This coming January 9, 2022, at 10:00p I have been out of Lakewood for a year. I do not and cannot write much for The Suburban Times these days because of my severed connection with “back home”. Conversely, every once in a while a subject comes up that is so appropriate, helpful, or entertaining that I feel compelled to ask our fearless leader, Ben Sclair – Publisher, to publish yet another of my writings if for no other reason than old times sake. If you are reading this article right now, Ben said yes.
Here is the deal. I am pushing 80 years of age, so with my life experience, you have to figure I know just about everything. Can you imagine my shock and surprise when I stumbled into a new fact, checked it out, and had to admit, I guess I did not know everything. Of course, now that I know the new fact I am about to share with you, then I can once again say, “I know everything.”
On January 2, 2012, I wrote an article in The Suburban Times titled Westside Story – Pump Huggers thereby documenting that I am a guy who knows a lot about gasoline subjects including the exciting subject of gas pumps. Did I say “a lot”? I meant to say, I am a guy who knows everything about gas pumps.
Have any of you, like me, pulled into a gas station only to discover your gas tank filler door is on the wrong side of the car opposite the pumps? This can happen because you just do not remember which side it is on. Or, you have so many cars, it gets all mixed up as the filler snouts can be on either side or the back of the car. Another time the gas filler door mystery comes into play is when you have borrowed a friend’s car or are using a rental car.
It can be frustrating and you could lose your place in line.
Here is my newly learned easy to apply big tip.
The photo above is a gas gage. See the tiny image of a gas pump towards the bottom of the gage? Now look at the little white triangle to the left of the gas pump. This white triangle is pointing LEFT. This means the gas filler door and filler snout is on the LEFT side of the vehicle. I never knew this about any of my vehicles. Did you?
It is so cool. Now I do not have to crane my neck out the window or into my sideview mirror trying to confirm where the filler pipe is. I can just look down at the guage to learn the filler pipe is on the left or right depending on what vehicle I am driving.
I know I have seen that white triangle before, but I never knew what it meant, nor did I ever harness my curiosity to ask what it was.
Let’s take an informal poll using the Reply function connected to this article. How many of you knew the true meaning of the tiny white triangle? YES OR NO?
Our interior remodeling of our new home is almost complete after a year’s effort including the creation of Joe’s World Headquarters. Hopefully I can begin writing again on a regular basis within the next six months. If I do, Ben and I will keep you posted as to where you can find, as Ben would say, “The musings of Joe Boyle”.
Yes
Nan,
Thanks for participating in my survey. How does it feel to be smarter than Joe Boyle? I know. That’s easy.
Joe Boyle
No
Yes! and I believe these icons have been around for about 15 years now 🙂
Well, it’s only been 40 years since auto makers first started marking which side the fuel filler door is on, so I can understand why you’re just learning about this! (No pumpkin-pecan pie for you, Joe!)
Dave,
Like any average American, I am going to look for someone else to blame for my lack of knowledge. It is not my fault.
I got it.
Remember, you were my supervisor when I was driving our patrol cars. You never told me about the meaning of the tiny white triangle.
It is not my fault.
Joe Boyle
P.S. Well, so far, everyone who has completed my mini survey knew about the tiny white triangle, except me.
That’s okay, because if I am responsible for you not knowing about that triangle thing, this means that I’m also responsible for your being a great public safety professional…I can live with this burden!
Police Navidad, and Glückliche Neue Jahr!
I thought I was seeing strange things when West Side Story popped up before my eyes. Good to have you back.
I’m pushing 87 and have never noticed that either. So I went out to the garage and checked my 8 year old Outback and nope, only the pump cymbal. No arrow. I don’t recall it on any of our former Ford products over the years either.
Going around to the other side of the car takes some getting used to but I’m catching on.
A very happy and sane new year for you and family.
Joan,
One of our cars is a 2017 Subaru Outback Limited. It does have the tiny white triangle and boy oh boy am I going to make use of it.
