Honda widens airbag fixes to 917,000 more vehicles

U.S. accounts for 90% of affected models

Honda Motor Co. widened its biggest recall to fix flaws related to airbags in models including the Civic and Accord produced as long as a decade ago.

The recall covers an additional 917,267 vehicles worldwide, said spokesman Keitaro Yamamoto. That brings the total to more than 2.77 million, the company's biggest recall for an individual flaw, he said.

More than 90 percent of the affected vehicles are in the United States.

"Affected driver's airbag inflators may deploy with too much pressure, which can cause the inflator casing to rupture and could result in injury or fatality," the company said in a statement.

The models include the 2001 and 2002 Accord, the 2001 to 2003 Civic, the 2001 to 2003 Odyssey, the 2002 and 2003 CR-V, the 2003 Pilot, the 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and the 2003 Acura 3.2 CL vehicles, according to the statement.

Honda recalled more than 300,000 Pilot SUVs in September for seat-belt stitching that could unravel during a crash.

The latest move is a blow to Honda, the only large carmaker to report a sales decline in the U.S. last month, as it seeks to recover from natural disasters in Japan and Thailand this year.

Toyota Motor Corp. posted a drop in U.S. sales last year after the recall of millions of vehicles undermined its reputation for quality.

"A recall will definitely have a negative impact on Honda," said Masatoshi Nishimoto, a senior manager for IHS Automotive in Tokyo. "Honda is behind on production due to the impact of the Japanese earthquake and the Thai floods."

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Honda unveils next-generation engines

Honda Motor Co. today unveiled a lineup of four- and six-cylinder engines and a family of continuously variable transmissions that will reach the market over the next two years.

All four-cylinder engines in the so-called Earth Dreams family will have direct injection and double overhead cams. New and redesigned Honda and Acura models will carry the new powerplants. Some products now on the market could get the new engines before they're redesigned, said Keiji Ohtsu, a chief engineer with Honda R&D.

Some base versions of current models will keep their single-cam, four-cylinder configurations throughout their life cycle as a cost-saving measure. A new V-6 will remain single-cam but gain considerable power.

Honda Motor CEO Takanobu Ito pledged that the automaker wants to achieve a "zero carbon footprint" and have "the No. 1 fuel economy in each (vehicle) category within the next three years."

The specifications for the new Honda engines are:

• A 3.5-liter V-6 with 310 hp and 265 pounds-feet of torque. This is 30 more horsepower and 11 more pounds-feet than the outgoing 3.5-liter engine in the Acura TL.

• A 2.4-liter inline-four with 181 hp and 177 pounds-feet of torque. This will be the base engine in the redesigned Accord coming next fall, and could find its way into the midcycle change for the CR-V in 2013.

• A 1.8-liter inline-four with 148 hp and 133 pounds-feet of torque, which could be installed in the 2013 midcycle change for the Civic.

• A 1.5-liter inline-four with 127 hp and 111 pounds-feet of torque for the Fit, perhaps in time for the midcycle change in 2012.

• A 1.6-liter turbodiesel engine that has comparable power to a current 2.2-liter diesel, with 220 pounds-feet of torque, but much better fuel economy.

Ohtsu said the power figures were preliminary and likely understated. Compared with the current four-cylinder engines, the new design will carry at least a 10 percent fuel economy advantage.

New transmissions

In addition, Honda has designed three continuously variable transmissions, one for mid-sized cars such as the Accord, and two for smaller vehicles such as the Civic, Fit and minicars.

Honda is betting big on continuously variable transmission technology, and will use it as its base automatic transmission offering across all four-cylinder engines.

Although current CVTs have a "rubber band" feeling similar to a slipping clutch under acceleration, the Honda system has less feeling of slippage, said Hideki Wakamatsu, general manager of Honda r&d.

Also, the engine control software has been remapped so there is less hunting between the engine and CVT for optimal engine revs and transmission ratios during sudden acceleration, Wakamatsu said.

Honda will continue to offer manual transmissions for markets such as Europe that prefer stick shifts. And traditional stepped-gear automatics will be offered for vehicles such as sport sedans and sports cars where more immediate performance impact is needed, Wakamatsu said.

