[USMA:36600] Re: metric stands alone

[Martin Vlietstra]

Given the developments in electronics in recent years, I am pretty sure that every pump in the US is capable of measuring in litres - any semi-respectable businessman would have made sure of that - the cost per pump would only have been a few cents which makes it a very cheap insurance policy.   About three years ago I bought a digital max-min thermometer and a set of bathroom scales in Germany.  Both were switchable between metric and imperial units - obviously the economies of scale dictated that it was cheaper to do that than to produce two separate ranges.  In the case of US petrol pumps, all that is needed is a single jumper on the printed circuit board which would tell the microprocessor on the board whether to use litres or gallons.  If the jumper is in place, the pump can be sold on the US market, if it is not in place, it can be sold on the Canadian and Mexican markets. ----- Original Message ----- From: Mike Millet To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 11:19 PM Subject: [USMA:36583] Re: metric stands alone I don't know I believe liters/mile might get confusing . Liters per 100km might be an easier step even though the road signage has not switched. Do you think amending the FPLA would clear the way to selling fuel by the liter or has that always been legal in the US? I don't even know if many pumps could calculate in liters or not. I would assume they could. Mike