Ford to Phase Out Fuel Filler Caps

Motor,  Sep 2006  

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The fuel filler cap will become a thing of the past on many Ford Motor Co. models in the coming years. The company announced that the venerable cap will disappear on its new 2008 Lincoln MKS full-size car model, and eventually all Ford models will be without them.

Replacing the cap will be a flap that opens under pressure from the gas pump nozzle. The flap will fit snugly to the nozzle to stop fumes from escaping. The flap came from Ford's NASCAR racing experience and has been used on the Ford GT sports car.

"It eliminates the inconvenience of forgetting to put your gas cap back on after refueling," said Mark Fields, Ford executive vice president and president of the Americas.

Eventually, Ford will eliminate the caps on all of its vehicles, although it has no timetable to do so. The change likely will be made when models are updated, but could be retrofitted onto existing models.

Copyright Hearst Business Publishing Sep 2006
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