Hybrid advancements

As for hybrid advancements, Honda's upcoming Accord two-mode hybrid, when combined with a four-cylinder engine, will have equivalent power to the Camry Hybrid, but better fuel economy than the Camry's combined 41 mpg rating, said Yusuke Hasegawa, senior chief engineer with Honda r&d.

When combined with a V-6 engine, the hybrid system will create V-8 power and four-cylinder fuel economy. The system can run in EV-only mode, EV-and-gasoline for passing and acceleration, or gasoline-only for highway cruising.

The two-mode hybrid uses a twin-cam profile. But instead of using its VTEC profile for more power, the hybrid version shifts between the Atkinson cycle for leaner-burning of fuel, and the traditional Otto cycle when more power is needed, depending on the torque load on the engine, Hasegawa said.

In EV mode, the Honda plug-in hybrid can travel for as many as 15 miles at speeds up to 62 mph. The plug-in system has a switch that will allow the driver to save EV-mode ability until later in his drive, such as if he commutes from the empty suburbs to the crowded downtown.

Honda also showed an electric all-wheel hybrid drive system that sends power to the outside wheel during cornering, which aids in traction and performance.

When the new 3.5-liter V-6 is combined with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with an integrated hybrid-electric motor, the torque output between left- and right-side wheels is independently meted to the outside wheel, using the energy from regenerative braking to provide the power boost.

Possible Cracked Head

not sure if thts what it is yet or not, but I'm starting to think my head on s-10 is cracked. i was checking oil other day and i noticed the very tip of dipstick looked a bit milky. i wiped it off and rechecked and it had a little bit less in it every time. I havent seen anymore in it but i noticed about every 2 weeks i gotta put some water in the radiator because its getting a bit warm. other morning it was real cold and i had a bit of water running out of my exhaust. so im still not sure. havent seen anymore water in oil and i keep losing water. checked radiator for leaks or cracks and theres none in it. I wouldnt have the money to really afford a new head if thats my problem.

how long would the liquid glass hold for? my grandpa put it in a truck once and it lasted 4-5 years and i knew someone else that used it and didnt help. what do you think about it?

Response:
Don't know about the liquid glass. But it could be just a bad head gasket and not a cracked head. Go back into some of the older messages and read about the coolant problems that happened to some GM cars.

1st thing to check is your overflow tank. If it is cracked you will keep needing to add coolant. Depending on your climate you should use anti-freeze of a 50/50 mix BUT flush your system 1st to get rid of that damn GM trash they use. Moisture on the dip stick doesn't always mean a crack or leak also, espicially if you live in a high moisture density or damp envoirment or drive short distances so that the engine doesn't completely warm up. Engines that run less than an hour wont displace the moisture completely. Water from the tail pipe is also in your gas. White smoke continously from your tail pipe is a sign of an internal coolant leak.

Could just be a blown head gasket that needs to be looked at closer.

Honda tells U.S. dealers 'full speed ahead' on December sales

Honda will continue to push special lease and loan rates that vary by region through year end.

John Mendel, American Honda's sales boss, told Honda's U.S. dealers in a memo on Tuesday that he wants them to move "full speed ahead" to sell vehicles, despite cuts to vehicle production stemming from flooding in Thailand.

"Our product availability is good, our arrivals are good and we will continue to have media presence throughout the month of December," Mendel said in the memo.

The encouragement signals that Honda's vehicle supply may be improving after the company reduced output in North America by as much as 50 percent earlier this month because of parts shortages caused by flooding in Thailand.

Honda's U.S. stock of vehicles stood at 37 days on Nov. 1, up from 33 days on Oct. 1, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Industrywide stock averaged 57 days on Nov. 1, up from 50 on Oct. 1, according to the Data Center.

Honda spokesman Gary Robinson confirmed that Mendel sent the memo, but declined to comment on its details. He said the intent was to encourage Honda's dealers to remain aggressive as the year nears its end.

Another memo was sent to dealers on Nov. 21, Robinson said, telling dealers that Honda expects vehicle production in December to exceed output in December 2010.

"Since this whole Thailand crisis started, our initial position was pretty conservative, but things have turned around quicker than we initially thought," Robinson said.

