STREET SMART: Rats ate my Mercedes--at least...

STREET SMART: Rats ate my Mercedes--at least the electrical wiring--complains a Toluca Lake reader who wonders if her $11,000 problem is unusual. . . . Our Street Smart columnist says others are experiencing similar problems. . . . Turns out heavy rains of the past winter have resulted in a rodent population explosion. . . . Perhaps knowing that in Los Angeles everyone lives in their cars, the rats took the hint and moved in (B1).