News of three Chevy Volts catching fire at crash test facilities has prompted parent company, General Motors, to offer customers a buy-back option. If you bought a Volt and are concerned about your car going up in flames, you can get your money back. A spokesman for GM stresses that all the fires occurred after cars had been damaged in test facilities and, to his knowledge, no Volts out on the open road have had the same problem.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into the fires and has asked other electric car manufacturers for batteries to test. One of the concerns is that none of the Volts caught fire immediately. They occurred anywhere from seven days to three weeks after crashing. As it stands, if you drive a Volt and get in an accident, the OnStar navigation system reports the crash and someone comes out to drain your battery within 48 hours.
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