That full-tank feeling...

No, not the one where I whimper softly as I put my charge card back into my wallet. :wink:

I mean the one where I fill up the tank, get in the car and start it, and watch the fuel gauge needle climb up and softly come to a rest just above the “F.” The one where, for just a moment, I feel like I could go anywhere right then.

I’ve been driving for almost 20 years, and I get that feeling every single time I fill my tank (which I always do: I think I’ve only not filled it once or twice, during my poorest years). A full tank of gas in any mechanically sound vehicle is just a beautiful thing.

Know what I mean? :slight_smile:

Ah, yeah.

With a newly-full tank, I like to crank up the AC, put the pedal to the metal, and drive it like I stole it. Screw tomorrow, it’s on F today, baby!

I do enjoy the feeling of a full tank of gas. Knowing you can go anywhere is nice.

I was ashamed to admit that feeling to anyone before. Thank you for making me feel a little bit less of a freak.

Ya Freak! :smiley:

My Mum’s old car used to feel faster when the fuel guage needle was at F. No idea why, it just felt fast :cool:

Please forgive this hijack/sidelight, but I had this brilliant idea some time back that the fuel gauge needs to be replaced with a “Not Empty” indicator on the dash, much like the oil light. It would stay lit until the tank was actually empty. That way you could always have that “full tank” feeling coupled with a sense of dread. Especially on long trips in unfamiliar territory.

I used to carry a gallon of gas in a can in the trunk. Almost as many times as not I’d wind up using that can, many times a good 20 miles from the nearest filling station. Then I’d do as much coasting as possible so as to stretch my miles-per-gallon figure. I suppose I was trying to wait until gas prices went back down. In those days, gas was like 39c a gallon.

My Dad’s old bikes from the 60s have something like that. No fuel guage, just a “reserve” part of the tank that can only be used by pushing a valve on the side of the tank. You knew you had so many miles before running out when you were using that bit of the tank.

I’ve noticed that, too. Must have something to do with the extra weight in the back end. Yeah full tank of gas…with NEW SNEAKERS! WOOOO! Can’t catch me! I’m The BoogeyMan! VVVVVRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM :cool: :cool: :cool: :smiley:

Exactly. It’s that “I’ve got my mojo working” feeling. The World is your (insert favorite mollusc here).

You kind of got into my head a bit with the OP.

I’ve always associated that full tank feeling with the scene in *Back To The Future * when Marty is standing in for the injured guitar player at the dance, and he’s fading because his “parents” aren’t meeting like they’re supposed to. He’s getting weaker, starts mis-strumming the guitar, and in the photograph he stuck to the guitar neck, his siblings, and then he, are disappearing. He starts to hunch over, about to have the life sucked out of him by George and Lorraine never meeting and consequently, never giving life to him.

Finally, George approaches Lorraine and asks her to dance, and she accepts. At this point, Marty straightens up with newfound energy and vigor, strums the guitar, filled with life and firing on all cylinders. That’s kind of how I feel about my car with a full tank of gas- refreshed, renewed, full of the lifeblood that it needs, able to cruise down the highway while singing “Born To Be Wild”.

Or, in Marty’s case, “Johnny Be Good”.

I’m so glad that other folks know what I’m talking about! When I filled my tank the other day and got that feeling again despite the high gas price, I figured it might be good MPSIMS material – but I also figured the thread would probably sink like a stone!

Misnomer: Making Freaks Feel Better Since 1971

:wink:

Oh yeah, that’s something else I meant to mention in the OP! But for me the car doesn’t feel faster, it just feels like it handles better. I swear that every car I’ve owned has performed better on a full tank. :slight_smile:

I know mine drives better with a full tank. I feel it.

I always feel a bit let down if I forget to watch the needle rise to F after filling up. Such a small thing, but such a nice feeling.

Oh! Oh! And then if you add a bottle of valve cleaner and a wash and wax… VROOOOOM!!!

It’s like installing a turbo! :smiley: