We have another story for you today about the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano but this time it isn’t good. A couple in Dubai recorded the following video of a 599 which was slowly burning in the middle of the road. It is almost unbelievable that nobody has a reaction to this incident and all of the drivers on the road continue their way as if nothing’s wrong.
We don’t know how the incident occurred but let’s hope that the driver managed to get away before the fire started.
According to the Chinese media, an electric bus caught fire in Shanghai this Monday and it appears that unfortunately this isn’t the first incident of this type. A report revealed by Reuters indicates that at least one earlier incident has been reported in the last three months. We don’t know if the bus you see in this photo was stationary, in service or parked by the roadside but what we do know (and what really matters) is that nobody got hurt after this incident.
The bus that caught fire was a part of a test fleet that uses ultra-capacitors in order to store energy from a network of charging points. These buses are almost entirely different from the regular EVs sold in the United States, including here the Volt and the Leaf, which store the energy in lithium-ion batteries that as you already know, charge at very slower rates. These cars do not use ultra-capacitors so these cannot store a lot of energy but can provide a high level of power very fast.
If we do a little bit of math, these ultra-capacitors may recharge at 182 kilowatts which is a lot faster than any EV on sale today. At a 65% efficiency rate, 60 kW (or more) of heat may be shed during the recharging process, which is a lot if you think about it.
EVs charge either at 3.3 or 6.6 kW on dedicated 240V Level 2 charging stations or a maximum of 50 kW on the Level 3 DC Quick-Charge stations.
Source: Reuters, Shanghaiist via Green Car Reports | Photo: Eastday
I always thought that parades were kind of lame, except maybe for military ones. However, the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Parade had plenty to offer as you can see from this video. This brand new 2011MY Dodge Durango Citadel was sitting right in the middle of the parade route when all of the sudden it started to burst into flames (literally) from its hood. An NBC affiliate said that the car started to spew black smoke while towing on the parade route.
Due to this incident, the parade was prolonged by approximately 15 minutes, but just like in Titanic, the band kept playing all the way throughout the tragedy – that’s what I call professionalism.
Kia has just announced a brand new recall, affecting the 2010 Soul and 2011 Sorento models
It seems that the vehicles in question have a problem with the wiring of the interior lighting fixtures. In the Soul, the wires power the lights in the front speakers, while in the Sorento, they power the lighting in the front and rear doors.
In total, 35,185 vehicles will be called back to dealerships by Kia. If left unattended, these wires may wear out, eventually leading to a short circuit or even a fire. Owners will be notified in the following weeks about the problem. You can contact Kia at 1-800-333-4542 for more details.
It seems that the fire-prone supercars suffer from a faulty adhesive, used to attach a heat shield under the rear fender. In high temperatures, that adhesive might ignite, causing a fire in the rear of the car. That is where almost all of the recent fires originated from.
Ferrari 458 Italia owners are advised to head over to dealerships as soon as possible so that a free fix can be implemented, via a new heat shield which is secured by rivets.
Quick, what do the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Audi R8 and the Tata Nano have in common? Both the supercars and the cheap compact are extremely fire-prone.
After hearing quite a few stories about burning Ferrari 458 Italia models, the Nano is back with a vengeance, as another model went up in flames on the streets of Delhi last week.
It seems that as soon as the owner attempted to turn on the car, sparks came out of the rear, where the engine was located, and a fire immediately started. Fire fighters were quick to intervened but the Nano already burned to a crisp.
A Tata spokesman revealed that the cause of the fire is still unknown, but that people shouldn’t panic, as there are still tens of thousands of Nanos on Indian roads that aren’t burning.
Check out the fire engulf the Tata Nano in the video after the jump. (more…)
We have a different type of recall now, as GPS device manufacturer Garmin has just announced that it will be calling back specific models due to a faulty battery which can overheat.
The models in question include the Nuvi 200W, 250W, 260W and a few from the 700 series. They were all equipped with a faulty battery which, in the right conditions, may overheat and even lead to a fire.
This also affects several in-car GPS systems that were made by Garmin for companies like Suzuki. The Japanese brand revealed that it is consulting with Garmin and will announce what cars will be recalled in order to fix their GPS systems.
If you want to find out if your device is affected by this recall, check out Garmin’s official website.
We’ve been bombarded with Ferrari 458 Italia models catching fire all around the world in the past few weeks, so even the Italian company took notice of these incidents.
