The jury is still out on whether or not the American consumer actually wants to drive electric cars, but in May a fire involving a crash tested Chevy Volt may cast some negative light on the topic. According to a recent Bloomberg article a Chevy Volt caught fire in the parking lot of NHTSA’s crash test facility three weeks after the initial side-impact crash test.

The lithium-ion battery in the car was the apparent cause of the fire. In June, both GM and NHTSA crashed another Chevy Volt, but this time the fire could not be reproduced. Greg Martin, a GM spokesman, stated that GM has safety procedures for handling the Volt and its battery after an accident. He also stated that had those been followed in the original test in May there wouldn’t have been a fire.

The lithium ion battery used in the Volt is supplied by LG Chem, the same company that supplies batteries for the all electric Nissan Leaf. According to an e-mailed statement from LG Chem they are “fully aware of the situation and are working closely with GM and NHTSA on the investigation.” As of Oct. 31, 13,051 Leafs and Volts were sold in the U.S. this year.

“That incident — which occurred at the test facility and caused property damage but no injuries — remains the only case of a battery-related fire in a crash or crash test of vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries, despite a number of other rigorous crash tests of the Chevy Volt separately conducted by both NHTSA and General Motors,” regulators said in a statement.

Put this freak fire aside, what do you think of the Volt? were you considering purchasing the Chevy Volt? Leave us a comment below with your thoughts on all this.