Given the precision to which they were likely measured (I admit I am estimating), I would have preferred to see a tailwind of 6 km/h and a headwind of 10 km/h so I could comprehend how significant it was versus the velocity achieved; no need for the decimal dust, "convert exactly, round sensibly." And 0.746 kW/kg would have sufficed and allowed me to make some estimates about the acceleration profile (except the initial acceleration would be more torque or traction limited). Perhaps the units mess makes a nice story to some, but it makes any analysis relatively intractable.
________________________________ From: Charles Peyto <[email protected]> To: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Cc: U.S. Metric Association <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, January 25, 2013 11:47:29 AM Subject: [USMA:52259] Re: Hennessey Venom GT Sets The Fastest 0-300km/h Production Car Record It's only likely to be confusing if you haven't heard of all the units used. I would imagine that most people in the the US, the UK and Ireland HAVE heard of them all. The mix is a refreshing example of neutral journalism, with no attempt contrive to use one measurement system or the other. It also reflects a confident expectation that the target audience will be comfortable and familiar with both systems, and they don't need the facts dumbing-down to understand them. The event might be 0-300 km/h, but the weather readings are still in the familiar mph, and the fact that the weight in kg was exactly equal to the power in HP was worth drawing attention to. What is wrong with that? Or would you have preferred to see: the two runs, 0-300 km/h were done with 6.437376 km/h tailwind and 9.656064 km/h headwind, or the power mass ratio of 0.745699872 kW/kg? -- C. On 24 January 2013 12:25, John M. Steele <[email protected]> wrote: Well, the record is all-metric, because that is all Guinness recognizes (per the article). But the article is an odd mix of metric and traditional units: >http://www.studentnewsie.com/hennessey-venom-gt-sets-the-fastest-0-300kmh-production-car-record-15911/ > > >I particularly enjoy the mixed mode paragraphs where the two runs, 0-300 km/h >with done with 4 mph tailwind and 6 mph headwind, or the power mass ratio of 1 >HP/kg. These students are READY for a job at the BBC, confusing millions.
