Not the Onion: Department of Energy Allocates $4.4 Million to Help Firefighters Fight Chevy Dolt Fires

This headline is nearly as farcical as Wile E. Obama’s declaration that “The process by which the decision was made (to fund Solyndra) was on the merits…” The ACME Economic Destruction Co. rolls on, undeterred by failures, and increases the tax credit for purchasing a Dolt. From Townhall, via Weasel Zippers

Last week, the Obama Administration sought to increase the Chevrolet Volt purchaser tax credit from $7,500 to $10,000.

All this for a car so dangerous to first responders that the Department of Energy allocated $4.4 million dollars for programs to prevent fire fighters from electrocuting themselves while trying to rescue crash victims.

The troubled Chevy Volt has been bedeviled by safety issues since it rolled onto the market. Environmentalists expected it to be one of the cornerstones of a cultural move towards low or no emissions vehicles. Instead, it became something between a punch line born of unfulfilled expectations and a real threat to consumers.

According to industry expert Gary Howell of Howell Automotive, one of the problems lies with the batteries that power the vehicle. “The lithium-ion used in modern electric cars are not like the old lead-acid batteries of the past. They are more powerful and, when damaged, the fluid inside can leak out, creating a short on the circuit boards that are used to control the batteries. The fluid dries and crystallizes, creating a short, sometimes weeks after the damage to the battery occurred.”

This results in spontaneous fires, such as happened in a Volt three weeks after a crash test at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

I’ve got a better idea.  Let’s save the taxpayers $4.4 million.  How about we stop propping up a loser vehicle with taxpayer-funded subsidies, and see whether it can survive in the free market on its own? With the self-combusting feature, my guess is it would enjoy a very short lifespan. Can you say Edsel?