I've driven the new Jeep Cherokee, and while I liked the car, its possible I may have mentioned in passing to a Jeep engineer that it'd be nice to have an option to have the car burst into flames a day or so after you got it. For, you know, that exotic Italian car feel. Looks like maybe someone took me seriously.
Well, that's probably not what happened to La Jolla, CA-area new-Cherokee owner Margareta Knoos. According to WFMY2 News, Knoos bought the 2015 Cherokee this past Friday, and in that time only managed to drive the car twice, putting a total of 50 miles on the car.
Immediately after the second drive on Sunday morning, she smelled a bit of a burning smell, but not enough to be concerned, and didn't see anything unusual.
After she went into her house, her brother saw smoke coming from the car out the window, and then the entire Jeep quickly was engulfed in flames, eventually setting fire to a nearby palm tree as well.
Fire crews put the car out, but by then it had been pretty significantly burned, burning and or melting most of the interior and everything in it. Fire crews did not report the scent of fuel, and so far no determination has been made as to the cause of the fire.
So far, it's not clear exactly what caused the fire, and all that's known is that it seems to have started in the engine compartment. A fire like this would seem to have to involve the fuel system in some way, but that's just speculation.
We've reached out to Jeep and see if they have any input or further information, and will update the story when we know more.