Why not just running water from a hose? I think the cooking show guy (Alton Brown) did an experiment and found that running water, even if it's cold water, thawed the turkey out faster than immersing it in hot water. This isn't an old wives tale about "hot water freezing faster" or anything, it's just that most of the thawing action is the carrying away of the frozen water, the movement of the water. The hot water was static and quickly became cold water.

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I was surprized that you did not suggest pouring some RV antifrez to melt the ice...... Tod

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Dear Tom, Ray: Your answer to the frozen car surprised me, given your backgrounds in the frozen territories. It seemed to me, from my extensive background in ice gained in Houston, that the answer was clearly *salt*. The melting/freezing point of a saturated salt solution is 0 degrees F, compared with plain water at 32F, which is what gives it its melting 'power'. Salt alone might have done the trick, or, if boiling water is simply something you have to do (if, say, it's below 0), dump a bag of salt around the tire first ... instead of the energy of water going from 180F delta T (or whatever it is once you get it from the burner to the curb), you get 212F delta T. Still, I think the salt alone might have done the trick, without the drama and scalding Ben, who curses the inability to call-in to your podcast.