German man burns BMW in protest of high gas prices
If you think that gas prices are high in the U.S., consider that the average price for a gallon of gas in Germany is $9.40. Yikes. Since the record high prices in the States are causing some people to change their lifestyles, imagine how Europeans feel. Bet they're pretty upset, right? One man was ticked off enough to send his 1995 BMW 3 Series out in a blaze of glory. That's right, after parking the Bimmer on the lawn of the Convention Center in Frankfurt, he doused the car in gasoline and torched it in protest of high gasoline prices.The car was already nice and crispy by the time firefighters arrived. At this point, the local authorities are still considering what, if anything, to charge the man with. Interestingly, various environmental laws were likely broken which could send the perpetrator to jail for up to five years.
[Source: AP via WIBW.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Timsvtgen1 9:13AM (6/29/2008)
If you really think about it, Its quite an expense to just burn your car down nowadays.... lets see, 5 gals at $9.70 thats $47 to burn your car down.
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Richard Warren 9:31AM (6/29/2008)
Ron White: "You can't fix stupid."
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James 9:49AM (6/29/2008)
LOL
3seriesisking 9:30AM (6/29/2008)
I really don't think he thought this one through very well. I mean that E36 has got to be getting pretty decent mileage right? I mean average driving is probably returning 30 mpg.
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jb 12:01PM (6/29/2008)
To european standards, 30 mpg is actually quite poor. Which makes sense when you pay $9.4 a gallon.
rypt 2:23PM (6/29/2008)
Err 30 NON-AMERICAN MPG is fine, 30-35 is what most decent cars are rated at.
SOhp101 2:29PM (6/29/2008)
Only poor because the vast majority drive diesels. For a petrol engine that's pretty darn good.
3seriesisking 2:56PM (6/29/2008)
jb,
But was that still poor mileage back in 1995 when he bought the car, because I doubt it.
BigMcLargeHuge 9:44AM (6/29/2008)
That'll teach 'em.
Feel better now?
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Hamud 10:15AM (6/29/2008)
Well, prices won't drop because of this, and guess what, he lost his car and won't have to worry about gas anyway...
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Jan 10:27AM (6/29/2008)
read about that in the newspaper. they say he quit his job because he couldn't afford the daily commute anymore. and after a few weeks of unemployment he decided to burn the car...
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BigMcLargeHuge 10:54AM (6/29/2008)
Anger management ISSUES.
Thats not a protest, thats a temper tantrum.
Rocketboy 9:50AM (6/30/2008)
I think gas prices are the least of his issues.
Anti-believer 10:32AM (6/29/2008)
I thought all of Europe went by liters which is less than a gallon.
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K 11:09AM (6/29/2008)
3.785411 liters per gallon (US)
4.54609 liters per gallon (UK)
Soul Shinobi 12:50PM (6/29/2008)
Yes, there was some conversion involved.
Rob 4:44PM (6/29/2008)
Gas went from 4 Euro per gallon to about 6 Euro in the recent years. In the Sates , it went from $1.50 to $4.50.
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Colin Smith 11:06AM (6/29/2008)
In Europe 30mpg isn't considered good any more.
I pay $12 an imperial gallon for Diesel here in the UK, and even at around 50mpg (UK) running the car is getting expensive.
My next? car will be forthcoming little Fiat twin, offering 60+mpg when it is launched next year and 90bhp. This will offer very low annual car tax too, possibly zero, instead of the currently c. $340 for my particular car.
You may not know it but motoring in the US is still dead cheap.
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smartmlp 3:11PM (6/29/2008)
I was looking over UK versions of popular car sites. I find it very interesting that you have to dig to find HP/KW numbers on their sites but the CO/2 numbers are advertised every where. It must be sad to live in a country where you look forward to a car with 90HP.
cowboy bob 3:39PM (6/29/2008)
Here in the US, we are just too stupid for our own good. Unfortunantly this affects the rest of the planet as well. See the current mortgage chrisis, the war in Iraq, and the mindset that we should not talk to those who oppose us. Please excuse the typos, they don't educate us well here either while waiting for the euphomus "no child left behind".