I. have an idea for you. Since your 8 year old Outback lacks the modern technologically advance feature in the form of a tiny white triangle, why not save some big money?
Instead of buying a brand new Outback so you too can benefit from the tiny white triangle, just take some white out and mark up your own gas gage with a white triangle.
As a word of caution, you might, just to be safe, check with the patent office to avoid a patent violation.
Joseph Boyle
Thank you for the info Joe. I’ll check it out once I have a clear path to my car.
Thanks for the tip. Coming from a former officer if the law I guess it’s legit right?. I’ll just say Joe made me do it 🙂
Joe,
I’ve known about the triangle for years. Remember, I worked as a mechanic and service writer for a car dealership prior to code enforcement. Bet you didn’t know that your Harley gives you a clue where the gasoline filler cap is located even though you are almost sitting on it. At the top of the fuel gauge is a fuel pump indicating the gas filler is toward the front of the bike. I bet you will check it out!
Nope!
Just amazing that I have been able to pump gas since 1959 without that knowledge. Happy New Year, Joe.
Jerry
Yes
Nyet ,
Thank you for the illuminating tutorial, although I wish they would just give us longer gas hoses for the clueless. We are being held hostage by big oil.
Larry King,
Yours is a humorous & thought provoking response. I did not know you spoke Russian.
I always wondered, starting back in high school, if you might be a Junior Double Agent.
Joseph Boyle
Your sister did not know…maybe Dad knew and chose to keep it a secret? There may have been a few other things he didn’t tell us.
Of course I had to check my 2020 CRV Honda hybrid, which I drove across the country to move to Boston, after you abandoned me for Delaware; I gassed up a few times during that 3,000 miles. Sure enough, there is an arrow.
Keep teaching me, big brother.
No. I didn’t know, didn’t notice (if there was an arrow to notice), and didn’t care. I didn’t need to know, because for 22 years, I drove only one car—my 1999 BMW328i, with gas tank on the passenger side. Conveniently, my ‘21 Subaru Forester Limited’s gas tank is similarly located. So I can stop thinking about such things, since I don’t borrow, steal or rent cars.
I must admit to having driven the Subaru twice this week after your column appeared, Joe, and even then, I didn’t notice an arrow next to the pump icon, perhaps because I was paying attention to what really mattered: 1) that I still had a quarter of a tank of gas, 2) the ice on the road, and 3) that impatient idiot behind me who passed me on the left, then slipped right back in front of me just before making a right turn. (What the heck did he accomplish?)
Joe, you know how I enjoy research. I think you also know how I delight in catching you making a faux pas. (That’s French; look it up.) In this article, you made several references to the device showing how much gas remains in one’s vehicle. You started out calling it a “gage,” which made me sit up straight, at attention. In the next paragraph, you apparently began to doubt your confidence, and referred to the “guage.” I was 95% certain that “guage” was the correct spelling, but have been surprised before, so checked it out, and guess what? That’s wrong, too! The correct spelling is “gauge!” Knowing that, I’m wondering how one should spell the word that sounds like GOWDGE, like using an instrument to GOWDGE (injure) the soft wood. Maybe there isn’t such a word?
Marry Hammond,
I gage by your comment that rather than my being wrong, what we have here is a case where I chose the officially accepted Merriam-Webster Dictionary less common spelling of guage. That’s rite. we are both wright and each approach can be thought of as the right approach, if you know what I mean.. Gage or gauge accomplishes the same intended communication which was to motivate the reader to look at the photo of the gaage.
I have no defense for guage other than the fact that gauge is one of those words that is strange to me in that I have spoken the word for decades, but have never written or spelled the word even one time before using the word in this article. That being the case, the issue did not jump out to me.
Wishing to be the benefciary of your sharp eye and research, I will be sensitive to the variations and non-variation of the word gauge the next time I am righting, writing, riting.
Joseph Boyle