I think you're fighting a somewhat silly battle myself. Speed limits are
in
miles, legal documents (titles, registrations, etc) are in miles, resale
estimates are in miles. etc. There are things outside of "I like
looking at
km/h on my speedo" that become convoluted.
That said however, feel free to buy a Mercedes instrument cluster and
swap it
out yourself.
I opened my Miata cluster to remove the L - H oil pressure gauge for one
that
read kg/cm3. Kept the miles though, mostly for the odometer.
I am on the hunt for a British full-FIS (VW center information display)
cluster that will interface with the Navigation in my Golf R32. I want
the
UK version because I want to keep the miles, but I want the full-FIS
display,
which the US never got, and the international icons (instead of BRAKE,
CRUISE, etc.)
Start checking http://www.ebay.de Tons of clusters up there. I don't
know
the W code name of the new E320, so I couldn't do a specific search.)
On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:42:39 -0000, Michael Payne wrote
As some of you know, I've been looking at whether it's possible to
buy a new car with km/h speedometer here in the US. I find this an
interesting exercise in frustration, not being able to make a choice
to use the measurement system I want, which is not only legal in the
US but preferred. So much for being free to choose!
I've made many frustrating visits to all the various dealers for
most manufacturers, and none are willing to sell a car with a km/h
speedometer despite the metric system being the preferred system for
trade and commerce. GM to it's credit has a very well designed
system where at the touch of a button, the displays change from US
to metric, everything, speed temperature, tire pressure, all change
to SI. Trouble is I'm not otherwise enamored with GM vehicles. I
personally like the design and fuel economy of the Mercedes diesel
known as the E320 Blutec for it's use of Urea to reduce emissions.
http://www.dieselforum.org/fileadmin/templates/FactSheetMasterFolder/FS_SCR_08
.24.06.pdf explains the process.
Being adamant that I want a km/h speedometer and km odometer I'm
left with 3 choices. 1. Get the speedometer changed. 2. Buy a
Canadian vehicle which has to be a used vehicle. 3. Don't buy a new
car at all. I wrote a letter to Mercedes hoping that I can take
advantage of their European delivery program to pick up a car in
Europe, they never replied but from a dealer I got the reply that
they were not willing to do this. I felt it would be no problem to
install the SI gauges at the factory and deliver the car to me.
Because the vehicle can display the speed in mph digitally via a
menu selection (as well as the analog km/h display) I feel it must
meet US DOT requirements for the display of either system which is
what GM does on it's vehicles, which obviously comply with the law
because they sell them in the US this way. Perhaps if they got more
people asking for this they might make it an option. More of us need
to have the dealer ask the Head office if this is an option.
One advantage of the European delivery program is that I can get a
7% discount on the price, plus there is no delivery charge ($750
otherwise). Not sure why this is. In Canada by comparison there is
no discount and the vehicle is much more expensive. Plus from what
I've found out it's not possible to buy a new vehicle in Canada and
import it to the US, has to be a used vehicle.
I'd be interested on feedback from Listserve members on their
thoughts and suggestions on what I could do. I've even considered a
lawsuit but believe these folks can sell what they want. But does it
infringe on my rights under the 1865 Metric system authorized law.
(no contract or dealing, ... shall be deemed invalid or liable to
objection because the weights or measures expressed or referred to
therein are weights or measures of the metric system).
Any Lawyers on this listserve?
Michael Payne
1 Thorton Court
Potomac Falls VA 20165
USA
