Thursday, October 10, 2002

OPEC Worried!
The Telegraph (UK) astounds with Frying Squad on scent of cooking oil motorists:
Drivers trying to beat rising fuel costs have discovered a cheaper means of powering their cars - cooking oil.

They are mixing the oil, which costs 32p a litre, with methanol and using it in place of diesel, which retails at about 74p. Police and Customs officers are trying to tackle the problem by sniffing out offenders, whose cars give off a distinctive "chip shop" smell.

An increasing number of motorists in Llanelli, west Wales, are filling their tanks with cooking oil in place of diesel after word spread. The town's Asda supermarket sells more cooking oil than any other branch in Britain and is now limiting sales as a precaution.

A spokesman said: "Anyone seen attempting to wipe out our stock with bulk purchases would be stopped."

One driver said: "I've halved my motoring costs since I started running my diesel on cooking oil. The car runs just as well and even smells a lot better."
It cuts down on air freshener expenses too!