Sans Plomb

The sign on the back of the old truck says "(ride) in complete security...with Michelin tires".

sans plomb (sahn plom) noun

    : unleaded

Example Sentence & Audio File follow, below)

A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse

(Note: the following story was written in September 2007)

At the gas station in Camaret I study the menu. I wonder whether to "fill 'er up" with Sans Plomb* 98 (better for the engine?) or Sans Plomb 95 (a few centimes less and just as suitable for my car).

Opening the little door that leads to the gas tank, I pause to re-read the sticker notice which cautions me to use fuel sans plomb. I have yet to make the mistake of filling the tank with another type of essence* (having learned from my husband's mistake); perhaps all that neurotic double-checking has served its purpose?

I look up to verify which pump I am at: "No 2," the sign says. Right, number two. I will remember "pump number two" in time to answer the clerk at the pay booth. (And I will remember, this time, to check that the price matches the total on the screen. OK. Check, check.)

I pull out the nozzle only to return it to its carriage as I always do. "78 euros" are registered on the pump's screen. I am concerned that if I begin pumping, the truck ahead of me will have a surprise tab at the pay booth. I wait until truck rolls past the booth before I pull out the gun once again, heaving a sigh of relief when the screen registers zero.

Next I try, as always, to set the nozzle to automatic. I want to pump as the pros do. I think it has something to do with hitching the nozzle's lever to some mysterious hook inside the handle. As always, the lever snaps back and I quickly give up. I'll never learn the trick, never mind that the other blond, at pump number three, seems to know it. Well, GOOD FOR HER.

When the lever snaps again, this time signaling a full tank, I resist the temptation to force in a few more ounces. Don't take chances; remember from experience that it's not worth the mess. I put the cap on the tank, turn the key and shut the little door. The screen reads 56 euros. (80 percent of that represents tax, as those who think about tax are wont to say. I should think more about tax.)

Pulling up to the pay booth, I can't help but notice the clerk on the other side of the window. She doesn't strike me as someone who checks manufacturer's notices for fuel requirements or recalls the risks of tank overflow--though she does have on a tank top and you might say it overflows. And she doesn't seem to take her job too seriously. (She is filing her toe nails.)

I marvel at her "filing-toe-nails-in-public" attitude which matches her unorthodox approach at manning the gas station pay booth. In the time that she makes me wait (she's finishing her pinkie toe), I think about how I could learn a thing or two from her: she with the hang-loose curls on her head and liberated legs (she's wearing cut-offs). The closest she has ever come to neurotic, I imagine, is in showing up for work every day.


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Comments, corrections--and stories of your own--are always welcome and appreciated in the comments box.

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References: sans plomb (m) = unleaded; l'essence (f) = petrol, gasoline

:: Audio File ::

Listen to my daughter, Jackie, pronounce today's word:
MP3 file: Download sans_plomb.mp3
Wave file: Download sans_plomb.wav

Example Sentence: L’essence sans plomb 98 est plus détergente que l’essence sans plomb 95 et se révèle plus corrosive, en particulier pour les pièces en élastomères (caoutchoucs). Ces deux carburants contiennent de fortes quantités de composants aromatiques qui sont très toxiques. Il faut donc éviter d’en respirer les vapeurs et ne pas s’en servir comme agent de nettoyage ou de dégraissage. (from Wikipedia)
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Would anyone like to help translate the sentence, above? Put your interpretation in the comments box for all to see. Merci!

Cinéma Vérité

Good news: Saturday's photo bouquet has been posted a day early. Here is a sneak preview! If you are a Cinéma Vérité member and have lost the site access information--pas de souci!--just email me and I'll send the link as soon as I can.

The theme for this latest collection of CV photos is Vaison la Romaine and Faucon -- after the two villages that Jean-Marc and I visited on our 15th wedding anniversary (see a picture from our romantic dinner). Don't miss these weekly photos -- over a dozen every Saturday. Become a contributing member today!

Comments

[Karen]

Hi, a little tip for you; don't ever fill your tank up until it clicks to say it is full. The result is that the fuel already in the hose returns to the tank (not yours) and you have already paid for it! It's a nice little earner for the fuel companies.

[ksam]

Don't worry, it's not just you - as far as I know, it's illegal for gas stations in France (and I think Europe) to have that little clip that keeps the gas flowing for you.

