Also important to remember that automakers of ICE cars have been issuing
mass recalls for decades.
On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 1:22 PM bill williams <billy.cw@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Good points. I feel safe with my EV. Just hope companies work to make EVs
the safest vehicles on the road.
Get Outlook for Android <https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg>
------------------------------
*From:* knoxev-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <knoxev-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on
behalf of Marty Young <youngma65500@xxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Monday, August 23, 2021 12:54:17 PM
*To:* knoxev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <knoxev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* [knoxev] Re: Bolt recall
I agree that it is disconcerting. It is also disheartening for those of
us who are advocates of EVs.
I also realise that statistics provide little comfort to those who have
lost their car or home. But I do think it's important to put these events
into perspective.
There are now more than 10 million electric cars on the road worldwide (
https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2021). Out of that
worldwide fleet, there have been just a handful of fires. But almost each
one is reported on and we hear the details of each occurrence.
Again, this is not to minimize the trauma of those events for the people
involved. But because each event is publicized, it's impact is magnified
relative to the statistical reality. Not unlike the way a person's fear of
flying can be heightened due to the fact that each and every plane crash
will make into the news.
I also agree that it's important to consider that this technology is still
in its early days. I like the "100 years" analogy. The first
mass-produced EV was the Nissan Leaf that came out in 2010...almost 100
years after the introduction of the mass-produced Ford Model T in 1908. So
you could say that in 2021 EV development is where ICE vehicle development
was in 1921.
Not surprisingly, ICE vehicles from that era caught fire with more
frequency than they do today. Undoubtedly, future generations of EVs will
be less likely to catch fire than the EVs of today. That will be
especially true once the liquid electrolyte in current batteries is
eventually replaced by a solid (non-flammable) matrix.
In the meantime, I do find some solace in the fact that the odds of my EV
bursting into flames is still statistically extremely low.
On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 12:30 PM Rudy Singh <n39c5r@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
What is disconcerting is it can happen so many years after manufacturing.
And, it is not specific to one company even though GM is making the news
right now. This battery technology for cars is not that old (maybe 10 to
12 years) as compared to gasoline. They have 100 years jump on us. One
corroded connection, be it from overheating, poorly made materials, natural
wear and tear, and that's it. The more battery you have in the car, the
more likely this could happen - more cells etc. Let's hope these are
isolated incidents, but it does get me thinking - and what if the new
battery fails in 3 years - up in smoke right! If we really want to
transition to electric transportation, we can't have these spontaneous
fires. It's one thing for a fuel pump to fail and you can't start the car,
but a fire that destroys everything you have and possibly kills you - that
is scary! If I were thinking of transitioning and heard of this, I might
stay clear for a while...
Glad I still have my 1997 T100 - lol:)
Rudy
