Why are gas tanks on vehicles on different sides? Is it manufacturer preference or something else? Thanks
you mean gas tank filler neck and cap. I think It’s a case of the manufacturers not being able to agree on any standard. Or perhaps no one cared enough to push for standardization.
Actually some american cars have the filler cap in the center of the rear of the car under the license plate.
I suspect you are referring to the location of the filler neck rather than the tank itself, which is usually centrally located. My theory is that no one has shown that one side is inherently better than any other side.
Yes I do mean the filler neck and cap. Sorry about that.
Do you remember the Click & Clack question related to this one? How can you tell which side of the car the filler is from directly behind it?
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It will be opposite the exhaust pipe.
Not since the '70s. That was banned in a complete review of gas tank safety issues after the Pintos started exploding in rear enders.
Ironic that Pintos had their fillers on the sides, not in the rear!
I agree with Joseph, it all depends on were the tail pipe is.
Not necessarily. What about vehicles with dual exhausts?
I figure that when the gas stations started building gas pump lanes wide enough for two vehicles at a time that some brainiac, waiting for his Friday paycheck, was doodling around and came up with the idea of building half the cars with the filler on the driver’s side and the other half on the passenger’s side. That way, vehicles could be nose-to-nose, in opposite directions, and, depending where their gas fillers are located, could both fuel up at the same time. Hey, that’s as good as opposite the exhaust pipe, ain’t it? I still have one of the older, 1977 Olds Cutlass Supremes (presently under re-construction) with the filler under the license plate, by the way. But I ain’t gonna move it! Those old rear bumpers and the frame that its attached to are pretty beefy. I also agree, what about dual exhausts? Is that maybe why heat shields are used around the pipes or why (some makes and models) have a heat shield around the fuel tank? This is a heck of a lot more fun than the heavy chicks in mini-vans. I won’t even address that issue.
I’ve noticed that when the Toyota Pickups turned into Tacomas, one of the few differences was that for some reason the filler moved over to the left and the exhaust over to the right.
Yup, but the tanks were all that was behind the 14 gage tin bumper!
The best antitailgate bumper sticker I ever saw was on a Pinto rear bumper. It said “caution - this car may explode if rearended”.
A few years ago my son owned a VW Golf, with the “gashole” on the right side. He said that the VW (salesman? service manager? mechanic?) told him that the reason for VW putting it on the right side is because there are more “T-bone” accidents on the left side than the right. Gas tends to spill out of the gashole if it’s on the same side as a T-bone accident. Therefore VW did it for safety.
I owned a Dodge Omni with the gashole on the right side. I hated it! It took me many thousands of miles to remember to pull up to the wrong side of the pumps. And it was also embarrassing, like I was driving on the wrong side of the road and didn’t know any better.
There was a Pinto in my old neighborhood that had “Strike to Ignite” painted on it and hot-rod flames coming out of the back instead of the front. It used to haunt the same places as the Corvair with the Nader for President sticker.