When much younger I always thought that pouring a little bit of sugar in a gas tank would do the job. Not so. I knew a person who at the time was a lieutenant in the Mafia. His girlfriend said something he did not like. He had one of his cohorts pour sugar in her gas tank, up to the spout and that sugar was as dry as a bone. It must have taken a 25 pound bag of sugar to do that. Yes, I knew the woman. ;-)
Mrs. Krabapple on The Simpsons was also victimized by en ex.