[bmw] Gas fillers and exhaust exit (L or R)

["Gregory Bradbury" <gregory891@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

To add to the dialogue,

As a general rule of thumb, automotive designers TEND to base the location 
of the gas filler and (also) exhaust exist on their "home market" 
configuration, i.e. LHD or RHD.  This also states one of my rather brilliant 
colleages with a PhD from the Lausanne Polytechnic School (Switzerland has 
two, Einstein went to the one in Zurich).

In driving from Munster back from Geneva last weekend, we looked most every 
car going past.  We had time as we were towing a trailer, which limits your 
speed by to 80 km-hr (it's the law across Europe except France), with a BMW 
700 boxer powered gen set (another long story).  Most of the LHD "home land 
designed" cars (European mostly) had a gas filler on the right side 
(passenger) and exhaust exit on the left.  Most of the RHD "home land 
designed" cars (Japanese and British cars) were the opposite (filler left, 
exhaust right).

In the LHD world, you want room to open your door, so you put the right side 
of the car next to the pump -- hence why you might want the filler on the 
right side of the car.  The reason that the exhaust exits on the same side 
as the driver is to direct exhaust gas flow in the middle of the street, as 
opposed to being "pushed" towards the sidewalk.

Yes, you will find exceptions (Mercedes ML exhaust, BMW 2002, pre-77 E12) 
but this is the general rule.  Think of what you drive, own, have owned, 
etc. and this applies 95% of the time.  I would expect Big Three cars to be 
the same, the only one I ever owned DID follow this rule.  Gas fillers 
behind the rear license plate are "perhaps" the ultimate universal solution.

Greg in Geneva

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