This sounds like sabotage. Texaco wouldn't do it...they're a good gas company.
I suspect something like polystyrene or another plastic that will dissolve in gasoline. Sounds to me like this station needs better locks on its tank caps.
Nasty business, for sure, and Texaco's going to have to make good on all the repairs.
Weeks ago this happened and Texaco had to fork over for cleaning the fuel system. Why this, now?
Good call on the possibility of PS. Wonder what would cause the reddish color, though...
Nobody will get money out of Texaco because that entity no longer exists. They merged with Chevron and are now ChevronTexaco. In my area, all of the Texaco stations have been rebranded as Chevron. However, the gas stations in the western region of the US were taken over by Shell, since Texaco had a refining and marketing JV (Motiva) with Shell before the Chevron merger. I guess they still brand the stations as Texaco there. Which explains why, even though the name of the station in the article is Texaco, the mechanics and the car owners are blaming Shell in the article.
Yes, that was the first thing that crossed my mind as well. ELF has had a campaign in CA to cause destruction to environmentally symbolic targets. They have torched SUVs in dealer lots in SoCal in the past. This is just targeting automobiles in general.