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GM backs up Volt with loaner program

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U.S. automaker General Motors said it was offering Chevrolet Volt owners a replacement vehicle while regulators investigate a potential after-crash fire hazard. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
U.S. automaker General Motors said it was offering Chevrolet Volt owners a replacement vehicle while regulators investigate a potential after-crash fire hazard. UPI/Bill Greenblatt 
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Published: Nov. 28, 2011 at 3:25 PM

DETROIT, Minn., Nov. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. automaker General Motors said it was offering Chevrolet Volt owners a replacement vehicle while regulators investigate a potential after-crash fire hazard.

"We are contacting all Volt owners to assure them and reassure them the car is safe to drive. The Volt is our pride and joy and we will do all we can to make Volt owners as happy with it as we can," Mark Reuss, head of General Motors' North America, was quoted by USA Today Monday as saying.

The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration said it had opened an investigation to determine if the Volt's batteries had a high probability of catching fire after a crash.

In several tests, the car's lithium-ion batteries either caught fire or became heated, USA Today reported.

The Volt runs on an electric motor and a gasoline engine, the latter of which kicks in when the electric power from the advanced battery system is depleted.

Topics: Chevrolet Volt
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