A motoring writer from the Australian Daily Telegraph got more than he bargained for when a new Ford Everest SUV he was evaluating burst into flames after the engine shut itself down and the car rolled to a halt.
New South Wales based journalist Peter (Barney) Barnwell was evaluating the new Thai-built Everest SUV on a road near Newcastle when warning lights started to appear before the instrument display went blank and the engine shut down.
The new Everest shares technology with the current and previous generation of Ford Ranger, and while there are only 1000 Everest models on Australian roads, there are more than 100,000 Rangers in Australia and New Zealand that may be affected by this incident.
Barnwell told News.Com.Au that as he rolled to a stop the Everest just burst into flames, and there were flames licking out from under the bonnet.
A locally-based fire appliance and crew arrived within minutes but took another 20 to extinguish the blaze.
Ford New Zealand government and corporate affairs manager Tom Clancy says that this is the first such incident.
“We are not aware of similar reports regarding the new Everest, the new Ranger or the previous Ranger in New Zealand,” says Clancy.
The burnt wreckage is under transportation to Ford Australia’s engineering headquarters in Melbourne, where an engineering investigation will be conducted.
“Until the Australian engineers can have a thorough look at the vehicle and make some conclusions, we are unable to make further comment,” says Clancy.
Clancy reiterated that Ford Australia says a vehicle recall would be premature until it knows the cause of the incident.
