Something I noticed about domestics and imports while walking through the parking lot today

[nife4]

neither.... my bike requires the key to open the hatch

 

[cavemanmoron]

Uhmmm My Domestic car has an external gas cap,
no wimpy door.

My full size Van,and beater plow truck had external swingout doors.

picture of car with external fuel cap. 1964 Plymouth Valiant 2 dr ht.

 

[SupaDupaCheez]

I have a Mini Cooper S which is sort of a Hybrid I guess. While in motion and when the doors are locked, the gas door is locked and can't be opened from the outside. Yet, it has no dedicated switch inside. When you unlock the doors, the gas cap unlocks which you then have to manually open it from the outside.

You must be a MINI racist because you are not including it in your poll

SDC

 

[Ornery]

I hate complexity, just for the sake of... what... because we can? My Town Car has an inside electric pushbutton to open the gas filler door. If anybody wanted to siphon gas out of it, they could pop the cover open in two seconds with any screwdriver. It's just one more thing to screw up. My wife's G. Marquis has a simple door with a finger tab. I prefer it!

Oh, and they're both on the driver's side... WHERE THEY SHOULD BE! :|

My Town Car also has an electric antenna... :roll: One more thing to screw up. That goes for the retarded electric latch closer for the trunk lid. Christ, my wife's car doesn't have that, and her trunck lid closes easier than mine! Just one more thing to screw up...

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: DaShen
The engineers at domestic car companies are just as smart as the foreign car engineers, it is the executives that do that stupid cost cutting and dumb down the cars.

Most foreign cars "imported" are made in the U.S. anyways. Sometimes in the same manufacturing areas as the domestics.

I think you're incorrectly implying that I'm implying that import car manufacturers are better than their domestic counterparts.

Not true at all. Don't read more into the statement than there is.

 

[toekramp]

Originally posted by: pray4mojo

Originally posted by: arcenite

Originally posted by: PHiuR
the gas lid is controlled by locking/unlocking the doors.

That's cool, what kind of car?

My old Mercedes Benz 190E does that.

as does my bmw

 

[Pepsi90919]

my ford taurus had a lever on the inside

 

[quakefiend420]

good point, i never noticed this...my 300zx has a lever...the regal just flips open

 

[dirtboy]

None of the above.

My Crossfire, aka Benz SLK unlocks the gas cap when you unlock all the doors. One simply presses the left side of the door and it pops open. When the doors are locked, the gas cap is also locked.

 

[Tea Bag]

Where's the option for:

'I own an import car. To fill up, I open the gas lid cover via a lever/switch on the inside of the car, but the switch doesnt work unless you jam a bunch of crap underneath the said lever/switch until it says up and you can get out of the car to pry the lid open by pushing on the same end of the hinge with your thumb?'

 

[erub]

my '05 Pontiac Grand Prix opens from the outside

my '00 Olds Intrigue had a button you press on the inside

 

[vi edit]

Both my imports (Toyota & Volkswagen) have a button or a lever on the inside.

And I like having the door on the passenger side vs. the drivers side.

 

[ktehmok]

My Nissan has a finger opening. But it was made in Tennessee, so it's not really an import.

I would rather have an inside lever, not because of gas theft. But to keep some jerkoff from putting sugar in my tank...

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Umm... My Mercedes was built in Alabama. And Mercedes and Chrysler are under the same corporate umbrella... Does that make it foreign or domestic? Sooo confusing.

Either way. My gas cap has a lock that synchs with the door locks.

 

[RbSX]

Given how high gas prices are, and the fact that people will siphon gas out of my car.. I'm quite happy my switch is on the inside.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

Originally posted by: psteng19
Most of the domestic cars (GM, Ford, Chrysler) have an opening for your finger to flip open the lid to the gas tank.

Almost none of the imports had this. They are all opened from the inside by pulling/pushing the lever by the driver seat.

Cost savings measure?
Fuel-siphoning deterrent?

One less way for someone to (easily) vandalize my car.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: ScottSwingleComputers
Chevy, opens from outside. I would kinda prefer it to open from inside, more theft deterrent. On the other hand, its handy having it on outside, and no one has tried to steal my gas.

Opens from the outside:
You might lose $30 worth of gas

Opens from the inside:
You might lose $30 worth of gas AND have to replace the fuel door because someone pried it open with a knife

Stupid theory.

Theives are lazy, they'll just walk to the next car down the street and open that one by hand.

 

[yumychinesefood]

mistubishi galant.... i have a switch

 

[gregshin]

my g35 doesn't open the gas cover from the inside...it only opens when the car is unlocked and i have push the cover to pop it open

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Umm... My Mercedes was built in Alabama. And Mercedes and Chrysler are under the same corporate umbrella... Does that make it foreign or domestic? Sooo confusing.

Either way. My gas cap has a lock that synchs with the door locks.

Bleh only cheap benzes are made in the States.. m class.. /shudder

Which other ones are made in the States?

The only ones we've bough (sl500, s500) were brought in from Germany. God damned 5 month wait.

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: RyanSengara
Given how high gas prices are, and the fact that people will siphon gas out of my car.. I'm quite happy my switch is on the inside.

• • :roll:
  
  I'll have it open it in five seconds... wanna bet?

 

[BooGiMaN]

no lever on my toyota tundra

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: Ornery

Originally posted by: RyanSengara
Given how high gas prices are, and the fact that people will siphon gas out of my car.. I'm quite happy my switch is on the inside.

• • :roll:
  
  I'll have it open it in five seconds... wanna bet?

I don't doubt it, but the thief will pick the easier target, as has been repeated in the thread already.

 

[Ornery]

Theives are lazy, they'll just walk to the next car down the street and open that one by hand.

Anybody driving around with a siphon tube, is ready to snatch gas from the first car he comes to in a dark, secuded area:

• Some one pried open the door and ruined it only to find a locking gas cap.
  
• ...working on the car, nothing major, just replacing the fuel door that some jerk had pried off (gas is getting expensive nowadays).
  
• My wife's last car had the remote fuel door pried open - gas cap stolen...
  
• Last week my fuel door was pried open with a crow bar...

 

[walrus]

Is my Honda Civic a domestic or an import? The engine is made in Texas the body in Canada only the transmission is from Japan. It opens with a lever on the inside that also opens the trunk