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"Vauxhall Technology"
Chevrolet, who are owned by General Motors are set to modify the Volt in order to enhance it’s safety due to fears that the car’s battery could catch fire.
In a story that we have been following for a number of weeks, we reported that the Chevrolet Volt’s safety has been undermined thanks to an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (otherwise known as the NHTSA).
Battery catching fire
Concerns were raised that an engineering glitch allowed the car’s battery to catch fire. Chevrolet announced that they would be providing more protection within their recalled Volt models in order to ensure that the car is as safe as possible. The NHTSA have stated that they are happy Chevrolet plans to “fix” the models and modify them in order to make them safe.
The original investigation from the NHTSA confirmed that an electrical fire could be triggered from the car’s battery pack following an intense impact lab test. A previous test resulted in the Volt catching fire thanks to a coolant leak following a crash test three weeks before.
Always has been safe to drive
Despite the damaging test resultsm, Mary Barra, the General Motors Senior Vice President of Global Product Development claimed that the Volt has always been a very safe car to drive. She said “The Volt has always been safe to drive. Now, we will go the extra mile to ensure our customers’ peace of mind in the days and weeks following a severe crash,”
The modifications
What exactly are these new modifications? They include a strengthening of the car’s safety structure. This will allow the car’s battery to receive greater protection during potential side collisions. Battery coolant leaks will be detected through new sensors that are to be installed. A new tamper resistant bracket will be placed over the battery which will essentially prevent coolant from being overloaded.
Tests
The modifications have already been tested by General Motors. They showed that there now no more coolant leaks, leaving the car a lot safer and showing that the improvements have done their job.
Mary Barra went on to explain the impact of the modifications. “These enhancements and modifications will address the concerns raised by the severe crash tests. There are no changes to the Volt battery pack or cell chemistry as a result of these actions. We have tested the Volt’s battery system for more than 285,000 hours, or 25 years, of operation. We’re as confident as ever that the cell design is among the safest on the market.”
Will the Volt get it’s reputation back?
Car manufactures need to survive and stay ahead with revolutionary technology for their cars to adapt to the customer needs and future market demands.
Quality automotive technology is all about new components built within our cars which are considered touches of genius.
Vauxhall are no different and they have developed some ground breaking technology which has helped their top model sustain their popularity.
We take a look at some of their most interesting pieces of technologies in this article.
Voltec
Voltec represents the technology used within the company’s economical vehicle the E-REV, the extended – range electric vehicle. The technology allows electricity to be utilised in the most effective way possible. Electricity is the car’s primary power source with petrol or E85 bio ethanol as its secondary source if needed.
Voltec contains a 111 kW electric drive unit, an engine generator for the electricity to be generated and a T shaped battery pack.
The extended range electric vehicle known as E-REV is powered by an energy storage system known as RESS. It utilises an on board electrical energy generation unit as well as a fuel supply, which is how the petrol unit is used after the electricity has run out.
The Vauxhall Ampera will be a prime example of how wonderful and ground breaking the technology really is. In essence it is designed for cars to be economical amid a fuel rise crisis.
FlexRide
The FlexRide represents adaptive stability technology. It is a very sophisticated piece of equipment that works upon data collected from all drive components and the chassis.
FlexRide is determines factors such as the damping control. This adapts the appropriate damper settings in real time.
The four channel anti-lock braking system utilises electronic brake force distribution for the most effective braking in dangerous situations. Traction control and electronic stability programme (otherwise known as ESP) is also included under the FlexRide bracket.
Adaptive Forward lighting
Vauxhall headlights are being made to adapt to all locations and conditions imaginable. The technology is very intelligent and moves into the car safety bracket.
The headlights are able to move at different angles depending on the road ahead. They don’t dazzle and blind drivers ahead despite them illuminating roads up to 90% more.
