[schreiaj]

> "But lithium-ion batteries have raised concerns in other vehicles. Two years ago, battery fires broke out in three Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid cars after crash-testing."

Imagine that, structurally compromised systems not disposed of properly are dangerous. That says more about GM than it does the technology.

When I have batteries take damage (falls, shorts, the ever popular screwdriver through them) they are disposed of properly immediately. I also only use proper chargers and don't over charge my batteries. Guess what? I've never had a fire caused by the battery (I've had people plug in components in reverse and blow up the diodes a couple times). I've been working with various battery technologies on a near daily basis for the last 14 years without incident.

Disclaimers: I'm a robotics/electric vehicle enthusiast. I don't do this stuff as my day job any more. I formerly worked in a university research lab building H2 powered race cars.