Richard,

Be careful...a fire in the garage would take your house down faster
than you could believe it could.

A neighbor of mine years ago had a similar setup.

The wife had just gotten home and had driven the car into the garage.
She then proceeded to go next door for a FEW MINUTES (less than five
minutes). When she came back, the house was engulfed in flames. The
house was a total loss along with their pets.

It would seem that the car had an engine fire and the air movement
through the house had spread the flames and had fanned the fire.

They were very lucky not one died in the fire.

While the reasons for code requirements may not be readily apparent,
they often are created after someone's death points out a design
oversight.

TMT