In the latest memo, Mendel said TV spots for the Happy Honda Days advertising campaign will air on network and cable stations through year end. The campaign also will appear during broadcasts of National Football League and National Hockey League games, Mendel told dealers in the memo.

Endings of the advertisements promote lease and loan deals that vary by region, Robinson said.

Digital marketing also will continue through the rest of the year, Mendel said.

Cadillac diesel, would you want one?

One of the most interesting revelations to come out of the Los Angeles Auto Show last week: Cadillac is thinking about selling a diesel-engine vehicle in the United States.

It should come as no surprise that General Motors’ luxury brand is doing so.

After all, some of Cadillac’s primary competitors -- Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz – market outstanding diesel powertrains. And then there’s that little issue of higher fuel-economy and lower emissions.

Don Butler, Cadillac’s marketing vice president, said during an interview at the show that a diesel engine was under consideration for vehicles sold outside the United States. He quickly added that a diesel engine “could be a potential hedge in the U.S. because of diesel’s great torque, great performance with great efficiency.”

Butler made it clear that Cadillac will do whatever it takes to compete with the imports -- including having competitive powertrains.

“We absolutely mean it when we say we aim to compete with the best of the best without compromises. And if that means making the right powertrain choices, then those are the choices we will have to make,” he continued.

Back in the 1980s, GM’s diesel engine was an embarrassing failure -- a reliability nightmare that severely tarnished the image of Oldsmobile and Cadillac.

This time around, failure is not an option.

Cadillac has a strong, attractive product line -- the SRX, CTS, Escalade and the 2013 ATS and XTS sedans that land in dealer showrooms next year.

What’s missing is a diesel. And if Cadillac does enter the diesel arena, the engine must be nothing less than world class. It cannot afford a mistake as it builds the Cadillac brand across the globe.

U.S. 54.5 mpg rule may add $2,000 to car prices by 2025

A proposed U.S. rule requiring automakers to double average fuel economy of vehicles to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 would add an average of $2,000 to the price of each passenger vehicle sold, two agencies said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency made the projection in posting the proposal today on NHTSA's Web site. Benefits of $419 billion to $515 billion would offset $157 billion in costs, the highway agency wrote.

The draft detailed a proposal agreed to in July by President Barack Obama's administration and automakers including Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. to take effect in 2017.

Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG were among automakers that didn't sign on and weren't part of a ceremony in Washington where Obama touted the rule as part of his plan to reduce the use of imported oil in the United States.

The proposed rule requires annual fuel-economy increases of 5 percent for cars. Light trucks such as pickups and SUVs can raise fuel economy at 3.5 percent for the first five years the rule will be in effect. Then, unless regulators decide differently in a midterm review, trucks also would have to boost fuel economy by 5 percent a year.

"The proposed regulations present aggressive targets, and the administration must consider that technology break-throughs will be required and consumers will need to buy our most energy- efficient technologies in very large numbers to meet the goals," Mitch Bainwol, CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said in an e-mailed statement.

NADA objects

The National Automobile Dealers Association objected to today's announcement.

"America's auto dealers support continuous improvement in the fuel economy of the fleet of vehicles that drive on the nation's roads," the association said in a statement. "To this end, we are concerned that adding about $3,000 to the average cost of a car will price millions of Americans out of the market, which could reduce fleet turnover and delay environmental gains."

Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican, opened an investigation into how it was written, saying it was rushed and may jeopardize safety by reducing the weight of vehicles on the road.

California, which has the authority to write its own air- quality regulations, plans to issue its own rule, the White House said today in an e-mailed statement.

By 2025, U.S. fuel-economy standards and other fuel- efficiency moves will save 12 billion barrels of oil; reduce oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels a day, about one-fourth of the oil the country imports; and save consumers more than $8,000 a vehicle in fuel costs, the White House said in a statement today.

House letter

Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and 107 other U.S. House members yesterday sent a letter to Obama supporting the rule.

"We believe that these standards to reduce petroleum use in cars and light trucks represent an opportunity to increase our national and economic security in an unprecedented way by dramatically decreasing our dependence on foreign sources of petroleum," they wrote.

A proposed rule had been due Sept. 30 before regulators said they needed more time. The final rule is scheduled to be published next year.

