Sale of locking gas caps triples in 2008
With the increasing value of gas and the multiple accounts of motorists having their fuel stolen, it's no surprise that people are finding ways to protect themselves from suffering the same fate. Stant, who sells locking caps through stores like NAPA and PepBoys, is benefiting from the high gas prices and says that their sales have tripled so far this year. They can be purchased for around $20, which is significantly less than a full tank of gas. While a locking gas cap won't protect you against someone drilling into your gas tank, it will probably discourage the average thief from stealing the liquid gold from your car.
[Source: CNN Money]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
jb 5:46PM (7/02/2008)
I have to say when I came to the US I was really surprised to see that the tank cap was not lockable with a key. But then, gas cost in my country what it costs here now...
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Flashpoint 6:17PM (7/02/2008)
Am I the only one here who cries when they see a gas truck or an oil storage facility burning?
I think to myself, not of the environment or the people who may have been hurt...but rather, the oil which probably must have been around several millions of dollars.
Rootus 7:15PM (7/02/2008)
I don't see the point of a locking cap. Are there even any cars made in the last 10 years that don't have anti-siphon baffles?
HotRodzNKustoms 11:54PM (7/02/2008)
Rootus: My 1977 Chevy Blazer has a anti-siphon system which proved to be a headache when I tried to drain the tank.
Purifoy 5:46PM (7/02/2008)
And this is a surprise to who?
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ALEXDB9 5:47PM (7/02/2008)
I thought most cars now come with push open style gas caps form inside the car. Wouldn't this be just over kill?
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old blighty 5:49PM (7/02/2008)
easily pried open
Aprime 5:50PM (7/02/2008)
... Uh, no.
Unless you're the type that likes leaving evidence behind or collateral damages.
Richard S. 6:12PM (7/02/2008)
Many off the domestic models still have it unlocked and with a small "lip| for you to open the cover with the finger. The Cadillac actually looks like it is lockable with a release button but actually you push in and out. Never understood why the domestic could not emulate the Japanese and have a lockable cover with a release from the inside.
tankd0g 12:28AM (7/03/2008)
Criminals never want to damage your property.
RxMadness 2:05AM (7/03/2008)
@ Richard S.
The domestic automakers aren't the only ones to adopt lockable fuel doors. My cousin's "high end" '07 328i also has a push/pop door similar to that on the Caddy you mentioned.
If I had nothing better to do with my time I could probably make a decent profit reselling these caps at the local stations... :o
Scott 10:27AM (7/03/2008)
BMW fuel doors do push in/out to open, BUT they also have an electronic lock solely for that door. You won't realize it's there unless you try opening the door when the doors are locked.
porschedevotee 5:49PM (7/02/2008)
I'm gonna laugh like hell the first time I see someone who forgot his key at home, tries to drive back to get it and runs out of gas en route :)
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SimbaDogg 12:57AM (7/03/2008)
i voted you up, but really...your scenario is one that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Who would seperate their gas key from their car key? its a key that you would keep on your keychain, problem averted.
porschedevotee 2:14AM (7/03/2008)
*shrug* I could see a spouse borrowing the other car for a day and realizing they are low on fuel but they don't keep the gas cap key on their own chain since it's not their normal vehicle. How many keys do those things come with, anyway? And are all the locks individually keyed, or is it one of those mass-market things where one key will open nearly any of them?
A.N.E. 6:05PM (7/02/2008)
I noticed that American cars never have remote filler lid release switches. Virtually all Japanese and German cars do not have cosmetically inferior finger holes in the filler lids.
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That One Person 8:37PM (7/02/2008)
My parents 94 Aerostar had one. I personally don't like them but they are a good idea.
vento97 8:59PM (7/02/2008)
You can thank the bean-counting, cost-cutting, MBA-driven technology as demonstrated by the Big 2.8.
User 11:09PM (7/02/2008)
MBA-driven? Forget that. I can't remember the last time I've seen a single move done by the Big 3 that would make me think that anyone working in their executive branch is qualified to be working there. I had no idea that American cars don't have remote gas cover openers. That's absurd.
tankd0g 12:28AM (7/03/2008)
This article is making me chuckle as I recall all the Cavalier/Sunbirds I see every day with their fuel filler flap hanging by a thread of rusty metal.