purchase write-offs and other taxpayer giveaways, GM can\u2019t afford to challenge Washington\u2019s authority. In the end, investigators must be seen as thorough and GM must be seen as responsive. Both sides will work together to ensure this outcome.<\/p>\n<p>The charade we are witnessing now is just another outgrowth of crony capitalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After years of promoting the development of electric cars, the federal government now finds itself in the position of investigating a key safety risk. Batteries in the Chevy Volt caught fire in three recent crash tests, prompting the NHTSA to investigate. http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052970203935604577064663206681538.html But don\u2019t worry. Both the NHTSA and GM stress that everything is OK. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battle4liberty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}