Locking gas caps now in short supply
By Barb Dybwad 
posted September 6th 2005 4:30AM
posted September 6th 2005 4:30AM
The word from Pittsburgh is that auto parts suppliers are rapidly selling out of locking gas caps, which were
originally invented in the 30s because of gas thefts during the Great Depression. Buyers are reporting their gas tanks
have been siphoned, or that they want to head off potential siphoning due to ever-rising gas prices. Some stores are
having difficulty getting more units in stock from manufacturers. If ever there were a time to kick yourself over
having gone with that SUV, this looks like it.
[Thanks to Auri for the image]
Another reason why gas caps comes standard in cars in europe is that you need to use your car key to open it and fill it up, meaning that the motor nor anything else (radio etc...) is on - safety issue.
While we have the most nuclear power plants in the world, the energy they provide is only a fraction of what is produced. Most of our energy comes from coal, oil and gas.
While barrel prices are normally the "same" for everyone, there are other factors to take in to account. For eg. the purchasing power of a country s currency - gas would be even more expensive if it wasnt for a "strong" euro. Then there are trade agreements, transport, cost of refining etc...
Americans are on the whole more wasteful, the price for having so many things we can buy.
Americans also use more gas since they use automatic cars; they leave there car running a lot when they should turn the engine off.
What all of you Euro posters have failed to mention when whining about YOUR prices for gas is that it is made up of mostly taxes. These taxes are required to fund your preferred form of government, known as socialism. Someone has to pay for that national health care and the cushy government funded retirement check. If your governments did not rape you daily with tax, your gas prices would be less than half of what they are now.
So stop complaining here. Complain to your governments.
Don't blame me for your higher gas prices. I will continue to drive my SUV to transport my family of 6 and tow the boat I own that I purchased with extra income that I did NOT have to turn over to my capitalistic government.
Oil is a commodity with price dictated by the market.
Until everyone selects and drives the one automobile available that gets the best gas mileage, you should not criticize others. As a matter of fact, anybody that chooses an Accord over a Civic, a Camry over a Corolla or Prius, an automatic over a manual transmission is really a hypocrite!
One must ask, why would someone buy a SUV?
To feel more secure or in control while you drive? The rush of the power in the motor?
Because everyone else is getting one? These are but a fraction of the reasons these tanks are bought.
I pose a question to all of the people out there. If these things and all vehicles were running on Hydrogen, be it cumbusted or fuel celled.
Would you buy it, rent it or borrow it? At a higher price of course. I think possibly not. The world is addicted to gas. If we weren't we'd already rid our selves of these horrible machines.
I am so glad I got my MINI when I did. 30.6 mpg, sweet...
I keep hearing about this "Europe" place. Is that somewhere in Texas?
Let's not forget that while fuel prices are higher in some places in Europe, so is the Cost of Living (and therefore salaries as well). You can't just use the monetary conversion rate to determine the VALUE difference in fuel.
You must also factor in the cost of living/average salary difference for each area.
Electric cars.. Hydro cars.. Solar power this, hybrid that..
All to save gas and oil?
All these concepts use nickel and other metals that need to be drilled for, extracted, etc.. All done by big scary machines that run on *dramatic breakdown 'dun dun dun' music* gas and oil.. not to mention copper, nickel, and everything else needed for hydro systems, solar panels, etc.. are limited supply as well..
Converting all forms of personal transportation would help slow the burning of oil, but how long until everybody is singing the same tune about metals we're singing now about oil?
America could highly benefit from better, more widely spread mass transit system, but there's always the chance the trend wouldn't pick up due to everybody's attitude about taxi cabs, city buses, etc all being a low class, poverty level form of transportation. It would be hard to convince most otherwise.