Looked at an '05 GTO earlier the guy was showing us they have almost no trunk because he said the gas tank is directly behind the rear seats and extends into what should be the trunk space. Wonder why they just didn't put it down low like most cars made today ?

so it will be just like a Pinto when it is rear ended it will explode??

no the pinto had the gas tank right infront of the rear bumper

Maybe it is for weight displacement? The RX-8 has the gas tank split into two tanks underneath both of the rear seats to move it closer to the center of the car....

They couldn't put it behind the rear axle due to crash standards. There was nowhere else to put it without major changes to the chassis.

^yea. think of that huge diff. being in the way. with the halfshafts, and the mounts, and whatnots.

The gas tank is behind axle the on the Australian version, the Holden Monaro. US crash standards state that the gas tank must not be behind the rear axle because in the event of a rearend collision the gas tank could be crushed against the rear axle/suspension and leak, much like the Crown Vic has been experiencing problems with. I don't know why the the Crown Vic can still be produced with the gas tank behind the rear axle, but I suspect it is because the Crown Vic has actual frame rails which extend to the rear of the body and encompass the gas tank or because it has been grandfathered in seeing as the Crown Vic has been built on basiclly the same chassis since 1979.

I can't remember the year, but one of the generations of the 240sx's had the gas tank mounted behind the seat and between the shock towers. It was supposed to be a strut tower brace of sorts and to help with weight distribution

The gas tank is behind axle the on the Australian version, the Holden Monaro. US crash standards state that the gas tank must not be behind the rear axle because in the event of a rearend collision the gas tank could be crushed against the rear axle/suspension and leak, much like the Crown Vic has been experiencing problems with. I don't know why the the Crown Vic can still be produced with the gas tank behind the rear axle, but I suspect it is because the Crown Vic has actual frame rails which extend to the rear of the body and encompass the gas tank or because it has been grandfathered in seeing as the Crown Vic has been built on basiclly the same chassis since 1979.

i was thinking the Crown Vic was on the Fox chassis that came out in '79 which uses subframes not actual frame rails... but i honesly have no clue I have never looked under one or even driven one.

The Crown Vic is on the Panther chassis.

I can't remember the year, but one of the generations of the 240sx's had the gas tank mounted behind the seat and between the shock towers. It was supposed to be a strut tower brace of sorts and to help with weight distribution

no shit? my gas tank is kind of sort of in that area. i've never been under a s13 before so i don't know if they're the same.