Dodge's Fire-Preventing Ejecting Battery Patent Is American Individualism At Its Finest

Few people seem to want a Dodge Charger Daytona EV, but that hasn't stopped Stellantis from developing a system that seems right up Dodge's alley. The automaker's new patent bears the innocent name of "High-Voltage Battery Quick Release System For Vehicle." Digging deeper, I'm surprised Roman Pearce of the "Fast and Furious" movies isn't listed as one of the inventors. You might as well call this, "Ejecto batteryo, cuz."

This system looks marginally better than Chinese automaker Chery's version of the same idea that forcefully blasts the battery out the side of the car. While effective at removing the flaming battery, that also endangers any pedestrians, cyclists, family pets, and anything else in its path like a South African carjacking deterrent rather than a safety system. Instead, Dodge's version simply unplugs the battery pack from the car, then drops it on the ground. A pair of opposing castellated frames that normally holds the battery in place move against each other, lining up to let gravity take over to drop the battery.

Either that, or pyrotechnic fasteners blow up to accomplish the same thing. Considering that it's a Dodge, I think explosive bolts would be much more fun, because America. The one thing a burning lithium-ion battery needs more of is explosions and fire.

At this point, the battery is safely detached from the car and on the ground, without flattening or burning anyone. There's still one problem: the car is not only still on top of the battery, but has also ejected the very thing that drives it. This is where Dodge has a genuinely great idea. The standard 12-volt battery is connected to the drive system, and is used to move the car a short but safe distance away from the burning battery. It's the same idea as the USS Enterprise using its impulse engines to move away from an ejected warp core before it explodes. It can't move far or fast, but it can move out of immediate danger.

That still leaves a burning battery where the car used to be. These fires are notoriously difficult to put out, requiring tens of thousands of gallons of water. But that's somebody else's problem now. You're safe. Your car, minus the battery, is safe. The raging inferno that could be burning up other nearby cars or buildings is an issue for someone else to deal with. This couldn't possibly have any negative repercussions in a major city, or in a drought area vulnerable to wildfires. Fortunately, patents like these rarely make it into production.

While Roman Pearce is a fictional character, he still may have influenced the designers of this system. The car in the patent drawings appears to be a Dodge Challenger, despite the model being discontinued in 2024. A vintage Challenger is also the car Roman ejecto seatoed his cuz out of. I wonder if the choice of a Challenger is a subtle nod to that scene from "2 Fast 2 Furious."