GM CEO to address House subcommittee on Volt fires

[January 19, 2012]  DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has agreed to testify before a U.S. House subcommittee about battery fires in Chevrolet Volt electric cars.

Company spokesman Greg Martin says Akerson will speak to a subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Jan. 25.

The committee is looking into why federal safety regulators waited five months before telling the public that a Volt battery caught fire three weeks after a government crash test. The fire happened in June but was not made public until November. Subsequent tests caused two more fires.

GM says no real-world fires have occurred. Coolant leaked from the batteries and caused a short circuit, sparking the fires. GM is advising Volt owners to take the cars to dealers for repairs that will better protect the batteries.

[Associated Press]

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