My, my, times have changed since the last time I pumped gas. We’ve been driving electric for 12 years now. I thought I was done with ever pumping gas again. But the Bolt is in the shop and has been for two weeks now.
So I am driving a rental, a big black Equinox. It’s a gasser if you haven’t guessed. Scared me to death when I got behind the wheel. Let off the accelerator and the thing just shoots ahead, doesn’t slow down at all. Frightening. You have to use the brakes all the time. I survived, but then came time to fill it up with gasoline.
I was a little anxious about all that pumping gas stuff. I knew I could do it if I just put my mind to it. Take a deep breath and take one step at a time. (And I thought plugging in an EV was complicated!) I opened the gas flap. So far, so good. Hmm, no gas cap. What? I wonder where it could be. Did they lose? Did I lose it? Will I have to pay for it?
There was a little door in the filler tube. I pushed it. Oh, they’ve done away with gas caps and it has this spring-loaded flap instead. Being a good little rental car driver I examined the illustration on the inside of the gas flap. Oh, there’s two hinged doors inside the filler tube. You have to stick the gas nozzle all the way in past both little flaps or gas is going to fly all over the place. Good to know before you spray yourself with gasoline.
Of course, the Equinox is several feet longer than the Bolt. I pulled up to the pump. I get out. Whoops. Not close enough to the dispenser. Get back in and move the car a few feet forward. That should do it.
Then it hit me. Whoa, look at all these warning signs. Should I read them? Naw. Can’t be that dangerous to fill up. It’s just explosive gasoline after all. Then one sign catches my eye, “Don’t top off!” What? You can’t top off any more. Apparently not in California at any rate. That’s what those two little doors are for in the filler tube. They’re there to prevent gas vapors from escaping the gas tank. It’s an air pollution prevention measure. Topping off defeats the whole purpose. Good to know, I suppose.
The dispenser’s all beat up. The buttons are worn down, the screens hard to read, and the entire dispenser is under a large protective canopy that you’d think would protect it from the elements. Haw, they should see the plastic screens on ChargePoint dispensers after they’ve been baking in the California sun for a few years. Now that’s hard to read when you want to charge your car.
Ok, how do I pay? Where’s the credit card reader? Hmm, hadn’t seen one of those CC readers in years. They still using those? DCFC dispensers in California all use contactless payment. You just hold your chip card or phone up to the dispenser or swipe your app and it starts sending electrons to your car.
Found the port to put my CC in. Screen says I can proceed.
I stick the nozzle in–all the way past both little flaps in the filler tube. I pull up the lever, lock the detent in place, stand back and watch the numbers on the payment screen whizzing by.
Then “click,” it shuts off. I am tempted to top off, but I don’t know what will happen if I do. Will gasoline spurt out the filler tube? Will a red flag go up, lights flash, a siren sound and the attendant behind the bullet-proof glass come rushing out to lecture me? I don’t top off. I’d read the instructions.
Then I looked at the cost. $50! And that was for a fraction of the tank.
EVs are just so costly to operate and so complicated to use. I’d forgotten what I’d been missing about pumping gas.
