A car shooting up into flames is generally not a good thing for anyone.

For the owners of the car that burned up last night on 65th Ave NW across from the Ballard High School, however, it's like twisting the knife after being stabbed.

The owners happen to be the former owners of Nellie's Coffee and Toast, Jeannette Meade and Todd McCallister, who are still in limbo after a questionable end of their lease with the Ballard Lockspot. While they have a lead on a new lease, they find themselves running out of money. One of their only hopes, an arrangement with their friend Ben at Benito's delivering pizzas, is dashed now that their car "Fred" is, well, dead.

Around 1 a.m. last night, McCallister moved his car to his parking spot on the street (which had been taken up by a car he didn't recognize) and went back into his home. It wasn't 10 or 15 minutes before he heard something like a door slam and he went outside to see his car in flames.

His first thought, he said, was "Water!" And then, disbelief. He tried to put it out with his water hose, but it wasn't until firefighters responded that the flames were effectively doused. While the Fire Department determined it to be an electrical problem that sparked the fire, McCallister wonders if it was premeditated. "Maybe I honked my horn at the wrong person," he joked.

The car itself was something to be in awe of. Not just any station wagon, Fred was a 1965 Volvo 122S, a triumphant visage of sleekness.

But today, the car today looked toast when the Ballard News-Tribune went out to the scene. Aluminum was melted, the outside charred, the seats nothing but springs and frames, glass from the windows drooping like the clocks from Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory."

McCallister pointed at a few unrecognizable melted items: Little Hot Wheels cars that had been glued to his dashboard, Buffalo pennies that had been turned into buttons, a screwdriver and more.

If you know or saw anything, you can email Todd and Jeannette at nelliescoffee@gmail.com or call 911.

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