Modern Technology eh?

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of visiting the delightful city of Coventry for a meeting, for which I was required to have a hire car. I’ve not had very many of these trips out, so it’s always nice to get a modern car to driver, especially as mine is now 8 years old.

They buggers gave me a 1.2 litre Corsa. I was a little underwelmed by their generosity, but I was slightly impressed by the quality of the car. It seemed very well put-together and was very comfortable, but a bit lacking in power. Still, it got me to and from Coventry with the minimum of fuss, plus it had a CD player which is something I don’t have in my car.

The Corsa did cause me some embarrasment when I came to fill it up after my trip though. We’re required to ensure that the tank is refilled after we’ve finished with the car, so I took it to Sainsbury’s to get some petrol put in it. Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out how to open the bloody petrol cap! I figured that there must be some sort of switch or lever to release it, but I couldn’t find one thus causing a queue behind me at the pump. I had to drive off in the end, seeing as no-one that I asked was able to tell me how to release it.

I ended up stopping at a less-popular station in Beeston, so I got out and asked the guy at the counter if he knew. He said he knew nothing about cars, but then suggested that some cars have the flap that covers the petrol cap tied into the central locking system. I tried the “unlock” button on the fob again, and bugger me, it opened it up.

Stupid cars. And here’s me, an engineer, unable to put petrol in a car. Me = dim.