01-19-2008, 01:43 AM
Ford Killing Off the Gas Cap
Jan. 18. 2008
Source: Insideline
DETROIT ââ¬â An interesting aside to those admiring the 2009 Ford F-150 pickup at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show: Look for what is not there rather than the many admirable features that are. The lack of a gas cap, although a less noticeable innovation, is a change that will spread to the entire Ford lineup.
Ford already offers capless gas tanks on the 2008 Ford Explorer and has announced the option for the 2009 Flex and Lincoln MKS. Ford says it will make capless refueling systems standard across the entire lineup. Why? "People just don't like the cap," said F-150 chief engineer Matt O'Leary, quoted by the Associated Press today.
Ford first went capless on the 2003 Ford GT, inspired by the company's racing efforts. In addition to preventing inadvertent cap loss at the gas station, the change will help protect the environment by removing the risk that gas fumes will escape from under a loosely screwed-on gas cap, Ford says.
The Ford system, called EasyFuel, works by spring-loaded tabs that open when a fuel nozzle is inserted into the tank and close automatically when it is removed. It was introduced on the new Mondeo in the U.K. in November and is also standard on the newly launched 2008 European market Focus. A useful feature for that diesel-using part of the world is the system's "misfueling inhibitor" for diesel vehicles ââ¬â a sealed filler pipe insert that only allows the diesel's larger nozzle entry into the filler pipe and locks out the smaller gasoline nozzle.
Jan. 18. 2008
Source: Insideline
DETROIT ââ¬â An interesting aside to those admiring the 2009 Ford F-150 pickup at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show: Look for what is not there rather than the many admirable features that are. The lack of a gas cap, although a less noticeable innovation, is a change that will spread to the entire Ford lineup.
Ford already offers capless gas tanks on the 2008 Ford Explorer and has announced the option for the 2009 Flex and Lincoln MKS. Ford says it will make capless refueling systems standard across the entire lineup. Why? "People just don't like the cap," said F-150 chief engineer Matt O'Leary, quoted by the Associated Press today.
Ford first went capless on the 2003 Ford GT, inspired by the company's racing efforts. In addition to preventing inadvertent cap loss at the gas station, the change will help protect the environment by removing the risk that gas fumes will escape from under a loosely screwed-on gas cap, Ford says.
The Ford system, called EasyFuel, works by spring-loaded tabs that open when a fuel nozzle is inserted into the tank and close automatically when it is removed. It was introduced on the new Mondeo in the U.K. in November and is also standard on the newly launched 2008 European market Focus. A useful feature for that diesel-using part of the world is the system's "misfueling inhibitor" for diesel vehicles ââ¬â a sealed filler pipe insert that only allows the diesel's larger nozzle entry into the filler pipe and locks out the smaller gasoline nozzle.