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By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com
August 21, 2007
A Ford Explorer in Austin, Texas has people thinking about who and what they park next to these days.
 The Explorer spontaneously caught fire and destroyed itself and a car in the adjacent parking spot. It's one of the latest incidents in a nationwide series of fires involving Ford cars and trucks.
“My office was entertained for several hours watching as a Ford Explorer belonging to a colleague started to smoke and then burst into flames,” a reader reported to ConsumerAffairs.com.
"This being Texas, we're all talking about the car-b-que," our reader joked.
“Not only did it burn up, but the car next to it towards which the wind was blowing the flames was also destroyed. The upwind car was damaged, but not as severely.”
Our reader suggests that his colleague “apparently missed the recall notice.”
Ford has struggled for several years to recall all of the vehicles still a risk form a cruise control switch that may burst into flames without warning.
Flaming Fords
• Ford Recalls Millions of Vehicles to Fix Fire Danger
• 1.6 Million Ford Windstars Investigated for Fire Hazard
• NHTSA Issues Second Fire Warning for Ford Cars, Trucks, and SUVs
• Report: Millions of Fire-Prone Fords Still on the Roads
• Ford: Parts Now Available to Fix Faulty Cruise Control
• Ford Trucks Burn in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina
• Feds Probe Ford Windstar for Fire Hazard
• Ford Truck Suspected in North Texas House Fire
• Ford Cruise Control Fire Strikes Florida Car Dealership
• Ford Hopes to Wind Down Recall of Fire-Prone Vehicles
• Ford Expedition Suspected in Fatal Ohio Home Fire
• Ford Fires Continue Despite Long-Delayed Federal Warning
• Feds Warn Some Ford Trucks and Cars Can Erupt in Flames
• Ford Fire Lawsuits Spread
• Ford Recalls 57,000 More Trucks, SUVS for Fire Hazard
• Ford Fires Strike in Minnesota, California
• Ford Plans Another Recall to Fix Fire Hazard
• Ford Fire Hazard Recall Creeps Along
• Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute Continue Ford Fire Tradition
• Ford Fires Kill Pets and Spread Despair as Year Ends
• Ford Lacks Parts for Fire Recall Repair
• New F150 Erupts in Flames as Ford Truck Fires Rage On
• Red Hot Texas Car-B-Que
• Kerry Vows Action to Get Flaming Fords Off the Road
• Flaming Ford Scandal Disgraces Ford, Feds
• Ford Tries Again to Fix Fire Problem with Massive Recall
• One Ford the Recall Missed
• Ford Stops Sales of Big Super Duty, Recalls 2008 Trucks
• Ford Recalls 155,000 More Trucks to Fix Fire Hazard
• Feds Probe Fires in Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute
• Feds Wind Up Ford Engine Fire Probe with Massive Recall
• Ford Truck Fires Mount as Recall Rolls Slowly
• Ford Trucks Burn As Recall Fiddles
• Ford Truck Fire Fix Delayed by Parts Shortage
• Ford Recalls 4 Million Trucks to Fix Fire Risk
• Nader Demands NHTSA Warn Ford Truck Owners
• Wrongful Death Suit Charges House Fire Started in F-150
• Feds Look Deeper for Ford Fire Causes
• Recall Leaves Many Questions Unanswered
• Houston Lawyers Sue Ford
• Ford Recalls Some Fire-Prone Models
• Feds Probe Ford F-150 Engine Fires
• Ford Recall Was Biggest Ever
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• Bronco
• Crown Victoria
• Dump truck
• Expedition
• Explorer
• F-150
• Other F-Series Trucks
• Focus
• Mustang
• Ranger Pickup
• Taurus
• Windstar
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Security people around the office building tried to contain the fire but failed. The fire department arrived after the fired had destroyed the vehicles.
Ford has recalled about 10.5 million vehicles since 1999 to try to fix a faulty cruise control switch that can short out and start a fire when vehicles are parked and unattended. Despite the many recalls, thousands of vehicles with the faulty switches remain on the road.
Earlier this month, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) called on Ford and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to try harder to get fire-prone vehicles off the road.
"It's unacceptable that these dangerous cars remain on the road and it's obvious that NHTSA needs to do more and work with Ford to fully fix this problem," Kerry, who sits on the subcommittee that has jurisdiction over NHTSA, wrote in an e-mail.
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