History Main / ExternalCombustion

* ''Series/AllMyChildren'' did something similar to the ''Series/{{Hunter}}'' example when investigative journalist Edmund Grey was tailing a corrupt politician, shocking his wife and his other loved ones when he walked into his own funeral and revealed that the politician himself must have died in the explosion. Apparently the man didn't trust his own lackeys to do the job right and decided to plant the bomb himself.

** In ''VideoGame/MafiaIII'', Father James decides to place a bomb under [[spoiler: Lincoln Clay's]] car after he finds the latter [[FullCircleRevolution plans to establish his own criminal empire after bringing down the New Bordeaux Mafia]].

* ''Series/BeverlyHills90210''. Dylan's father was killed this way, kicking off his downward spiral. Years later, it was revealed that he had actually been spirited away into witness protection.

* ''Series/BurnNotice''

--->"There are two basic ways to blow up a car: use the gasoline in the tank, or provide your own explosive. They are two techniques that use opposite ends of the car and are disarmed differently. Some people prefer the gas tank. It tends to look more like an accident, but it's less reliable. Others prefer plastic explosive on the battery wired to the ignition."

* Played with in an episode of ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}''. We see a character get into a car and die when the car explodes, leading to the usual expectation that someone planted a car bomb. As it turns out, the car was hit by a guided missile.

* In the 1990's Australian series ''Embassy'', a terrorist tries to kill the Australian ambassador by putting a grenade (minus pin, with the lever held down with tape) in the fuel tank of his official car. When the petrol dissolves the glue on the tape, the safety lever flies free and sets off the grenade. It's effective for random terrorism but not assassination, as shown when the car explodes while it's parked on the embassy grounds, not while the ambassador is in it.

* In an episode of the LiveActionAdaptation ''Series/TheFlash1990'', the main villain [[DeathBySecretIdentity knows Barry's identity but dies]] this way after threatening Barry that [[TheyWouldCutYouUp They'd Cut Him Up]].

* ''Series/FunkySquad'': In "A Degree in Death", the on-campus protest at Central University ends spectacularly when the Dean's car - and probably a fair slice of the opening episode's thousand-dollar budget - is blown sky high. Later, the bomber tries to blow up Stix, but Ponch stops him starting the car and removes the bomb from underneath.

* On ''Series/GeneralHospital'', Sonny's wife Lily was killed this way, when her father planted a bomb meant to kill ''Sonny'', enraged that he had not stopped carrying on with his ex-girlfriend. The sad irony is, Sonny and Lily had just reconciled and resolved to start over. She was driving the car because Sonny had drunk too much champagne celebrating her pregnancy. The scenes played out very much like in the trope description--a joyful Lily walking towards the car, turning to smile back at Sonny, getting into the car, starting the ignition. . .cue the sound of the explosion and a BigNo from the now widowed Sonny. Her father later commits suicide when he finds out, unable to live with the fact that he inadvertently killed not just his own daughter, but his unborn grandchild!

* ''Series/Hunter1984''

* Two episodes of ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' have the respective antagonists get rid of a witness by blowing up their car. A third episode has another antagonist try to do the same thing, but the bomb explodes prematurely before the victim gets in the car, and she survives.

* ''Series/{{Phoenix}}'' is about the investigation into a car bomb that exploded outside a [[CopKiller police social event]] in Melbourne, Australia. The criminals who plant the bomb are amateurs who use a TimeBomb set-up so crude the forensic scientist is surprised they didn't blow themselves up driving there. This is foreshadowed when an ex-IRA terrorist is brought in for questioning, and he says he'd never use a car bomb for an open area like that, [[DoWrongRight but a mortar shell fired from the next street]].
* The pilot episode of ''Series/ThePinkertons'' gives this trope a 19th century twist: the villains try to sabotage a passenger train by disguising explosives as lumps of coal.
** Though a steam train is already an external combustion engine [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant in the original sense of the word]].

* ''Series/{{Tracker}}'' This was attempted in "A Made Guy", but Cole used his abilities to hyperspeed and manipulate electronic devices to disable it before it could go off.

* Played with in an episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}''. We see a character get into a car and die when the car explodes, leading to the usual expectation that someone planted a car bomb. As it turns out, the car was hit by a guided missile.

* During the make-your-own''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'' segment of the first episode of ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople'', using the car on Whats-Her-Face at the right time will reveal that her dad bought her a car "at a government auction", which turns out to be rigged with a bomb. "''[[UnsoundEffect A SPLODE]]!''"

* [[VideoGame/StrikeSeries Urban Strike]] starts with an undercover government agent working for former Presidential candidate (and the game's BigBad) H.R. Malone. He's killed via car bomb after Malone catches on to him being a spy.

** Across the pond, the Sicilian Mafia used car bombs to not only kill stoolies and their relatives, but they also assassinated anti-Mafia judges, activists, and cops as well. This all ended in 1992 when two high-ranking prosecutors were killed off in separate car bombings.
** John Gotti's first underboss [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_DeCicco Frank DeCicco]] was blown up in 1986 for his involvement in the assassination of Paul Castellano and his NumberTwo Tommy Bilotti the previous year. Gotti himself was also targeted but escaped unscathed by canceling at the last moment. The plotters thought that the Gambinos would blame the Zips (Sicilian mafiosi), who are notorious for using car bombs.

** Across the pond, the Sicilian Mafia used car bombs to not only kill police informants and their relatives, but they also assassinated anti-Mafia judges, activists, and cops as well. This all ended in 1992 when two high-ranking prosecutors were killed off in separate car bombings.