[Car-Addicted]

All GM Employees ‘Safe’ After Battery Fire at Detroit EV Plant
December 30, 2023
General Motors halted production afternoon at an electric vehicle plant in Detroit after lithium-ion batteries caught fire, prompting an evacuation.

A fire broke out at GM’s Factory ZERO — a 4.5 million square-foot plant devoted to EV production, located on the border of Detroit and Hamtramck. Officials said Tuesday that the cause of the fire was still being investigated, though the blaze was said to have stemmed from lithium-ion batteries.

The fire was declared a three-alarm fire, meaning authorities requested triple the usual number of firefighters and equipment to fight the flames. Heavy smoke had reportedly spread throughout the facility.

The Detroit Fire Department said it had been to the plant eight times since August.

Factory ZERO, GM’s “first fully dedicated EV assembly plant,” employs about 1,880 people and produces the GMC Hummer EV pickup truck and SUV, the Chevy Silverado EV pickup truck, and the Cruise Origin.

https://batteriesnews.com/all-gm-emp...roit-ev-plant/

I'm guessing this one wasn't water vapor?

[gblansten]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

All GM Employees ‘Safe’ After Battery Fire at Detroit EV Plant
December 30, 2023
General Motors halted production afternoon at an electric vehicle plant in Detroit after lithium-ion batteries caught fire, prompting an evacuation.

A fire broke out at GM’s Factory ZERO — a 4.5 million square-foot plant devoted to EV production, located on the border of Detroit and Hamtramck. Officials said Tuesday that the cause of the fire was still being investigated, though the blaze was said to have stemmed from lithium-ion batteries.

The fire was declared a three-alarm fire, meaning authorities requested triple the usual number of firefighters and equipment to fight the flames. Heavy smoke had reportedly spread throughout the facility.

The Detroit Fire Department said it had been to the plant eight times since August.

Factory ZERO, GM’s “first fully dedicated EV assembly plant,” employs about 1,880 people and produces the GMC Hummer EV pickup truck and SUV, the Chevy Silverado EV pickup truck, and the Cruise Origin.

https://batteriesnews.com/all-gm-emp...roit-ev-plant/

I'm guessing this one wasn't water vapor?

The fire probably started next to a big sign saying please don't do this one thing due to fire risk. And then someone did that one thing.

[Car-Addicted]

Ford EV Battery Partners Cut Jobs Amid Slowdown In Demand
January 1, 2024
Thus far, LG Energy Solution (LGE) has announced that it plans to lay off 170 workers at its plant in Michigan, while fellow supplier and Blue Oval joint venture partner SK On has already laid off more than 100 workers at its Georgia-based battery plant. According to Gabe Daoud, an analyst at TD Cowen, these cuts stem from automakers that have “either paused or pulled back on EV-related spending, and that’s trickling down into the supply chain and in particular the battery segment.”
https://fordauthority.com/2024/01/fo...own-in-demand/

In a completely unrelated story:
Here’s where the $154B investment and 188k jobs from B****’s EV push are going
Sep 5 2023
But the large spikes in investment and job creation in the US can reasonably be correlated to B***’s government policies directly encouraging domestic manufacturing in the EV space.
Many of these investments have happened in the burgeoning “battery belt,” which is developing in the midwest and south, and some on the west coast due to the influence of Tesla and Silicon Valley.
https://electrek.co/2023/09/05/heres...ush-are-going/

“The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.”
― Karl Marx

[M3WC]

GM 2023 EV sales numbers.

- 75,883 all-electric deliveries

- Only 13,838 units based on Ultium platform

- Remaining 62,045 are Bolt sales (which is discontinued after 2023)


Flashback to Mary Barra saying GM would overtake Tesla by 2025...LOL.

[M5Rick]

MacMaster asks not to fast forward this vid as he describes his hell EV journey from Wales to Leeds.

[gblansten]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

MacMaster asks not to fast forward this vid as he describes his hell EV journey from Wales to Leeds.

I've seen the videos of what he eats. He looks like the consequences have hit and he needs a WC stat.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by gblansten

I've seen the videos of what he eats. He looks like the consequences have hit and he needs a WC stat.

