The 'Moylan Arrow' stands out as one of Ford's top contributions to automotive design.

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      Are you familiar with the handy arrow next to the fuel gauge indicating which side of the vehicle has the gas cap? For a long time, the origin of this clever feature was unknown. One of the first known examples appeared in a Ford vehicle, specifically the 1989 Thunderbird, but the inventor's identity remained a mystery for decades.

      It wasn't until a few years ago that the public learned the name of the innovator: James Moylan. He was an interior trim designer for Ford in Detroit and passed away last month at the age of 80.

      The backstory of the arrow reveals that Moylan came up with the idea while driving a company car to a meeting at Ford’s Dearborn campus in 1986. With a nearly empty fuel tank, he stopped to refuel only to realize, upon exiting the car, that he had pulled up to the pump on the wrong side.

      The instrument cluster of the 2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1 features the Moylan arrow within the speedometer. In later models, the indicator was moved to the fuel gauge itself. Ford

      Moylan quickly devised a solution. Later that same day, he wrote a memo suggesting an enhancement for future instrument panel graphics across all passenger cars and trucks. “I would like to propose a small addition to future I/P cluster graphics in all passenger car and truck lines,” the memo stated. “The indicator or symbol I have in mind would be located near the fuel gauge and simply describe to the driver which side of the vehicle the fuel fill door is located.”

      In his original proposal, depicted in the memo, Moylan included a simple overhead illustration of a car with an oversized fuel door next to the fuel icon. This concept eventually transformed into the simple arrow we know today. It made its debut on the new Escort a couple of years later and was gradually adopted across Ford's entire product lineup, and ultimately by competitors as well.

      Moylan reportedly never sought any recognition from Ford for his invention, according to Ben Cohen from the Wall Street Journal. Consequently, his name remained unknown to the public until about seven years ago when a podcast brought it to light. Shortly after, Ford's archivists rediscovered and digitized Moylan’s memo, which CEO Jim Farley tweeted in 2022.

      It appears that Ford was not the very first automaker to introduce a fuel-filler indicator. Jason Torchinsky wrote a thoughtful obituary for Moylan last week on Autopian, noting that some Mercedes-Benz models featured a low-fuel light shaped like an arrow that activated when gas was needed. However, it is reasonable to credit Ford and Moylan with popularizing the concept in the mass market.

      Moylan mentioned that he forgot about his idea soon after sending the memo, but it was not overlooked by his superiors or their competitors, not to mention the millions of drivers around the globe who have come to rely on it in new or unfamiliar vehicles. I vividly remember discovering what has been aptly named the “Moylan arrow”—my brother informed me about it a few years after I obtained my license. I'm grateful he did, as that knowledge has proven incredibly useful throughout my career, especially when driving press cars. May Moylan rest in peace, and may we consistently acknowledge and share his name whenever we teach this knowledge to new drivers.

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