11 Crazy Facts About Car Manufacturing

Huge shipping containers carry the Chevy Volt's lithium-ion battery pack by sea for 11 weeks. The battery, made of 288 cells each, is considered a "class 9" hazardous material, which means it can't fly — it can only float very slowly across the Pacific Ocean from Korea for nearly four months.

When exposed to high temperatures, these types of batteries have a history of overheating, and lithium-ion battery fires cannot be put out by standard fire suppressants on planes, so they have a long journey to Detroit by boat and car before eventually making it into your car.