Some motorway service stations aren't noted for their healthy choices

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Some motorway service stations aren't noted for their healthy choices

That's why I waiting for the "EV's cause weight gain from hanging out in convenience stores" article

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

That's why I waiting for the "EV's cause weight gain from hanging out in convenience stores" article

You can't beat self made sandwiches and a thermos of tea (or coffee) while time is wasted waiting for then charging an EV...but if there are 4 of you then I see no reason to not visit a mcdonald's for a grilled chicken and salad meal, no f/fries.

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

You can't beat self made sandwiches and a thermos of tea (or coffee) while time is wasted waiting for then charging an EV...but if there are 4 of you then I see no reason to not visit a mcdonald's for a grilled chicken and salad meal, no f/fries.

Remember you ask for it:
Charging and Chalupas: Fast Food Chains Begin to Offer EV Power
Taco Bell, Subway and 7-Eleven are rolling out plugs for electric vehicles

Not only is Subway installing EV charging stations, but they’re creating “charging oases” that will also include things like green spaces and playgrounds, which could potentially also fill the void that was once a McDonald’s PlayPlace.

An afternoon spend grazing at Taco Bell, What could go wrong.
I remember the good old days when fast food places had hard seats and turned up the AC so you would eat and get the heck out so they could turn your seat.

[Car-Addicted]

Fire destroys two electric vehicles in Washtenaw County
Jan 3, 2024
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- Two electric vehicles were destroyed in a Wednesday house fire in Washtenaw County.
Crews from the Scio Township and Dexter fire departments were called to the 3900 block of Prospect Court in Ann Arbor around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 3, for a report of a house fire. When crews arrived, they found an attached garage and two cars on fire.
Boluyt had recently unplugged a Tesla vehicle from his home charger and plugged in an electric Volvo vehicle, said Andrew Houde, chief of the Scio Township Fire Department. It is unclear if the charger was the cause of the fire, but both vehicles were destroyed.

[Car-Addicted]

'The charge state tapers off': Elon Musk told Joe Rogan you shouldn't charge your EV to 100%. Here's his full explanation.
But Tesla CEO Elon Musk says there’s a trick to speeding up the process: don’t charge your EV to 100%.
How does that make sense? Wouldn’t a full charge mean fewer stops and less charging time overall? The explanation, which Musk calls “counterintuitive,” lies in a crucial difference between batteries and gas tanks.
“For a gasoline car, you would fill it up,” Musk said during a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “For a battery, the charge state tapers off as you get above 80%.”
“I think the right analogy here is cars in a parking lot,” he continued. “The lithium ions are trying to find a parking space as they move across from one side of the battery to the other side.”
A battery at low charge is akin to an empty parking lot, Musk said — the ions can "zip right in there and find a spot.” But as the battery gets closer to full, it becomes more like a busy mall’s parking lot, where the available spots are scarce. In that situation, the ions "have to bounce around more" to find their places.
“Getting from 80 to 100 (percent) takes about as much time as getting from 0 to 80,” Musk told Rogan.
In other words, you could cut charging time by 50% and still get 80% of your EV’s range. That tradeoff could help keep your long road trips from becoming interminable.
When Rogan asked Musk if he’s satisfied with Tesla’s current technology “in terms of mileage you get out of it,” Musk replied, “Yeah, range is not an issue.”

This is battery 101 but it seems folks haven't gotten it yet. Many EV manufactures use "% of charge" to mask the reality that they are not allowing a 100% charge. Musk's analogy is very good except that from 80% to 100%, some times cars are parked on top of each other and then they have a tendency to catch fire. There is no cell balancing in a EV battery.

[gblansten]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

Fire destroys two electric vehicles in Washtenaw County
Jan 3, 2024
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- Two electric vehicles were destroyed in a Wednesday house fire in Washtenaw County.
Crews from the Scio Township and Dexter fire departments were called to the 3900 block of Prospect Court in Ann Arbor around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 3, for a report of a house fire. When crews arrived, they found an attached garage and two cars on fire.
Boluyt had recently unplugged a Tesla vehicle from his home charger and plugged in an electric Volvo vehicle, said Andrew Houde, chief of the Scio Township Fire Department. It is unclear if the charger was the cause of the fire, but both vehicles were destroyed.

I’ve been waiting for someone to post this one. My bet is substandard wiring/outlet.

[Prossx]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ers-to-hybrids

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by gblansten

I’ve been waiting for someone to post this one. My bet is substandard wiring/outlet.