[Jeanne]

How long do you pump after the click to get your money's worth? I will have to begin all over again, learing about pumping fuel. While living in Paris for two years we had no car! what a luxury that was. Now it's car payments, insurance payments and the dreaded fuel charges, though we did purchase a 2010 Prius that will be waiting for us in three weeks. I will miss the free wheeling, pardon my pun, feel of living sans car!

[Adrienne Beste]

Here is a translation for today's edition:

Unleaded 98 gasoline has more detergent content than unleaded 95 and appears to be more corrosive, particularly when in contact with elastomer (rubber) surfaces. These two fuels contain strong quantities of very toxic aromatic components. So, one must avoid breathing its vapors, and it must not be used as a cleansing or degreasing agent.

[Kristin]

Karen and Ksam : thanks for the tips and info!

Jeanne : enjoy your new car :-)

Adrienne : mille mercis for the helpful translation.

[Stacey]

Here's another translation (not much different from the first):

Unleaded 98 gas is cleaner than unleaded 95 gas. It turns out to be more corrosive, particularly for elastomer (rubber) parts. These two fuels contain high quantities of odorous components which are very toxic. It is therefore important to avoid breathing in the vapors and not to use it as a cleaning or degreasing agent.

[karen]

Hi Kristin.
It looks like we have another Karen here! Good tip - I've never even thought of that. I have a feeling I still be leaving that extra fuel as a gift for the next customer though - as I usually get back in my car while the pump is running. Are the pump handles different over there? I think we have little notches to keep them in place here.

From todays post I learned the relationship between the word "plomb" and the word "plombier". I'm starting to understand the language a little more every day!

Todays post also made me remember how in the Tour de France last year I kept hearing the announcers make reference to Team Leaky Gas. Every time they said it I chuckled. I later found out it was Team Liquigas (apparently the "qu" takes on a "k" sound as it is in between two vowels). I miss hearing it this year.

Heading over to the "early" edition Cinema Verite now - PERFECT since I'll be away for the weekend. Thank you. Enjoy your w.e.!

Karen (from Maryland)

[Tammy]

Wowser - quel est le coût par litre? Here we are around $1/litre depending on the day and the chance of a long weekend :-)

[tuco bonno - who does NOT have a web site, re the req to enter a web site]

lead-free 98 octane gasoline is more detergent than lead-free 95 octane gasoline, and is a lot more corrosive, especially as concerns elastomeric components (rubber parts). Both of these fuels contain large amounts of VOC-s (volatile aromatic compounds) which are very poisonous. You must therefore avoid breathing their fumes and not use them to clean or de-grease things.

[Jules Greer]

Hi Honey,

This is one of my favorite stories, I could hear it over and over. I always laugh at the way your mind works, you are so entertaining with your stories. I remember when I visited in 2007, one of my requests was - "Lets check out the gas station lady." I was not disappointed, a wonderful character for you, please take her a little vase of flowers.

XOXO - MOM

[Paulita]

My toughest French gas station moment: my husband is waiting for a car to finish so he can pull up at the pump. The kids have to go to the bathroom so I open the rear door and lean over to unbuckle the little one. Just as I'm pulling him out, the other car moves and my husband follows. He ran over my foot! The kids and I were fine, but I never let him forget that moment.

[Andrea]

Pumping gas in a car was a thing I didn’t think about or know how to do until I moved to the USA. In Mexico, there are no self-service stations. Occasionally, men are going to step out of the car and do it themselves, but I always saw it as a “macho” kind of instinct.

Usually a guy comes to your car, ask you which gas you want and how much, and while the gas is pumping he cleans your windshield and windows and if you ask, he will check the oil, water and tires too. When finished, you pay the gas and give him a tip.

I was nervous the first time I went to a gas station alone in Austin, TX to fill up the tank of my car. I also had a hard time to understand how to use the hook in the handle. I wondered: I have seen people doing this so many time, it looks so easy and yet, I’m here with my “question mark” face, not sure of what to do first and if I’m doing it right.

Another thing I had to learn is: on which side of my car is the gas tank? LOL
That thought still cracks me up! In Mexico the hoses are very long so it doesn’t matter, but here is just impossible to do it if you are not in the right side.

