A Tale Of Two Trucks
My first two vehicles were both Chevy S-10s. One was a 1989, the other a 1991. While driving the '89 S-10, I forgot to fuel up on my way home late one night and by the time I got there, the needle was well below E. (Once the needle passed the halfway mark, you could almost watch it plunge as you drove.) Feeling a bit reckless, I figured what the heck and drove it 15 miles to the nearest gas station. By the time I got there, the needle was as far from the E as the quarter of a tank pip on the "correct" side. Never once did it give signs of running out.
Fast forward 3 years to the 1991 S-10. I pass the last gas station as the needle starts kissing the E. Figuring the same thing would happen as with the '89 truck, I kept on. Big mistake. Withing half a mile the truck gave a lurch and started sputtering. I managed to coax it back to that station before it completely ran out.
So one truck gave me about 20 miles of leeway, the other mean what it said.