Sorry not buying that one.

Look at pictures: These EV's are toast. Not over heated wiring.
“Lithium batteries are new challenge,” Houde said.
The home also sustained damage, he said.

The incident is at least an interesting beginning to retirement for Boluyt, who stepped down from his role as a Washtenaw Community College professor at the end of December 2023.

“Possessions don’t matter,” Boluyt said. “My wife and I are safe. My dog is safe.”

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...rage-fire.html

Bet they are out shopping for new EV's today. Now if the dog got burned up that would be different story.

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by Prossx

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ers-to-hybrids

I'm starting to rethink my thoughts on Hybrids. This is not being handled correctly. At the present hybrids are just EV's with limited mileage and a ICE back up. This should not be the intent. A proper hybrid is a fuel engine and EV component properly sized to the vehicle.
In our daily driving we all use only a small portion of the HP and torque available to us. We could all use a engine with 50% less power if that power was augmented with EV power when power is required for acceleration, hill climbing, etc. There are better ways to get the 450hp we feel we need for our SUV. There are better ways to harvest inertia for future use. We are not yet even close to asking the right questions to develop the right solutions.

[gblansten]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

Sorry not buying that one.

Look at pictures: These EV's are toast. Not over heated wiring.
“Lithium batteries are new challenge,” Houde said.
The home also sustained damage, he said.

The incident is at least an interesting beginning to retirement for Boluyt, who stepped down from his role as a Washtenaw Community College professor at the end of December 2023.

“Possessions don’t matter,” Boluyt said. “My wife and I are safe. My dog is safe.”

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...rage-fire.html

Bet they are out shopping for new EV's today. Now if the dog got burned up that would be different story.

You may well be right. If true the actively charging car, the Volvo, would have been of higher risk and it being a phev.

[M5Rick]

[QUOTE=Car-Addicted;30786609]Remember you ask for it:
Charging and Chalupas: Fast Food Chains Begin to Offer EV Power
Taco Bell, Subway and 7-Eleven are rolling out plugs for electric vehicles

Not only is Subway installing EV charging stations, but they’re creating “charging oases” that will also include things like green spaces and playgrounds, which could potentially also fill the void that was once a McDonald’s PlayPlace.

An afternoon spend grazing at Taco Bell, What could go wrong.
I remember the good old days when fast food places had hard seats and turned up the AC so you would eat and get the heck out so they could turn your seat.
------------
I have seen a Taco bell here and there over here at 'malls' but nothing like in your illustration plus it has covered charging units, something that MacMaster has yet to discover.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I Google Mapped the Wales to Leeds trip. It shows 198 miles @4 hrs 50 minutes. I just took a near similar length trip over Christmas week from Culpeper, Virginia to Virginia Beach, Virginia. 200 miles and 3 hrs 20 minutes per Google Maps. Took my gas guzzling H3T Hummer. Left home with 7/8ths tank. We took a very indirect route which was around 280 miles and 6 hours. Drove non stop. Vacationed for 5 days, then headed back home via anther non-direct route. Left on a 1/4 tank filled up at VA Beach. Took 6 minutes (23 gallons).

If I had to tell my wife, "Oh by the way, we need to charge up a few times at 2 hrs total. I'd still have the lump on my head. Lol.

His 1st charge at Micky D's was $75 for 258 miles. My E90 gets 27.3 MPG. At $3.99/ gal for premium $75 gets me 515 miles. The Hummer would go 330 miles for $75. What a joke.

What engine does your Hummer have.

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

I have seen a Taco bell here and there over here at 'malls' but nothing like in your illustration plus it has covered charging units, something that MacMaster has yet to discover.

Note Taco bell has gone full green as the awnings appear to be solar panels which is the way it should be.

[eugenebmw]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

That's why I waiting for the "EV's cause weight gain from hanging out in convenience stores" article

Every charging station should have toilets beside it. At least EV drivers have something to do while waiting inline for charging their EV cars

[eugenebmw]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

You can't beat self made sandwiches and a thermos of tea (or coffee) while time is wasted waiting for then charging an EV...but if there are 4 of you then I see no reason to not visit a mcdonald's for a grilled chicken and salad meal, no f/fries.

Remember what go into the body need to come out too. We need thousand and thousand more public washrooms for EV users