A separate rule issued in 2009, which takes effect next year, requires automakers to increase average fuel economy to 35.5 mpg by 2016.

PRESS RELEASE: Obama Administration Proposes Historic Fuel Economy Standards to Reduce Dependence on Oil, Save Consumers Money at the Pump

Next phase in national program for light-duty vehicles will save consumers thousands of dollars at the pump while saving billions of barrels of oil, curbing pollution, enabling long-term planning for automakers

WASHINGTON – Building on President Obama's historic national program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today formally unveiled their joint proposal to set stronger fuel economy and greenhouse gas pollution standards for Model Year 2017-2025 passenger cars and light trucks. Cars, SUVs, minivans, and pickup trucks are currently responsible for nearly 60 percent of U.S. transportation-related petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Today's announcement is the latest in a series of executive actions the Obama Administration is taking to strengthen the economy and move the country forward because we can't wait for Congressional Republicans to act. When combined with other historic steps this administration has taken to increase energy efficiency, this proposal will save Americans over $1.7 trillion at the pump, more than $8,000 per vehicle by 2025. These combined actions also will reduce America's dependence on oil by an estimated 12 billion barrels, and, by 2025, reduce oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels per day – enough to offset almost a quarter of the current level of our foreign oil imports. Taken together, these actions will also slash 6 billion metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions over the life of the programs.

Today's proposed standards alone will slash oil consumption by 4 billion barrels and cut 2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution over the lifetimes of the vehicles sold in those years.

"These unprecedented standards are a remarkable leap forward in improving fuel efficiency, strengthening national security by reducing our dependence on oil, and protecting our climate for generations to come. We expect this program will not only save consumers money, it will ensure automakers have the regulatory certainty they need to make key decisions that create jobs and invest in the future," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We are pleased that we've been able to work with the auto industry, the states, and leaders in the environmental and labor communities to move toward even tougher standards for the second phase of the President's national program to improve fuel economy and reduce pollution."

"By setting a course for steady improvements in fuel economy over the long term, the Obama administration is ensuring that American car buyers have their choice of the most efficient vehicles ever produced in our country. That will save them money, reduce our nation's oil consumption and cut harmful emissions in the air we breathe," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "This is an important addition to the landmark clean cars program that President Obama initiated to establish fuel economy standards more than two years ago. The progress we made with the help of the auto industry, the environmental community, consumer groups and others will be expanded upon in the years to come -- benefitting the health, the environment and the economy for the American people."

The proposed program for MY 2017-2025 passenger cars and trucks is expected to require increases in fuel efficiency equivalent to 54.5 mpg if all reductions were made through fuel economy improvements. These improvements would save consumers an average of up to $6,600 in fuel costs over the lifetime of a MY 2025 vehicle for a net lifetime savings of up to $4,400 after factoring in related increases in vehicle cost. Overall, the net benefit to society from this rule would total more than $420 billion over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in MY 2017-2025.

Today's action builds on the success of the first phase of the Obama Administration's national program(2012-2016), which will raise fuel efficiency equivalent to 35.5 mpg by 2016 and result in an average light vehicle tailpipe CO2 level of 250 grams per mile. These standards are already in effect and saving consumers money at the pump now. Combined with 2011 fuel economy standards and the standards in effect for 2012-2016, today's proposal represents the most significant federal action ever taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy. Taken together, these actions would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half and result in model year 2025 light-duty vehicles with nearly double the fuel economy of model year 2010 vehicles.

The national policy on fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas emissions created by DOT and EPA provides regulatory certainty and flexibility that reduces the cost of compliance for auto manufacturers while reducing oil consumption and harmful air pollution. By continuing the national program developed for MY 2012-2016 vehicles, EPA and DOT have designed a proposal that allows manufacturers to keep producing a single, national fleet of passenger cars and light trucks that satisfies all federal and California standards. It also ensures that consumers will continue to enjoy a full range of vehicle choices with performance, utility and safety features that meet their individual needs.

