Watched a Toyota Camry blow up today........

C'DaleRider

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Jan 13, 2000
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I was coming back home from Augusta after visiting my Mom, who's in the hospital, and I'm cruising Bobby Jones Expressway, I-520.

We're doing about 75 when this Camry two cars ahead of me suddenly spurts out bluish smoke from its tailpipe once, twice, then billows an unending cloud that started bluish and turned blue/white. Unbeliveably, the driver never slowed down, until what looked like all the oil dumped.

Driver pulled over into the center median, car looking like an exploded NASCAR stocker.

I just wish I'd had a camera with me.
 

Mr N8

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Dec 3, 2001
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Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Aw ... here I was expecting a story of you at the firing range with an M203 and a 40mm HE round. :D

- M4H

That would have been awesome. Faulty mechanics...just another day in the automobile world.
 

toant103

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Jul 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: C'DaleRider
I was coming back home from Augusta after visiting my Mom, who's in the hospital, and I'm cruising Bobby Jones Expressway, I-520.

We're doing about 75 when this Camry two cars ahead of me suddenly spurts out bluish smoke from its tailpipe once, twice, then billows an unending cloud that started bluish and turned blue/white. Unbeliveably, the driver never slowed down, until what looked like all the oil dumped.

Driver pulled over into the center median, car looking like an exploded NASCAR stocker.

I just wish I'd had a camera with me.


first time you seen a toyota do that?


hehehe
 

Armitage

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Feb 23, 2001
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LoL, yea, "blow up" like blew the engine, not movie theatre "blow up". Which doesn't actually happen.

I saw a VW Beetle catch fire on the way to college once on I81 ... flames coming out of the vents in the back and everything. He pulled over and myself and another guy pulled over and jumped out with fire extinguishers and put it out.
 

Zenmervolt

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Oct 22, 2000
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Originally posted by: ergeorge
LoL, yea, "blow up" like blew the engine, not movie theatre "blow up". Which doesn't actually happen.

I saw a VW Beetle catch fire on the way to college once on I81 ... flames coming out of the vents in the back and everything. He pulled over and myself and another guy pulled over and jumped out with fire extinguishers and put it out.
That was lucky. Beetles have a magnesium block, if that thing catches, it's all over.

ZV
 

Armitage

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Feb 23, 2001
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Really? Magnesium?
Never heard that before. Yea, magnesium fires can be pretty spectacular, but IIRC, it's kind of tough to get a solid block of it to light up. Of course, in powder or wire form it's another story. Any of you kids here ever here of flashcubes?

Anyway, it was pretty much torched under the hood.
 

ElFenix

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Mar 20, 2000
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thats pretty neat. don't see regular cars lose their engines much
 

crypticlogin

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Feb 6, 2001
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I hope the Camry was still under some kind of warranty as I'd hate to be paying for the repair work (or premium, if covered under insurance) on that.

As for magensium engines: I think it'd be *extremely* improbable that one those VW magnesium engines would ignite in any spectacular way. Just look at what it took to ignite a NeXT cube, something that wasn't designed to be under constant exposure to combustion.

NeXT cube sacrificed for a photo op
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
another camry owner that never changes their oil? :)
My thoughts exactly.

I can hear them from a mile away... They have that signature "help me" sound comming from the engine bay, yet the car otherwise looks new and well kept.