After seeing Ferrari 458 Italia models catching fire in Paris, in Switzerland and heck, even in China, Ferrari has come forward with an official statement, saying that it will investigate all of the cases. At this time though, it is treating all of them as separate accidents, and says that driver error might still be responsible for the blazing 458s.
“The company is currently investigating the particular incidents in which cars have apparently been involved in a vehicle fire, and it is currently treating these as separate incidents,” revealed Ferrari. “Until these investigations are complete, Ferrari is unable to provide any further comment.”
So, there you have it. Ferrari will start investigating the fire-prone 458 Italia models, but until then, remaining owners should stock on fire extinguishers just in case.
It seems that the Audi R8 should move over as a new model has become the most flammable exotic supercar in the world. We are, of course, talking about the extremely fire-prone Ferrari 458 Italia.
After seeing it burn in France and in Switzerland, we now get to see the first video of a 458 Italia going up in flames in China of all places.
In all seriousness though, Ferrari should definitely look into this problem as if there’s a problem with the supercar, it should be fixed as soon as possible.
Check out the fiery footage below with the burning Ferrari 458 Italia. (more…)
Now, photos of the actual car being on fire have appeared, courtesy of our friends from WreckedExotics.
As we can see, it seems that the car was actually owned by a Swiss man, even though in the previous pictures it was surrounded by cars registered in France. The incident took place on July 14, and, luckily, no one was hurt.
It seems that the rear-mounted engine caught fire first, and eventually spread to the rest of the car. In the end, as we saw last week, just a hulking pile of aluminum remained.
At the end of last week, we reported on a Ferrari 458 Italiacatching fire in Paris, France. Luckily for the owner, the blaze was quickly put out thanks to a passerby, and the luxury supercar sustained minimal damage.
Now, it seems that another French 458 Italia owner wasn’t so lucky. The smoldering remains you see above and below are all that remained after the Italian supercar caught fire while being parked in front of the owner’s home.
Owning a supercar is pretty much an extreme sport, not just because of the massive power developed by these models, but also because a fire may erupt at any moment.
This time, a new Ferrari 458 Italia supercar caught fire on the streets of Paris. Luckily, the blaze wasn’t that severe, occupying just the rear panel of the Italian model. A passerby quickly intervened with a fire extinguisher, limited the damage suffered by the 458 Italia.
No concrete details are known, so you’ll just have to settle for these photos captured by an Autogespot forum member.
Sigh… here we are with yet another Audi R8 model which caught fire as it was rolling down the road. After seeing such cases happen in Germany, the Netherlands and even Romania, now the USA has seen its own R8 blaze.
This time, the story is that much more interesting, as the car was just a week old, and belonged to an American who won the lottery some time ago.
It seems that Rahul Patel, former Powerball lottery winner, was driving along in his R8 on a highway, when he saw black smoke coming from the rear of car, where the engine is located. As soon as he got out, flames immediately engulfed the rear of the R8.
Luckily, Patel was the only one riding in the German supercar, and he got away from the fire right away. Emergency crews arrived on the scene and promptly put out the fire, but the car was already burnt to a crisp, as you can see above.
BMW stops sale, recalls 1 Series models over fire risk
BMW has just issued a recall, affecting its 1 Series models, manufactured between 2008 and 2010.
According to the Bavarian company, the front seatbelt retractors (aka the things that tighten up the actual belt), can ignite in certain “severe” accidents and result in a fire.
As such, BMW has notified dealers to stop selling or delivering 1 Series models. Existing owners will be notified of this problem. They are expected in service areas for a free fix that will remove any fire hazard.
For more details about this BMW recall, you can contact the company at 1-800-525-7417.
Chrysler is keeping up with the recalls, this time with minivans once again taking center stage. After revealing a recall safety campaign for 312,000 2005-2006 minivans over airbag issues, a new problem is plaguing 2008 and 2009 model year vehicles.
According to the Pentastar, 284,831 2008-2009 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan models are now affected by a faulty wire harness that can subject it to wear every time the rear sliding door is activated. Over time, this can lead to the insulation to peel off and a short circuit is possible. As you know, this can lead to a fire that can happen at any moment.
The models affected were manufactured between February and September 2007. Their owners will be notified of this recall and a free fix is available in dealerships. For more details, you can contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
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