“Send it to Myth Busters they’ll love this one.”
Actually, this one is plausible. It sounds as if she had a product called GOOF OFF (bubble gum remover) in her car. If it leaked and evaporated, which it does very quickly, it would likely have ignited when she lit her cigarette. In a closed car it would do a mini version of a house exploding when there is a gas leak.
I read somewhere the main ingredient in GooGone is lighter fluid. Don’t know if it’s true.
“Goof Off” and “Goo Gone” are two totally different animals, though I suppose you could use either one to get gum off, depending on the solvent sensitivity of the surface the gum was stuck on. Goof Off is a mixture of Xylene and toluene (don’t pay $20 a gallon for Goof Off, just buy “Xylol” for $8), I think, and the vapors would most certainly be flammable/explosive, while Goo Gone is based on orange oil, and not all that volatile. I doubt the fumes would explode.