GM's Electric Vehicles

GM is making a huge push in the electric car market. I hope they succeed. They have the engineering and manufacturing to make it succeed. We’ll see.

GM Electric Vehicles

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Me too. There are a lot of domestic jobs at stake, and entire communities that host these plants are hinged to GMs success. This can be said for any EV manufacturer with US plants, but we are talking GM here.

If I wasn’t near the end of my career I’d leave the Telecom industry and work in the automotive industry. This field looks extremely great for Software Engineers (like me) who like cars. One of the greatest Software Engineers of our time Dave Cutler who I had the pleasure to work with a little when I worked a Dec was also a car-buff. Even owned his own Race team.

You could try a consulting deal if you think your experience directly you relates to an aspect of EVs. That depends, of course, on your appetite for work after retirement. I plan to retire in two years, and don’t have plans for consulting work. We’ll see how I feel about it after I retire. Work’s fun, I have a good reputation (no, really!), and could easily find something. I’ve already done consulting in a small way, but could probably fill my dance card if I wanted to. I’m sure you could too.

GM sure has stubbed its EV toe on the Bolt, though. Huge battery recalls because of fires. Not good.

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Yeah, I think it was pretty much every Bolt made, mine included.

They aren’t the only ones with battery fires. In 2019 NHTSA started a probe of Tesla S and X models for fires not related to accidents. There are many other brands of PHEV and EV cars that experienced fires as well.

True, others have had battery fire related recalls. But none had to recall 100% of their cars, did they?

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Why not keep the Bolts they are and install a fire sprinkler system in the garage? It seems like a cheaper option than replacing a battery that must cost over $5000.

As I read about electrical fires in EVs, I began to think about fires in cars powered by internal combustion engines. I wonder what percentage of fires in these cars are caused by electrical problems as opposed to other causes.

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A lot of them are caused by electronics. But it rarely happens when the car is parked. That’s the difference! Ford went through this when the 1997 F-150 had an alarm system that would start the truck on fire. Their suggestion was to park it outside in the driveway.

Are you trying to make a joke ?

Because it take thousands of gallons to put out a lithium ion battery car fire. At least 2 orders of magnitude more than a home water system can supply.

Do you have any evidence to back up the claim that a sprinkler system would be insufficient to prevent an electric car fire from spreading to the rest of the building? Are you just against the idea because I said it?

Yes, here…

A quick search will supply a number of articles. It has been in the news quite a lot. Li-ion batteries have their own oxidizers so even smothering the car in CO2 they keep burning until the car is a puddle. If in an attached garage, they will take your house up in flames as well.

Can’t speak for Mr. Mustang but I am against it because it is not going to work and that you said it.

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No, the problem is the self-igniting nature of the fire. Cool off a gas fire, extinguish the flames, you’re done. Not the case with the chemically-fueled battery fire.

But I’m wasting my time, the only opinion you care about is yours.

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I say it is about time to quit wasting time and just ignore all comments from ///IS\. Reminds me of the guy a while back [ I can’t recall the name ] but the one about keeping your car wet.that ended up getting booted from the forum.

Not to mention that some people (like me) have a well system. Many homes with very deep wells don’t have the same water pressure like a municipality would.

I also think in 5-10 years with newer battery technology this argument will be moot.

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What a stunningly terrible thing to say! @cdaquila , I think some action is needed.

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