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Gasoline Reserves

 An extra tank for the lazy and forgetful.
  (+2, -6)
(+2, -6) 		  [vote for,
against]

Similar to how sailboats have that mini engine to power them to the next port in case the wind dies, I think cars should have a small tank of gas to power the forgetful (or lazy) to the next gas station. Moreover, I think the automobile should not be able to go faster than 15MPH once it's running on this extra tank, which would add an incentive to not let the fuel get so low. But...it would be there if you needed it.
—thefullrob, Apr 26 2005

The reserve part of the idea is redundant E-mergency_20Gas
and even this one is baked [ldischler, Apr 27 2005]

Hanukkah_20Car 8-Day Reserve. (Only works once a year; certain religions apply) [phundug, Apr 27 2005]

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       Um...no. We already have low fuel warning lights/bells/whistles in cars and you ignore them at your peril. As for the 15 mph, how do you wish to limit this i.e. which gear to rev ratio are you going to apply?. Also bear in mind that your car will be so much less efficient at this speed and could probably not even achieve it out of 1st or 2nd gear.
—gnomethang, Apr 26 2005
   

       Many cars used to have reserve tanks, and perhaps the more civilised ones still do. The 15mph limit (make it 30 - still slow enough to be a pain) is a novel idea, but not sure I'd buy one.
—Basepair, Apr 26 2005
   

       Gnomethang, I think automotive engineers could figure out a way to make it efficient. Anyway, the point is, rather than have your car go from FULL CAPACITY to NO CAPACITY, have it go to MINIMAL CAPACITY. Afterall, why do they have those puny spare tires?
—thefullrob, Apr 26 2005
   

       I see what you are saying [thefullrob], but those puny spare tires will get you out of trouble for a much longer time (or really distance) than a reserve tank and the speed limit for one them is about 80 kph or 50 mph.
I was suggesting that the fuel warning in most modern cars gives you ample time to refuel without running out (i.e. it is a minimal capacity warning!)- if you choose to ignore the warning then that is your choice. To add a small reserve tank does not solve the problem of people ignoring the minimal capacity warning - if they are that sort of person then they will run the reserve down too. Given the above, there is no reason to redesign car engines to be fuel efficient at 15 (or 30) mph which, in any case, is an unsafe maximum speed for many of our roads.
—gnomethang, Apr 26 2005
   

       This is a solution to a problem I thankfully do not have. I revert to white knuckles at 1/4 tank, high speeds, new and unfamiliar highways, and encounters with folk stopped along the road.
—reensure, Apr 26 2005
   

       This is baked on motorcycles. Something like this would be nice for me, as I don't have an idiot light and my gas gauge is broken. I have to go by the odometer (fill every 200 miles to be safe).   

       Re the spare tire: The speed limit on those (as well as the distance-travelled limit) is not based on the tire itself, but rather on the drive train. When used on a drive wheel, the differential will be constantly active, instead of only during a turn. This can be damaging to limited-slip and semi-locking diffs. Instead of saying "if using on the drive wheel of a vehicle with non-open differential,...", they just say "don't exceed", to avoid confusion.
—Freefall, Apr 27 2005
   

       A much better idea- for cars with built-in GPS or OnStar, is OnStar a GPS thingy? Anyway, for cars with a built-in GPS) the car maker could hook-up the fuel gauge with the GPS read-out and have the computer determine if you have enough gas to reach the next gas station. I can see the dashboard display the message "YOUR DOOMED" if it detects the guy has no chance of reaching the next gas station, the temperature gauge shows -15C and the cell phone signal shows 0% and dash clock shows Friday 13, 2005 3:00 AM.....eh eh.
—Sprokets, Apr 27 2005
   

       Fill up when it gets to 1/4 tank and you won't need this.
—whlanteigne, Sep 17 2006
   


 

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