Ignition problems of the 2001 Toyota Camry

I was traveling in my Toyota Camry 2001 on I 75 s from royal oak to detroit, mi around 2:30 am on September 6th 2009 ,when suddenly I heard some cracking noise underneath the hood and fire from underneath the hood. I was traveling at around 70 miles/hr and tried to steer the vehicle to wards the shoulder and power steering failed and I saw engine light blinking, then tried to slow down and brakes failed. I quickly used hand brake and stopped the vehicle. I quickly turned off the ignition and tried to open the door and noticed that it was locked. I quickly pulled both the knobs simultaneously and got out of the car and called 911. By the time fire engine came to the scene, the car was on huge fire. My car didn't have any major issues in the past. I did change timing belt as per the company guidelines and at authorized dealer/service center. I changed the tires 2 months ago and oil change 1 and half month ago. Neither cops nor me could come to a conclusion on what went wrong. I am letting you know as it may help to increase the safety of cars if you investigate my car. I will be waiting for your response.

2001-Toyota Camry: there is a burning odor when car is operating. The ignition does not always start the car upon inserting and turning the key. Many times when turning the key, there is a high screeching loud noise and the car remains non-operational for a few minutes which occurs everyday. After the car is running for approximately 20-minutes down the road, there is a burning smell similar to burning rubber. The inside of the car near the floor on driver side and passenger side will become warm. It appears heat is generated from the engine into the inside of the car thus resulting in burning odor. Upon acceleration, the car has a jerky, propelling motion forward. Steering column has some stiffness and at other times it has lot of play with turns. The power/electric windows, clock, and cd/radio player do not work properly. These defects/faults occurred approximately 6 months after used vehicle was purchased. As vehicle was sold as is, I did not return to the dealership for repairs. Car was taken to local mechanic and found nothing wrong. With the exception of the daily ignition/start problem, other problems described above, happen approximately five times a month. Regular scheduled service maintenance are performed however all above problems continue to concern me.

Vehicle sluggish starting . Feels like starting on 3 cylinders instead of 4. Dealer does not even offer spark plug replacement as in odi id#890522. Engine check light comes on as well . . Hasn't started backfiring . . Yet. . Basically the same complaint as the aforementioned file. Takes two or three trie to start . . Weather normal.

While driving at 10mph vehicle stalled out and died without warning several times. Dealer was inspecting vehicle.