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Electric car fire not caused by battery
upi ^ | 6/29/08 | upi

Posted on 06/29/2008 6:45:04 AM PDT by Flavius

BOULDER, Colo., June 28 (UPI) -- Backers of all-electric cars say they're relieved a fire that destroyed a Toyota Prius prototype this month wasn't caused by the battery.

A report from the Boulder, Colo., firm that built the Prius prototype said the blaze was instead caused by loose electrical connections that set fire to the vehicle's upholstery, and not by the sophisticated lithium ion batteries it carried, The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: battery; energy; environment; prius; sure; toyota; transportation

1 posted on 06/29/2008 6:45:04 AM PDT by Flavius
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To: Flavius

an electrical fire that didn’t involve the batteries?? so what what the source of electricity??


2 posted on 06/29/2008 6:47:24 AM PDT by johnandrhonda (have you hugged your banjo today?)
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To: Flavius
Aftermarket Plug-In Prius Battery Causes Balls of Fire, Explosion

A Toyota Prius outfitted with one of Lithium Technology Corporation's plug-in conversion kits exploded after the owner saw balls of fire in the backseat. Luckily the owner was smart enough to vacate the cars after seeing flames, but not smart enough to not drive the car even when its PHEV15 plug-in kit was experiencing "charger-related problems." Other than the fact that you should learn to be careful after installing aftermarket parts on your car, the only other thing we can take away from this story is to jump out of your vehicle when you see fire. [CRN via Daily Tech via Jalopnik] http://gizmodo.com/5018111/aftermarket-plug+in-prius-battery-causes-balls-of-fire-explosion

3 posted on 06/29/2008 6:47:46 AM PDT by Flavius (war gives peace its security)
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To: johnandrhonda

static or oil companies


4 posted on 06/29/2008 6:48:57 AM PDT by Flavius (war gives peace its security)
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To: Flavius
Installing an after-market kit in most cars (not just a Toyota Prius) will void the manufacturer's warranty. Moral of the story is be sure any after-market accessories or modifications are compatible with the car as built.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

5 posted on 06/29/2008 6:50:34 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: Flavius

I just bought a 300 hp dual turbo charged bavarian beast (135i). Having lived through the planned economy 70’s I know full well the utter garbage about to be hoisted on us for a few years as the manufacturers, marketers and engineers figure it out. Democrats will mandate what we can buy. That’ll happen in the first 6 months of next year.

Who wants to drive a car with the performance characteristics of a Hearse. That’s exactly what it feels like lugging around that 300 lb battery casket. You can have it. I’ll ride my 250cc bike for daily crap and keep the buzzbomb in the garage for life. It’ll take at least 6 years to get transitioned to something halfway decent price performance-wise on the hybrid side. Somebody else other than me is going to get suckered into buying a 21st century Vega and Pinto.


6 posted on 06/29/2008 6:53:09 AM PDT by kinghorse
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To: Flavius
Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney were seen laughing about over a scotch and cigar though.
7 posted on 06/29/2008 7:00:54 AM PDT by BallyBill (Serial Hit-N-Run poster)
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To: kinghorse
I'm not giving up my Audi S4 for love nor money (330HP V8) — and it still gets 21 MPG on relatively short trips.
8 posted on 06/29/2008 7:24:11 AM PDT by xcamel (Being on the wrong track means the unintended consequences express train doesnt kill you going by)
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To: Flavius

Three American vehicles, almost 900 total horse power. I’ll keep my power, safety, maintainability, reliability, comfort, utility, fun, and good vehicle looks. You can have those ugly death traps. And, I will honor corporations of the county I love.


9 posted on 06/29/2008 7:29:18 AM PDT by Proud2BeRight
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To: kinghorse
Lexus makes a Hybrid V-8 that performs like a V-12. LS600h I believe
10 posted on 06/29/2008 7:45:43 AM PDT by varyouga ("Rove is some mysterious God of politics & mind control" - DU 10-24-06)
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To: Flavius

Wow, what a relief. You get burned up by a loose connection in your electric car, not your batteries.


11 posted on 06/29/2008 7:57:14 AM PDT by norwaypinesavage (Planting trees to offset carbon emissions is like drinking water to offset rising ocean levels)
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To: Flavius

So it was shoddy workmanship that did in the Priapus?


12 posted on 06/29/2008 8:07:06 AM PDT by MIchaelTArchangel
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To: MIchaelTArchangel
Yes -- it appears the shoddy workmanship may have come out of the U.S. factory that did the after market MODIFICATION to FULL electric.

This is the quote from the source article:

"The modified Prius was one of 10 owned by a South Carolina electric cooperative and was built by Hybrids Plus of Boulder, the newspaper said. The company took a standard Prius and made it into an all-electric version, which isn't expected from Toyota until 2010.

The chief executive of Hybrids Plus said the fire was caused by "an assembly problem."

13 posted on 06/29/2008 8:30:35 AM PDT by river rat (Semper Fi - You may turn the other cheek, but I prefer to look into my enemy's vacant dead eyes.)
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To: Flavius

Right...kinda like the Ford Pinto explosion that wasn’t caused by its gas tank.


14 posted on 06/29/2008 8:32:16 AM PDT by cweese (Hook 'em Horns!!!)
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To: norwaypinesavage
“Wow, what a relief. You get burned up by a loose connection in your electric car, not your batteries.”

Reminds me of the logic in a scene from “Collateral” LOL

MAX “He's dead!” (After fat guy falls on cab roof)

VINCENT “Good guess Max”

MAX “You Killed him!”

VINCENT “No the bullets and the fall killed him. I just shot
him”

15 posted on 06/29/2008 8:43:06 AM PDT by Polynikes (Yo, homie. Is that my briefcase?)
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To: varyouga
Lexus makes a Hybrid V-8 that performs like a V-12.

Just wait. Congress is shortly going to mandate nothing larger than a V2. With luck and good engineering, it might perform like a V4.

16 posted on 06/29/2008 9:27:10 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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