Category: World News

Recall Alert! Recall Alert!  Recall Alert!  Of course, this is never a good thing, especially with a new car like the Chevy Volt.  Recalls are unfortunate for both the manufacturer and the consumer, and especially for a great product like the Volt.  This recall centers around the coolant.  They believe the coolant is the likely cause of raging fires that have broken out in Chevy’s all-new, all-cool(ish) car.  The coolant does not catch fire, but rather crystallizes and creates an electrical short that sparks the fires.

On November 25, 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an official investigation with a “little” (that’s a very BIG little) help from the FBI.     GM, an attempt to minimize bad publicity, GM has made offers to Volt owners.  They are offering Volt owners who will have their Volts (what is the plural of Volts?  Volti?) repaired, can get a free loaner car from Chevy. Any car you want.  Repeat, any car you want! – So if you want a Silverado 3500HD with the Duramax Diesel, or a Corvette ZR1 with all the performance options.

“The problem occurs when electricity is left stored in the batteries for some time after a crash,” said Mary Barra, GM’s senior vice president of global product development.  She also said that Volt owners should have a Chevy dealer drain the batteries if a Volt has been in a crash.  Even if a Volt owner “only” dented the bumper, that owner should still take their Volt to the local Chevy dealer.

GM has also offered to buy back Volti from disgruntled owners.  But, don’t look for a ton of auto-paparazzi articles about Chevy buying back 6,000 Volti.  The people who own Volts are much less likely to complain and sell their Volts back, as they’re the people who’ve waited a long time for this technology.

Since the Volt’s introduction in September 2011, GM has only sold about 6,000 Volts.  They’ve made about 12,000, many of which have waited since mid-November (when GM found out about the recall) for a new owner.  Out of those 6,000 Volt owners, only a handful (about 35) have taken up the loaner car offer.  When GM finishes a repurchase plan, not very many owners are expected to use it.  If they’ve waited a few years for technology like this, they get this technology, and then there’s a recall on it, don’t expect them to start complaining yet. . .

Auto analyst, Jessica Caldwell, of edmunds.com said “GM is only dealing with a few thousand cars.”  Caldwell also said,  “It’s much more manageable than a widespread car, like a [Toyota] Camry or Honda Accord, which would be logistically very tough and financially very complicated to do something like a repurchase.”   Even so, if you’re a Volt owner, you should still take your Volt to the dealer and have them check it out – even if its never been in an accident.

If you are a Volt owner and are worried about GM not honoring your warranty, rest assured, as you can call Chevy at 1-800-222-1020 from 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.  If you would like to email Chevy, I have attached the link.  http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/mds/helpcenter/contactUs/contactUsPopUp.do

I hope that you all had a Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2012!

Note: I posted this on Saturday, but something went awry.  This went out to my subscribers, but never posted to the blog.  SOrry if you receive this twice.

Hi, sorry I wasn’t able to get to the computer Friday.  I was shadowing at a local high school and Biology went 30 minutes late!  After that, it was time for community service. When I got home, I just wanted some time to sleep (stereotypical teenager…), so I did.  When I woke up, I realized it was late, so I didn’t want to endanger your shortish sleeping hours…

About ten days ago, what must have been a very messy – and expensive crash happened in Japan.  Eight Ferrari’s (two 355 Spyder’s, a F430 F1, a 360 Modena, a 458 Italia, two 599 GTB’s, and a 599 GTO), a Lamborghini Gallardo, three Mercedes-Benz’s (a CL600, an SL65 AMG Black Series, and a S500), two Toyota’s (a 2004 Corolla XLE, and a 2000 Sienna), and a Honda Civic have crashed on Chokogu Expressway on the island of Shimonoseki, Japan.

There was a group of eight Ferrari’s from a nearby island on a travel route, when one of the Ferrari’s skidded on the slick road (from recent rain), hitting the center divider and quite literally shredding the side of it off.  This set off a chain-reaction wreck that wiped out the rest of the Ferrari’s, the Lamborghini, the S500, the SL65 AMG Black Series, the two Toyota’s and the Honda Civic.  When flying parts flew over into the other side of the freeway, the CL600 was hit.

According to local police, ten drivers were hospitalized, but there were no serious injuries.  That’s good (I DO care about other people…), but I’m sad about the cars.  The drivers have money, but they have to get new cars (unless they want to spend about $100,000 in repairs!), so I think that they should get Bugatti Veyron Super Sports (as they have all-wheel-drive, and won’t slip!)!!!!

Here’s a picture of two of the Ferrari’s, and be sure to watch the video and see the damage to the Ferrari’s!  http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/05/world/asia/japan-expensive-car-crash/index.html?iref=allsearch