Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Russia faces a car apocalypse in the next few months due to the government's decision to allow scarce gasoline to be adulterated, a Russian warblogger warns. The low-quality gasoline will inevitably cause mass failures of vehicles across the country. ⬇️

2/ Alexey Zhivov writes:

"In August and October, the country will be inundated with tens of thousands of video messages from car owners facing lengthy and expensive repairs. Some will be left without wheels."

3/ "This will happen just in time for the State Duma elections, and you can be sure the enemy Center for Social and Political Studies will exploit this topic to the fullest.

4/ "The sluggishness of relevant agencies in protecting oil refineries from drone attacks, the first of which began in 2024, with the oil refinery in Omsk recently attacked, has led to a "temporary" fuel shortage, which we are already seeing at gas stations across the country.

5/ "The government has found no better solution than to lower the requirements for Euro-5 gasoline by increasing the sulphur content in the final product. This gasoline will be sold at all gas stations starting in early July as AI-95 Euro-5.

6/ "Moreover, the order does not contain any requirements for special labeling of such fuel at gas stations. The option of paying more but still getting normal gasoline will be eliminated.

7/ "No "stocking filters in the tank" will help—sulphur is dissolved in the fuel at the molecular level.

8/ "After a breakdown, it will be impossible to sue gas stations: they operate under a government order and will not be held liable for the fuel's quality. There is no doubt that the share of even lower-quality surrogates will also increase.

9/ "All cars manufactured after 2015 will be at risk—especially those with highly-powered turbocharged engines, and virtually all modern Chinese, German, Korean, Japanese, and other vehicles.

10/ "The government is thus indirectly shifting the losses to consumers, who are offered no alternative but to switch to a fuel that does not meet the technical requirements of modern engines.

11/ "This is a classic example of nationalisation of losses—shifting the mistakes of some onto the wallets of others.

12/ "As the market becomes saturated with "anti-crisis" fuel, car owners will experience massive failures of fuel pumps, catalytic converters, injection systems, and other high-precision fuel equipment.

13/ "Service centres will be overwhelmed—repair queues could stretch for months, if not a year.

Owners of Chinese cars will likely partially adapt to the situation, but owners of cars from "unfriendly" countries will face serious problems and high costs.

14/ "It appears that future repair costs for car owners have been deemed a lesser evil compared to fuel shortages, which are already becoming a political factor.

15/ "Many citizens are asking a reasonable question: are there anyone to blame in this situation other than the Ukrainian Armed Forces? So far, it appears that no one is to blame.

16/ "What should car owners do?

▪️The most meticulous can request quality certificates from gas stations and specify the specific type of gasoline they're using, avoiding "anti-crisis" grades. Regularly "clean" the fuel system.

17/ "▪️Others say they'll put the car out of service until the end of 2026, which could be cheaper than subsequent repairs.

18/ "▪️Those with the financial reserves may want to consider purchasing cars produced between 2010 and 2015, or low-power Russian models that are more resistant to low-quality fuel.

19/ "▪️I would recommend postponing the purchase of new modern cars or buying an electric car.

20/ "In the context of the Special Military Operation:

▪️The enemy's fuel situation will soon be worse than ours. Gas stations and refineries will burn down. Gasoline will either be very expensive or of very low quality, priced two to three times higher than in Russia.

20/ "The enemy will pay dearly for our fuel crisis. If that makes you feel any better." /end

Source:
t.me/zhivoff/27136