Can't make locking fuel caps fast enough

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ny-licaps0607,0,5205879.story

Locking fuel caps for autos are back in high demand

John Martone went to a Glen Cove auto parts store Friday, intent on buying two locking fuel caps.

He'll have to wait until Monday, as White Dog Auto Parts was sold out of caps for his 2000 Buick and 2002 Cadillac SLS. snip

Locking fuel caps became the craze in the 1970s when the oil crisis created gas shortages in the United States. Fearful of having their gas siphoned by thieves, drivers began installing the caps on their cars.

The resurgence in sales more than three decades later is real, said Marty Blumberg, vice president of sales for Auto Barn, with 13 stores on Long Island. Demand is so high, Blumberg said, that the Port Washington-based company, which uses Stant as its primary supplier, just placed a large order with MotoRad, an overseas supplier.

"We can't keep up with the demand," Blumberg said, "and the main reason is gas prices."

[Lasher]

1. Thieves are drilling holes in gas tanks with cordless drills.

And they get the gas out that way. Then your gas tank is not only empty, but also in need of repair.

[bean fidhleir]

4. It's certainly a good way to suddenly be in the middle of an explosion

as the drill bit heats the metal of a near-empty tank and ignites the fumes.

[tridim]

7. Not according to The Mythbusters.

They couldn't even get a tank to explode when shooting it with tracer rounds from a gatling gun.

[bean fidhleir]

11. I wish I could decide whether that's reassuring.

I suppose it is, on balance. I probably really wouldn't want even a gas thief to get cooked.

[dysfunctional press]

15. maybe not gas tanks...

but i was working on a construction site where a guy was using a chop saw to cut 55 gal drums in half to make 'buckets' for lifting things with the crane. one drum wasn't marked as to what had been it it- he sniffed the bung-hole and it didn't seem volatile, so he cut away...

BOOM

i was probably over 100 yards away, and on the other side of a concrete wall, but i could definitely feel the blast. apparently the drum had held isopropyl alcohol, and the heat/sparks from the chop saw ignited the vapors. the guy lived, but he was burned VERY badly.

[Leopolds Ghost]

30. Hey, you do construction work?

Good on you... I'm in architecture and urban design so I do construction
work to get by.

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. SUV tanks are made of plastic not steel these days

So no heat build up when you drill as you would have with a steel tank

[bean fidhleir]

10. Let's hope that the gas thieves only go for SUVs - I'd hate to have my Honda disabled like that

I hardly drive it, but until we get real transportation or at least real bike-safe roads, I need it.

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. SUVs have large gas tanks.... Many have dual tanks

I think thieves will start targeting fuel efficient cars for auto theft
and leave the SUVs alone except for their gas.

[Festivito]

2. Rumor is that gas tanks are being punctured for draining.

me thnks it a rumor, although it is a possibility.

Locks only stop the honest people.

[gullwing300]

3. That happened to our neighbor down the road and they stole his air conditioner

for a few pounds of copper in it. (I mean the house a/c not the car one)
damn thieves...:grr:

[Festivito]

17. So much for rumor, it's real. In our local paper today.

Some guy with a flatbed, according to police, towed a vehicle with a hole drilled into the gas tank. A spark started it on fire and he went down streets with the car partly on fire.

Police say he drilled the hole. Don't get why.

He got two tickets and left the scene.

FROM:
Dearborn/Dearborn Heights Press & Guide
Police Briefs
Saturday edition

[bananas]

23. When they steal cars for copper, it's bad! nt

[Xenotime]

25. Outlaw copper and fuel then only outlaws will have them.

[gullwing300]

28. I read that 5 times and I still have no idea what you meant. Sorry!

:shrug:

[Lasher]

31. It's a pun based on the slogan, 'If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.'

[El Pinko]

5. LOCKING CAPS???!! I LOVES LOCKING CAPS!!!11! I'M SERIES!!!1!1!!!!

:crazy:

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. 11! I'M SERIES!!!1!1!!!! TOO!!! ITS MY KEYBOARD'S FAULT!

[Lasher]

29. CAP LOCK MONSTER

[bemildred]

6. Electric cars don't have a gas tank.

I just wanted to point that out.

[EOTE]

22. It's a shame they don't make them anymore. NT

[Aristus]

12. I bought one for my PT Cruiser just the other day.

After seven years of going without. Things in this country are going to get nasty.



Nastier, I mean.

[PeaceNikki]

13. I keep seeing this thread and thinking it says "Can't make caps lock fast enough"

:crazy:

[area51]

27. LOL

:silly:

[undeterred]

16. I bought mine a month ago.

Accidentally left the regular one behind at a gas station. When I went to replace it, it only made sense to get a locking one.

[hedgehog]

18. Do not buy a locking gas cap. The last time around, people with

locking gas caps woke up in the morning to find that thieves had used ice picks to poke holes in their tanks.

[hedgehog]

19. I used to drive an old Suburban that had a locking gas cap. The

ignition switch was screwed up, so all you had to do to start the car was turn it. No keys needed. Imagine my chagrin the time I was out driving around, pulled into a gas station and realized I'd left my keys, including the key to the gas cap, at home 20 miles away!

[hedgehog]

20. Another memory from the last time around: There used to be attendants

at the pumps to fuel up your car. I remember my husband used to have to get out of the car to unlock the gas cap for the attendant.

[Bigmack]

21. Problem with locking caps....

They'll use a pry bar. That can tear up the gas cap door and the whole quarter panel of the car. I used to use the spring type... fits in the filler neck and prevents siphon hose entry.

[LeftyMom]

24. That's my concern.

I'd rather somebody rip off a full tank of gas (my car's so small that even at these prices that's still only $50) than have body damage and fucked up paint to deal with.

I'm not real worried about it though, my complex has a security patrol, and better yet, I have nosy neighbors.

[ThoughtCriminal]

26. MY CAP LOCK WORKS!!!

Oh, FUEL cap locks ...Never mind...