GM to Use LiIon Batteries in Hybrid Car Models

I think that it's clear that the lithium-ion batteries chosen by GM are superior to the standard NiMH, they are more efficient and lighter, but there are problems.

The article mentions overheating, but they actually heat up less in use.

The real problem is what is euphemistically called "rapid disassembly" in battery manufacturing^*, which occurs when batteries overheat or are overcharged.

Basically because of the chemistry of a LiIon battery, these can cause dendrites, basically metal whiskers, to form between anode and cathode, shorting out the battery and discharging all of its energy in a matter of seconds.

Think about the Dell exploding laptops on crack. It looks a lot like a flare going off.

Of course, this would not be a problem with a properly designed system, but we are talking about General Motors, the folks who used the same aluminum alloy as Mercedes Benz for its Vega engine, but but chose a coolant that corroded aluminum.

I'd wait for at least the 3rd model year before buying.

^*I worked for a battery manufacturer for a while.^†
†And now my regular readers, both of them, are wondering if there is any field of endeavor where I haven't worked. Well, yes. High finance. If I had worked on that, I'd have the money to spare for a domain name.