The standards will rely on innovative technologies that are expected to spur economic growth and create high-quality jobs across the country. Major auto manufacturers are already heavily invested in developing advanced technologies that can significantly reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions beyond the existing model year 2012-2016 standards. In addition, a wide range of technologies are currently available for automakers to meet the new standards, including advanced gasoline engines and transmissions, vehicle weight reduction, lower tire rolling resistance, improvements in aerodynamics, diesel engines, more efficient accessories, and improvements in air conditioning systems. The standards should also spur manufacturers to increasingly explore electric technologies such as start/stop, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles. The MY 2017-2025 proposal includes a number of incentive programs to encourage early adoption and introduction of "game changing" advanced technologies, such as hybridization for pickup trucks.

The proposal released today follows President Obama's announcement in July that the Administration and 13 major automakers representing more than 90 percent of all vehicles sold in the U.S. have agreed to build on the first phase of the national vehicle program. EPA and DOT worked closely with a broad range of stakeholders to develop the proposal—including manufacturers, the United Auto Workers, the State of California, and consumer and environmental groups.

There will be an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposal for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. In addition, DOT and EPA plan to hold several public hearings around the country to allow further public input. California plans to issue its proposal for model year 2017-2025 vehicle greenhouse gas standards on December 7 and will finalize its standards in January. .

To view NHTSA and EPA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, visit http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy.

For more information, visit http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regulations.htm or http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy.

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Dealers: Chevy Volt fire investigation doesn’t faze customers

News of a federal investigation into a Chevrolet Volt that caught fire hasn’t spooked shoppers of the plug-in hybrid, several Chevy dealers say.

“No one has asked about it,” says Ronald DeTommaso, general manager at Atlantic Chevrolet-Cadillac in Bay Shore, N.Y., on Long Island. The store is one of the largest Volt dealers in the United States; it has sold more than 30 since the car’s launch in December 2010.

On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that a Volt at one of its test facilities caught fire about three weeks after the agency had conducted a test crash on the car.

NHTSA said the crash damaged the car’s lithium ion battery, which led to the vehicle fire. Nobody was hurt in the blaze. NHTSA said it is the only case of a battery-related fire in a crash of a vehicle powered by a lithium ion battery.

Both NHTSA and General Motors have said the Volt is not more susceptible to fires than gasoline-powered vehicles. Nonetheless, NHTSA said it is working with GM and other automakers to minimize the risk of post-crash fires.

In a statement issued Friday, after news reports about the NHTSA investigation, Jim Federico, GM’s chief engineer for electric vehicles, said the automaker is working with the federal agency on its investigation.

“I want to make this very clear: The Volt is a safe car,” Federico said. He said GM has safety protocols for handling the battery after a crash and is working with other manufacturers “with the goal of implementing industrywide protocols.”

Jim Purves, a sales manager at Al Serra Chevrolet in Grand Blanc, Mich., said customers haven’t asked about the media reports of the Volt fire.

“I think GM did a great job by getting out there and quickly clarifying the situation,” he said.

Tom Cedar, general manager at All-American Chevrolet in Middletown, N.J., said only one customer had asked him over the weekend about the reports. The customer is planning to buy a Volt anyway, Cedar said.

“He wasn’t worried about it. He said, ‘Things like that can happen with any car,” Cedar said. “I don’t think it’s going to scare away customers.”

Chevy Volt fire prompts U.S. safety probe of lithium ion batteries, report says

U.S. auto-safety regulators are scrutinizing the safety of lithium ion batteries that power electric vehicles after a Chevrolet Volt battery caught fire, people familiar with the probe said.

The regulators have approached all automakers, including General Motors, Nissan Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co., that sell or have plans to sell vehicles with lithium ion batteries with questions about the batteries' fire risk, four people familiar with the inquiry said.

The Volt caught fire while parked at a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration testing center in Wisconsin, three weeks after a side-impact crash test, said an agency official.

The official, as well as the three other people familiar with the inquiry, said they couldn't be named because the investigation isn't public.

“I want to make this very clear: the Volt is a safe car,” said Jim Federico, GM’s chief engineer for electric vehicles. “We are working cooperatively with NHTSA as it completes its investigation. However, NHTSA has stated that based on available data, there’s no greater risk of fire with a Volt than a traditional gas-powered car.”

The probe comes as automakers look to expand plug-in offerings beyond the Volt and Nissan's Leaf, which went on sale in the 2011 model year as the first mass-market plug-in electric cars in the United States.

