Beyond being "the pace car for an entire company" the Ford GT was supposed to preview upcoming technology that would eventually make it to lower-priced, volume sellers. One of the highly touted features on the GT back in 2005 was the "capless refueling system" that doesn't require a separate twist cap. Sort of like the keyless entry system on many modern cars, the GT's capless system still catches me off guard. It's great when I go to fill the vehicle because it removes a step in the process...
Driving (and fueling) the GT more often would likely remove any residual force of habit related to gas caps, and owners of the 2008 Ford Explorer or upcoming 2009 Ford F-150 will likely get used to the system quickly. Beyond removing the extra step at gas stations (and the possbility of forgetting/losing the cap) this design is supposed to reduce the escape of gasoline vapors and the chance of setting off your check engine light by not tightening the fuel cap sufficiently.
Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 11,793 miles
altimadude00 says:
12:07 PM, 02/18/08
While not an issue with vertical filler caps, but with the omission of the screw in cap on the GT, doesn't water (rain, car wash) get into the fuel system? I know there's a spring loaded trap door there...but if you have water sitting on that door and you want to put fuel in it, doesn't it dump that pool of water into your tank?
editor_karl says:
12:13 PM, 02/18/08
That would only happen if you drove your GT in the rain.
Seriously, I've never seen any appreciable water collect in this area, even after washing the car.
ahightower says:
08:29 PM, 02/18/08
Off topic, but hoping someone will read it. Will Edmunds begin podcasting your car review videos? That would be cool.
carmizvi says:
08:41 PM, 02/18/08
"Driving (and fueling) the GT more often would likely remove any residual force of habit related to gas caps..."
You got me thinking with that phrase, Karl. It's no coincidence that Ford is introducing this feature on the upcoming F-150 and Explorer. These gas-swilling vehicles will require such frequent fillups that the owners should get used to the capless system pretty quickly.
kevlang says:
09:16 PM, 02/18/08
it's really cool for me to see this in production - I looked at capless fill systems as a Ford intern back in 2000. they wanted to put them on Town Cars and Crown Vics because old folks were heading to the dealer with check engine lights on because of loose fuel caps.