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This is where we disagree. The probability of a gas can's fuel-air ratio being ideal for ignition is exactly the same whether that gas can is next to another one or not.

Now measure the fuel-vapor ratio OUTSIDE the leaking gas cans. One leaking can is probably not going to be enough. Several? More likely. The idea is that multiple leaking gas cans increase the risk of fire/explosion exponentially.

the company that owns the vehicle has exactly the same chance of having a vehicle catch fire

Individual vehicles are expensive enough that I think it'd be cheaper to 'upgrade' from a couple gas cans to a proper gas tank, complete with fuel hose and pump.

I was assuming more like a few 5-gallon cans per vehicle—say 25 to 30 gallons in total.

I was figuring on 10 gallon gas cans, though 5 would be better in retrospect. Still, you said 20 cans - that would be 100 gallons, not 25-30.

A typical half-ton pickup can't even carry that much weight; that would exceed its maximum bed weight by about 250 pounds, not counting the gasoline tanks.

Incorrect. 200 gallons would be roughly 1,200 pounds, not including the cans, but I figure that will be insignificant. half ton trucks have bed capacities between 1,410 and 1,900 pounds. Easily within their limits.

Besides, tanks over 25 gallons have lots of additional regulations, and most cities' fire codes won't let you store more than 25-30 gasoline cans in a single home or business, so if you go over that limit, you'd never be able to legally park the vehicle overnight....

Park outside, outside of official city limits. Done.

Franchised car dealers already violate this promise; and many (most?, all?) independent service garages and body shops do, too. If you take your car to a dealer for servicing, your mileage is reported to CarFax, which then reports your mileage to your car insurance. If you have an accident and do not report it to your insurance, the accident is reported by the body shop that does the repairs. CarFax pays the dealers, garages, and shops for these data; and insurance companies pay CarFax.

What is worse is that erroneous data are difficult to correct. In advance of an insurance policy renewal, I received an E-mail message asking me to use the insurance company's Web site to report my mileage. When I reported 25,065 miles, the entry was rejected with a message indicating I could not report an odometer reading less than the prior reading. On the Web site, there was a link to view the mileage history for my car. The immediately prior entry was for 241,080 miles, reported by CarFax on the date of the last routine servicing of my car. I checked the invoice for that servicing; it indicated 24,108 miles. A zero had been added to the end of the mileage, either by the dealer's service department or by CarFax! Working with both the service manager at the dealer and the local agent for the automobile insurance company, it took several phone calls over a month to obtain a correction.

  See http://www.carfax.com/, which will charge you for a report on a specific car. See also http://www.mycarfax.com/, from which you can get a free report.

Most cars are built using unibody construction so removing the cabin is not an option. Body on Frame vehicles are heavier which impacts performace and the connections will add complexity to the vehicle which increases costs. Someone has to pay the costs of having several chassis. This will be recouped by much higher operating costs.

> Just be aware, Hondas prior to 2000 or so have abysmal crash ratings (I don't know about Toyotas.)

Honda Civic 1998 (I own one, and I just got a 2007):
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/HONDA/model/CIVIC/trim_id/1998HOND4D FCIVIC_LX

Toyota Corolla 1998:
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/TOYOTA/model/COROLLA

Chevrolet Cavallier 1998:
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/CHEVROLET/model/CAVALIER/trim_id/199 8CHEV4DFCAVALIER

I would call the Honda bellow average but not having abysmal ratings (the best of the above 3). Interesting that the Toyota has better Crashworthiness but worse "Injury, Collision, & Theft Indicators" than the Chevrolet.

> Just be aware, Hondas prior to 2000 or so have abysmal crash ratings (I don't know about Toyotas.)

Honda Civic 1998 (I own one, and I just got a 2007):
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/HONDA/model/CIVIC/trim_id/1998HOND4D FCIVIC_LX

Toyota Corolla 1998:
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/TOYOTA/model/COROLLA

Chevrolet Cavallier 1998:
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/CHEVROLET/model/CAVALIER/trim_id/199 8CHEV4DFCAVALIER

I would call the Honda bellow average but not having abysmal ratings (the best of the above 3). Interesting that the Toyota has better Crashworthiness but worse "Injury, Collision, & Theft Indicators" than the Chevrolet.

> Just be aware, Hondas prior to 2000 or so have abysmal crash ratings (I don't know about Toyotas.)

Honda Civic 1998 (I own one, and I just got a 2007):
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/HONDA/model/CIVIC/trim_id/1998HOND4D FCIVIC_LX

Toyota Corolla 1998:
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/TOYOTA/model/COROLLA

Chevrolet Cavallier 1998:
http://www.carfax.com/car_safety/ratings/SRR.cfm/y ear/1998/make/CHEVROLET/model/CAVALIER/trim_id/199 8CHEV4DFCAVALIER

I would call the Honda bellow average but not having abysmal ratings (the best of the above 3). Interesting that the Toyota has better Crashworthiness but worse "Injury, Collision, & Theft Indicators" than the Chevrolet.

If you plug the VIN into google You get a link to Carfax. While they want you to buy a record, they can normally tell you the year, where it was made, and the engine type for free.

(Note that is not my VIN, I just grabbed it off google.)

VINs are a very handy feature.

Last year I started looking for a car. At the time I was really interested in a Subaru SVX, since they're kind of like relics of the 80s future that never was.

Anyhow, I was very close to buying one from a guy that seemed reputable, but just to be on the safe side I ran the VIN through Carfax.

It turned out that that particular VIN had been issued a "dismantled" title, meaning the car had been damaged so heavily that it was no longer possible to repair it and re-title it. It was actually illegal to drive on the road.

I figured there were two possibilities - either the dealer had bought the wrecked car and fixed it up using substandard parts, or he'd done a Gone in 60 Seconds (the original version) on it and swapped the VIN tags from the wrecked car with those from a stolen one. Either way, it wasn't something I wanted to pay $5000 for.

The checked the VIN on the Internet

This is getting a little off-topic, but you should always, *always* do a VIN check before buying a used car. You will have to pay a little bit, but it is worth it to save yourself the trouble of getting a deathtrap or a vehicle like you describe.

About six months ago I was ready to buy a car, then did a VIN check and found out that according to the DMV records, it wasn't even legally allowed on the road anymore - meaning that either someone had bought it wrecked and fixed it up with substandard parts, or it was stolen and had its VIN tags swapped with the car that really was wrecked, Gone in 60 Seconds-style.

I used Carfax, because you can buy an unlimited use account for a month for about $20, but there are cheaper alternatives if you just want to run a single VIN.

Back on topic: if you google for my name, you get some technical documentation on Soul Reaver and a link to an Old Man Murray screenshot contest from 2000 where I submitted a picture of John Romero's head on Marilyn Monroe's body. Ladies, you may form an orderly queue - please, no shoving or cutting in line.