Toyota Motor Co.'s Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid, uses a nickel-metal battery. A plug-in Prius and an electric version of the RAV4 sport-utility vehicle will use lithium ion batteries.

President Barack Obama has set a goal of putting 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015. Nissan is among companies that have received financing assistance from the U.S. Energy Department and European Investment Bank to develop the Leaf and lithium ion batteries.

GM in January withdrew a request for $14.4 billion in U.S. loan guarantees.

Seoul-based LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's biggest chemical maker, supplies the lithium ion batteries for the Volt.

Concern for first responders

The fire was severe enough to burn vehicles parked near the Volt, the agency official said. Investigators determined the battery was the source of the fire, the official said.

NHTSA also sent a team of investigators this week to Mooresville, N.C., to probe a fire in a residential garage where a Volt was charging. That investigation is continuing, the agency official said.

"As manufacturers continue to develop vehicles of any kind -- electric, gasoline, or diesel -- it is critical that they take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of drivers and first responders both during and after a crash," the safety agency said in a statement today.

"Based on the available data, NHTSA does not believe the Volt or other electric vehicles are at a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles. In fact, all vehicles -- both electric and gasoline-powered -- have some risk of fire in the event of a serious crash."

The agency's greater concern is for rescue response teams, tow truck operators and salvage yards who may be storing plug-in cars after an accident, the official said.

GM spokesman Greg Martin said the company doesn't believe the Volt poses any greater risk to drivers than a conventional automobile. GM has spent almost 300,000 hours testing the car and believes it is safe, he said.

After the fire in June, GM and NHTSA both crashed a Volt and could not replicate the fire, Martin said. GM has safety protocols for handling the Volt and its battery after an accident. Had those been followed, there wouldn't have been a fire, Martin said.

"There are safety protocols for conventional cars," Martin said. "As we develop new technology, we need to ensure that safety protocols match the technology."

The Volt and Leaf went on sale in late 2010. U.S. sales of the Volt have reached 5,003 units this year through October; Leaf sales total 8,048 units.

Nissan spokeswoman Katherine Zachary said today there have been no incidents of fire involving the battery in the Leaf.

"The Nissan Leaf battery pack has been designed with multiple safety systems in place to help ensure its safety in the real world. All of our systems have been thoroughly tested to ensure real-world performance," Zachary said. "To date, the more than 8,000 Nissan Leafs driving on the U.S. roads have performed without reported incident."

Flammable element

Automakers have engineered electric vehicles using lithium ion batteries to withstand serious accidents because the element is flammable, said Sandy Munro, president of Munro and Associates, an engineering consulting firm in Troy, Mich.

Lithium ion batteries could catch on fire if the battery case and some of the internal cells that store electricity are pierced by steel or another ferrous metal, he said.

"Lithium burns really hot," Munro said. "But it doesn't happen often. You have to do something pretty dramatic to make it catch fire."

If a lithium ion battery is pierced by steel, a chemical reaction will take place that starts raising the temperature and can result in a fire, he said. If the piercing is small, that reaction can take days or weeks to occur, he said.

NHTSA this year gave the Leaf and Volt its top crash-test safety rating, following a "good" rating in April by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In the simulated side-impact crash test, a new U.S. safety test for the 2011 model year, metal punctured the battery, the official said.

Regulators want to use information collected from automakers to inform emergency responders, towing firms and salvage yards about how to handle plug-in electric cars involved in crashes that may penetrate the battery compartment, the official said.

NHTSA will use the information from the automakers, which also include Toyota and BMW AG, for a three-year $8.8 million electric-vehicle safety study it announced in June, the official said.

The Federal Aviation Administration, in an advisory to airlines in October 2010, warned that lithium batteries used in cell phones, digital cameras and other devices are "highly flammable and capable of ignition," adding that fire suppression systems aren't effective when that happens.

It issued the advisory after a United Parcel Service Inc. cargo plane carrying thousands of lithium batteries crashed in Dubai after catching fire, killing both pilots.

Fifteen electric-car or battery-powered models will be available in the United States by the end of 2014, according to J.D. Power & Associates, which forecasts a glut of electric cars given that hybrid-electric sales were only 2 percent of the car market so far this year.