Dick Van Dyke's car explodes.....he's fine...

Friend of mine who is a former Jag owner says the battery is in the rear under the trunk floor mat. Dangerously close to the gas tank if the battery explodes or there's an electrical melt-down of some type. Glad Dick's OK and he can crack jokes about it. :icon_lol:

Update: Saw some video of the car before it was totally consumed, fire started up front.
 
Jaguar sucks!
Volvo is property of the chinese Geely.
Saab was brought by chinese-japanese consortium.

Dick should buy a solid and safety american car.
 
TB, you just reminded me the Miata we have has its battery in the same location - although it's a little farther from the fuel tank, well toward the rear of the trunk, in the lower right quarter panel.

He sure looks spry for someone who is his age. My MIL who died at 89 was not quite in his condition.

He should have added that besides being cheap, his used car had a great flame job on it!
 
I also have a Mazda Miata with the battery in the trunk, I have never heard of any problems with the location of it.
It is one of the reasons that Miata's have close to a 50-50 weight balance.

The disadvantage of the location is that it is out of sight and tends to be forgotten.

It's a shame that these car companies with great histories to them are being sold off to people who just look at it as a business venture.
 
ce_zeta said:
Dick should buy a solid and safety american car.
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You mean like a Pinto or a Corvair, or maybe a Ford Exploder....errr... Explorer?

It's a shame that these car companies with great histories to them are being sold off to people who just look at it as a business venture.
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It was Ford that owned Jaguar until they sold it to Tata in 2008 and Saab was owned by GM (2000-2010) before being sold to Spyker. The subsequent Chinese sale never was completed and in 2012 National Electric Vehicle Sweden bought the 'estate' through bankruptcy.

Since the consumer often buys primarily on price or "brand habits", rarely does 'history' or sentiment sell. Not that General Motors has ever been a 'family' name and I doubt Henry Ford was a sentimentalist.
 
Saw this ad in the 70s USED CAR section of the paper, "For Sale, 1975 Ford Pinto with exploding gas tank and self-destructing Firestone radial tires." Don't know if it sold or not. In the small town where I lived, there were a lot of Pintos on the road, in addtion to Ford's venerable Maverick.
 
It's a Jag! They have crappy electrical systems. Always have. On the Miata - my battery is under the hood. It's a 2008.

Don
 
TARPSBird said:
Friend of mine who is a former Jag owner says the battery is in the rear under the trunk floor mat. Dangerously close to the gas tank if the battery explodes or there's an electrical melt-down of some type.
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Exploding batteries? It's made my Jaguar, not Boeing! :kilroy:

Actually, that's not uncommon, the Mini (the real one, not the BMW version) is exactly the same. Had a couple of Minis in my time, and never had any battery-related issues (but don't talk about driving in wet weather - who thought putting the distributor at the front & near the ground was a good idea?).

ce_zeta said:
Dick should buy a solid and safety american car.
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But what happens when he wants to turn a corner? :mixedsmi:
 
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