car fires?

comments section below the article has some good hypotheses.

That's funny - I'd given up on reading them. Usually, whatever the subject, they pretty quickly get to debating who's the bigger whatever. I guess I over-generalized.

Very easy on todays vehicles. Brakes hang up. Rotor gets red hot. Transfers the heat to the hub and outer CV joint/boot. Caliper heat goes into line coupler that starts to soften the line. Heat causes the grease to heat up and the boot to melt. Grease ignites. The brake line fails dumping brake fluid into the mix. Brake fluid ignites. They stop. Now the airflow that was keeping the heat lower stops. Heat and flames now git the inner fender area and the plastics used all over. That stuff melts and ignites. Then it escalates into the wiring, plastics under the hood.

Doesn't take long in a newer vehicle. They burn FAST and HOT.

Yeah. In most cases, nothing forces the driver to pull over only one "lane" on a limited access highway. When I pull onto the grass, I pull over two, two and a half, or even three lanes' worth.

So he should have pulled over when the problem was noticed and not waited for a rest stop etc.

I saw this on the news and did have a flicker of wonder how it spread, but then I went back to eating. I can't imagine how it spread.

This is surprising The laptops didn't make it, but the drawings, wrapped in plastic sleeves in a plastic binder inside a backpack the

This less so: So did the military mementos, the bible and the rosary beads. All the items were in the back of the SUV, which had been spared from the worst of the fire. The roof of the SUV collapsed, stifling the flames enough to keep the fire from reaching the back, Ann Suchyna said. "

Speaking of very hot bearings, as you did, when cars had rear wheel drive, ariound 1972, I once didn't tighten the lug nuts on the right front wheel properly, and then I drove 2 hours. After the first hour, when it started going bump bump bump, I thought it was something else so I didn't stop. When I got to my destination, I found I had broken 1 of the lug studs and damaged the threads on two others.

Rather than take it to a shop, and since I didn't yet know how to replace studs, I got another wheel drum at a junk yard. I had read that one shouldn't mix one half of a front wheel bearing with the other half of a different bearing. But I thought, ehh! I was 25.

So I put the drum on and a few days later started a 14 hour trip NYC to Chicago. I had found two riders to go with me, to share gas and driving. We were on I-80 in Pa. and almost to Ohio. The girl who iirc worked for Mayor Daley's machine, and who therefore I didnt' like, was driving when she told me that when the wheels were pointed straight ahead, there was a squeak, But when they were turned a bit in either direction, it went away. I said, Let me drive. She was right, of course. Now I disliked her more.

So I pullled over and I touched the wheel bearing area for a second and it was burning hot. But only 100 yards ahead was a ramp, with a gas station at the top. What luck. I drove there, and it took him 10 seconds to say, I can't fix that. You have to go to the dealer. Amazingly in this rural area, the dealer was only two miles away in a tiny town of about 1000. More luck.

So we went there. And when I told him the problem, he looked at the clock. It was 4:45., and I realized. Oh no. We're going to have to spend the night and I'm going to have to pay for motel rooms for the two other people. My luck has run out.

But he said nothing about the time and started to work on it. Then he said he couldn't get the bearing off, he'd have to get his boss. His boss said, Not sure if I can get the bearing off without ruining the spindle!! If you need a new spindle, I haven't got one. So he lit his torch and started. Well, he got it off without damaging the spindle. Then he said, I don't have a hub like you need. Fortunately I'd taked all the unused parts with me, so I had the original brake drum. I guess he put in a new bearing. Can't remember now. I know he didn't put in replacement studs, so this part of the story must be wrong.

Anyhow, he finished at 5:15, and he charged me $6, because I had supplied all the parts. I thought it would be 30, worth maybe 250 now. I apologized for keeping him late, and he said, it only takes me 5 minutes to go home. I paid the bill and paid more. He didn't want it but I told him to put in the coffee fund. So he took it.

And we were back on the road, the whole thing taking only an hour.

Boy am I stupid, but lucky.