Anyway, it’s been a little bit more than 3 years since I moved here and now I’m almost and expert! Even if still today, 2 seconds before I enter the gas station, I still have to remember on which side of my car is the tank!

[Barb]

I was driving from NY to Philadelphia through New Jersey, and to my delight discovered it was illegal to pump your own petrol in NJ. Quelle bon surprise! I wish it were international law.

[Jacqui]

Most American and Japanese cars have fuel fillers on the left (driver's side) of the car,
German cars on the right (passenger side), seems to me from my past visits that French cars do also!
Bon weekend!

[Mona]

I am intrigued by the store attendant...I am thinking if I ever did such a thing at my work...I will only do that when I decide to leave this joint.

BTW, lovely story as always, and it reminds me of my advisor in school who told us once that as a child he liked sniffing gasoline vapors, he became a chem professor and as far as I know, he is still OK, fortunately.

Looking forward to tomorrow's photos.

xoxo

[Andrea]

Hi Jacqui... now I know why I’ve been so confused... I have had during the past 10 years a Japanese car, then a German car and now an American car. Left-right-left!
Saludos!

[Judy]

Here in UK, petrol (gas, ou d'essence, ) is about $1.50 a litre and rising.
Also it is illegal to leave the hose pumping petrol on its own. You have to hold on to it.....and anyway the passenger side is on the left and the driver is on the right, so does that confuse you a little?

[Jeff C.]

Sans oublier des voitures avec la porte de remplisseur à l'arrière de centre. Dans ce cas-ci que le côté fait à aucune différence !

[Lawrence Krakauer]

Gee, Kristin, don't let anyone think you're less intelligent because you're blonde. Remember the words of Dolly Parton,

"I'm not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb."

Of course, she then added, "I also know I'm not blonde."

Dolly is one of my favorite philosophers. She also said, "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!"

Larry, [email protected]
http://LJKrakauer.com

[Marianne Rankin]

Fifty-six euros? What kind of car do you drive? Isn't the euro worth more than $1.00, varying from around $1.20 to $1.40? Anyway, 56 euros would be at least $56 US, which only the largest car tanks could hold (my Toyota Corolla, with a bone-dry tank, holds about $33 worth at current prices, approximately $2.50 a gallon in the Washington, D.C. area). I know gas is expensive in Europe, but that much? Ouch! No wonder you ride a bike when you can.

[Diane W. Young]

I couldn't get over how much the "essence" cost, but then the small cars got better mileage so it wasn't that bad. Now in the U.S., gas prices go up and down constantly. One week $25 will fill the tank and a week later, it will only do 3/4 of a tank. And each state has different taxes so people leaving Florida usually wait until they get to Georgia to fill up. I can't imagine how people can afford big cars like SUV's or vans with the current gas prices. The gas station attendant with the pink toenails was priceless. Here there aren't a lot of stations and they all sell lottery tickets, which I think is more profitable to the owner than gas sales.
Diane Young, [email protected]

[David]

I discovered that comparing my costs per mile (or per km) in France and here in California, that it costs about the same to fuel a vehicle for a mile in both places. But in California I was driving a 4.5 liter gasoline engine; in France a 1.6 litre diesel. As we say in my native UK "yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice"!
I now have a hybrid and fill up far less often, but it's still $50 for a tankful...

[Kristin]

Marianne: I have a Citroen C3. It's a "super mini" car. At the time I wrote that story, the cost to fill the tank was 56 euros.

[Ann]

I live in Oregon and we are fortunate enough to have a law that all gas must be pumped by an attendant. This means I can stay in my car-clean and comfortable. Our gas prices are no higher than neighboring states that have self-serve so I doubt that Oregon voters will ever change things. The stations provide jobs and the customers are satisfied.
Amities/

[Jacqui]

Hey Judy,Actually the passenger side in the U.S. is on the right side and the driver on the left. You always say which side from being IN the car, NOT looking at it from the front. This from being in the car business as a service advisor for 15 years.

[Rebecca]

Kristin,
I love how you see the world! This story perfectly illustrates why I love reading your stories. Thank you!

Rebecca

[Adzoa]

Here in Germany, we have a clip on the pump handle that lets it pump automatically, but this disengages when the tank is full. The last time I filled the tank (about 2 months ago), I paid €50-60 for the privilege.