OT: Oil companies

[kevin at typ53b.net (Kevin Collins)]

Spewey wrote:
> I'd like to hear anyone's stories about siphoning in the 70s.  I was 
> alive but not very old and I have heard that theft by siphoning was 
> rampant in some areas.  Did it happen where you were?  Did locking 
> gascaps mean thieves just punched a hole in the bottom?  Did it happen 
> because gas was expensive or unavailable?
I was there!  I got my license in July of '73.  I forget exactly when 
that first crisis was but I believe it was later that year.
I was paying around 40-45c/gallon to fill my '69 Beetle when I started 
driving.  $2 worth of gas could keep me on the road for a week.

When the crisis kicked in, we could buy gas on alternating days, based 
on the last digit of your license plate number.  Gas lines were hella 
long, and the waits could be hours.  People cutting in line were often 
subject severe harrassment or worse.  Prices skyrocketed (80c or 
thereabouts I believe - a drastic jump percentage-wise).

One night while bowling in a league, one of my buddies slipped out the 
back door for a smoke.  His car just happened to be parked very near the 
door.  A hose was siphoning gas into a 5-gallon can but the perp was not 
spotted, he was probably watching from somewhere across the lot.  My 
buddy gained a nice gas can, the perp lost out.  This kind of thing was 
very common, and locking gas caps were suddenly all the rage.

That made me feel nice and young.. NOT!!

--
-kc-
Chandler, AZ
'86.5 Scirocco 16V 2.0
'06 330i