This could have turned out horribly GIF

why is it that cars seem to have so much more manufacturer error than other tech?

Because its so much more obvious and the consequences so much more deadly. If a phone catches fire while in use may have some scorched hair or blisters, but no too bad because you'd drop it fast. If a car catches fire in use people can die.

Looks like a bollard or boulder, too small to be another car but can't quite make it out

I thought it was an anchored trash can... you know those ones bolted to the ground and surrounded with a concrete/pebble mix?