Torch My Ride

[mehrenst]

SUV owners who are faced with rising gas prices have found a new way to get out from under their high car payments — arson.

This trend was spotted by a Southern California arson task force in the summer of 2005 when gas prices spiked. At one point, firefighters responding to a report of a vehicle fire arrived at the Los Angeles River Bed to find two SUVs burning at the same time.

Read on......

[larkinmj]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mehrenst @ Jun 11 2006, 12:36 PM) [snapback]269544[/snapback]</div>

SUV owners who are faced with rising gas prices have found a new way to get out from under their high car payments — arson.

This trend was spotted by a Southern California arson task force in the summer of 2005 when gas prices spiked. At one point, firefighters responding to a report of a vehicle fire arrived at the Los Angeles River Bed to find two SUVs burning at the same time.

Read on......
[/b]

That was pretty clever how they nabbed the arsonist by locking him inside the SUV!
I'm all for getting gas-guzzling SUVs off the road, but I don't like the idea of torching as that creates an environmental hazard. Maybe the manufacturers could take them back and crush them- like they did with EVs!

[Drift Motion]

CRV is not a gas-guzzling SUV...<_<
those big chevy, ford, are...

[Mystery Squid]

Pfff... That's only one of like a million different ways...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, only the idiots get caught...



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Drift Motion @ Jun 11 2006, 02:35 PM) [snapback]269577[/snapback]</div>

CRV is not a gas-guzzling SUV...<_<
those big chevy, ford, are...
[/b]

That's what I was thinking, I was like, WTF??! a CRV???

[routeonedog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mehrenst @ Jun 11 2006, 12:36 PM) [snapback]269544[/snapback]</div>

SUV owners who are faced with rising gas prices have found a new way to get out from under their high car payments — arson.

This trend was spotted by a Southern California arson task force in the summer of 2005 when gas prices spiked. At one point, firefighters responding to a report of a vehicle fire arrived at the Los Angeles River Bed to find two SUVs burning at the same time.

Read on......
[/b]

About a year or so ago there was an arsonist torched an entire dealership of SUVs in Cal.

That was declared "environmental terrorism".

Apparently it's all in the timing.

[larkinmj]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Drift Motion @ Jun 11 2006, 02:35 PM) [snapback]269577[/snapback]</div>

CRV is not a gas-guzzling SUV...<_<
those big chevy, ford, are...
[/b]

I didn't know what you were talking about until I looked at the article again and saw the photo. I'm guessing the paper just picked a stock photo they had of an CR-V on fire (could have been an accident, e.g.) that had nothing to do with the story. If someone was intentionally torching a car, I would guess (I don't know much about these things, despite coming from New Jersey) they'd do it in an out of the way location, and by the time the authorities got there the car would be burned up so there would be nothing to photograph. Not only does a CR-V have reasonable gas mileage, it would be pretty easy to sell, unless you were really "upside-down" on the payments.

[daronspicher]

I think you can get a legit fire if you take the oil cap off (or forget to put it back on), then run it redline down the freeway in 2nd gear until you see the fire begin to come out from under the hood.

I've never tried it, but hear that many car fires have happened on the way from your friendly jiffy lube for this reason.

It makes sense when you get enough oil spittering out that hole onto the manifold.

[Maytrix]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(larkinmj @ Jun 11 2006, 12:47 PM) [snapback]269549[/snapback]</div>

That was pretty clever how they nabbed the arsonist by locking him inside the SUV!
[/b]

Yeah, I thought that was cool too. I think the Prius should have something like that. With SKS, I keep my keys in my pocket. So, let's say I'm car jacked (unlikely.. but you never know). I get out, he gets in, starts to drive away and I press my panic button. Car stops, doors lock..etc. That would be a neat feature... fortunately, we probably don't need to worry much about car jackers in our Prius.

In regards to the article, I agree with the author about the root of the problem - people far too often spend way to much on cars when they shouldn't. That also makes me question vacations - how can gas prices cause anyone to not take a vacation? I mean if the extra cost of gas is the deal breaker, shouldn't they not be taking a vacation in the first place?