Just an observation...
Not Round,
Not Square,
Not Rectangular,
OVAL--Just right, very stylish!

Unique? Any other cars with oval fuel filler doors you can think of?

 

Side note: There are so many things I love about my 2nd Gen, No external Antenna being my favorite, that keeps the body lines so smooth.

 

And one less part to break. Motorized antennas don't last forever...

 

a gas door that can only be opened from the inside of the car

 

ok but here is the first annoying thing i found today, you can not start the car with the trunk open, what stupid engineer thought that made sense.

 

mine starts with trunk open. but I can't set the alarm with it open, nice feature.

 

I can start mine with the trunk open too.

 

These cars start with the trunk open.
Do you have an 03 manual and are forgetting to depress the clutch?
Possibly you have an after market alarm system that prevents the car from starting until all contact points are secure.

 

its probably the aftermarket alarm. Its still weird

 

you guys are killing me!

 

Off hand it I can't think of any similar fuel tank doors, but for some reason I don't think its the first.

 

sparco makes a gas door that fits our car.