21 Sep 06
Wouldn't it be cool to lose your test car in quicksand? It's so much more Indiana Jones than ending up nose first in a ditch, or having to confess you didn't see the tide slowly creeping up the beach you were using for a photo shoot.
Those were the thoughts flashing through my head as I stood a safe distance away from the Jeep Wrangler that was already up to its axles in the sloppy, flat, unforgiving mud.
I could afford to be smug, as this predicament was nothing to do with me. I'd even got my camera out to take a snap in case the off-roader was swallowed whole. It was going to be okay, though. A tow-rope had been attached and the vehicle was being unceremoniously yanked out backwards... and that's the exact moment when everything went wrong.
There's something about the word 'Fire!' shouted at high volume that gets rid of smugness. I spun around to find smoke and flames coming from under the bonnet of another Wrangler. To be more precise, mine. I'll confess, my thoughts selfishly turned not to saving someone else's £20,000 SUV but wondering what I'd wear tomorrow if all my spare clothes went up. The engine bay blaze was out in less than 30 seconds thanks to the swift use of the extinguishers all the cars were carrying. My heart was racing but, praise be, I'd have clean boxers.
Quicker than you can say 'backdraft' the Jeep engineers had figured out what the problem was and, thankfully, I was absolved of all blame. Some of the long grass we'd been driving through earlier had got wrapped round the catalytic converter, which gets very hot. When we were driving, the air rushing under the Wrangler had been enough to keep it from igniting. But when we stopped that breeze was gone and, well, you can figure out the rest. It was pretty clear the car was going nowhere under its own steam, so the Jeep guys sorted out a tow.
