King's "Trucks"/"Maximum Overdrive" as well as "Christine" dealt with supernatural elements. I my opinion elements like these don't fit to the story above - they would turn the narration into sci-fi/fantasy. The fantastic element would in the worst case overpower the whole story line. There's no need to tell that a guy is driving the car because there's no allusion to supernatural action. Jim talks about the driver: "psycho". Okay, he just assumed his existence, but at no point he, Jim, is contradicted.

To hood/bonnet: If you don't close the engine bay of a Jaguar correctly, it will tell you "Bonnet Open" on its dashboard display. (Jag's for the British market do this...)