Barry Meguiar released from hospital, spent 8 days in a coma

Car enthusiast Barry Meguiar has been released from the hospital in Monterey, Calif., after 17 days of treatment for a rare form of viral pneumonia.

Meguiar, 67, left the hospital on Aug. 30, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.

The statement discloses that Meguiar was in an induced coma for eight days and was brought out of the coma five days before his release.

"It's a miracle I am alive," Meguiar said in the statement.

Meguiar's hospital stay began during the events leading up to Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, when he sought medical treatment for "some unusual pain conditions he was experiencing," the statement says.

An earlier statement from Meguiar's Inc., the car-care-products company that bears his family name, said Meguiar contracted the virus while outside the United States recording his TV show, "Car Crazy."

Wednesday's statement said Meguiar expects to be back hosting his "Car Crazy" stage at the SEMA show in Las Vegas in October.

By Dale Jewett