San Fran's Answer To Cow Tipping Is...

Here's a strong contender for oddest news item of the week: There's a new kind of vandalism hitting the streets of San Francisco, and it's... smart car tipping. San Fran police are searching for the vandals that tipped over four cars in two neighborhoods in the early hours of Monday morning. Two were found on their sides, one on its roof and the other on its rear end, pointing directly upward.

A witness reports seeing a group of eight people wearing hooded sweatshirts tipping one of the cars, but as yet none of the vandals has been caught. Police are unsure as to whether the incidents are just pranks — an urban answer to cow-tipping —or whether they are yet another indicator of escalating tensions among some of the city's residents who blame the burgeoning tech industry for skyrocketing rents and costs of living.

Recently, protesters have taken to the streets of San Francisco to block the luxury shuttle buses that ferry workers to tech companies in Silicon Valley, protesting against the city's astronomical cost of living that only the wealthiest are now able to afford.

But although Smart cars are considered an upper-middle class car to drive — popular in San Francisco where parking is tight and hip young drivers are looking for a more eco-friendly way of getting around — as some local residents point out, they're not exactly the most expensive ride on the block. Models start at around $13,000.

Perhaps it's the cars' size that makes them the prime target. A Smart car weighs around 1,500, whereas flipping a Hummer would require lifting 8,600 pounds.

Funny as the vandals may find it to flip Smart cars, they won't be laughing if they get caught. A police spokesman, Officer Gordon Shyy, said that all of the cars had shattered windows and some body damage, and that those responsible would face felony vandalism charges.

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