Gas Drama

U.S Drivers Adding Modified Fuel Tanks to Save Hundreds Filling Up in Mexico

A San Diego company is doing brisk business selling and installing giant gas tanks for pickup-truck owners seeking to scoop up as much Mexican diesel per trip as possible.

And with Mexican diesel selling for $2.20 per gallon at government-subsidized Pemex stations in Baja California, motorists "want to get as much gas as they can'' when they go to Mexico, Express Performance Center co-owner Tim Abbas said.

The store is able to mount auxiliary gas tanks with as much as a 98-gallon capacity on some trucks. If filled in Tijuana, that monster tank will save the driver well over $200 per trip, even discounting the cost of driving and time it takes.

"It seems like people are panicking,'' Abbas said. Sales have gone from 11 last year to 13 just last month. The tank conversion costs $1,300 for a 75 gallon tank and $1,700 for a 98 gallon tank.

U.S. officials say the gas purchases are legal and untaxed, if the auxiliary tank is connected by fuel lines to the vehicle's engine, as opposed to isolated storage tanks, and if buying fuel is not the primary reason given by the driver for a trip across the line.

More of the article here.

I think I would need to add one of these tanks to make the trip worth while, seeing as my tank only holds about 10 gallons, so I would probably be using as much gas to get across the border (waiting at the border) than I would be saving the $2 per gallon...