| Sportymonk |
From USAToday
http://www.usatoday.com/money/indus...gas-tanks_N.htm
By Jeff Karoub, AP Business Writer
DETROIT — Dale Fortin is getting a new kind of customer at his Detroit auto repair shop, customers who have not just been in a fender-bender or had a windshield smashed by a rock.
The soaring price of crude oil has turned gas tanks into a cache of valuable booty, and Fortin has replaced several tanks punctured or drilled by thieves thirsting for the nearly $4-a-gallon fuel inside.
"That's the new fad," said the co-owner of Dearborn Auto Tech in Detroit. "I'd never seen it before gas got up this high."
While gas station drive-offs and siphoning are far more common methods of stealing gas, reports of tank and line puncturing are starting to trickle into police departments and repair shops across the country.
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Given their height, Fortin said pickups and sport-utility vehicles are more vulnerable to the thieves who puncture the tanks and use a container to catch the fuel.
Plastic tanks are typically the target, he said, since there is less chance of a catastrophic spark, and they are easier to drill.
A design change may also be contributing to the preference for a drill rather than a syphoning hose. The tanks in many vehicles now have check balls, which prevent spills in a rollover accident. They also make siphoning more difficult.:rolleyes: |
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| colorider |
Glad I can park my vehicles in a garage every night!
(Moved from General to Off-Topic) |
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| krygny |
| I remember this happening in the '70s. Usually, it was siphoning (sales of siphon tubes went through the roof) because most cars still didn't have a locking gas cap or inside release. If the car did, they'd use an ice pick, awl or just a hammer and nail. And every so often you'd hear about some PDB literally getting "the 3rd degree" from an [un]fortunate ignition. Almost as satisfying as seeing a matadore getting mauled by a bull or a terrorist getting blown into a fine pink mist (my two personal favorites). |
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