General Motors put a one button toggle switch to display either English or
metric units in my 2000 Deville. The one touch button is great and it's
been around for years. Nice to see others catching up. However, my 2005
Toyota Prius doesn't do that. Its metric unit displays are limited and are
all screwed up.
Stan Doore
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Palumbo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 10:06 AM
Subject: [USMA:39518] Metric & the new Mini Cooper
All,
I traded in my 2002 Mini Cooper this past weekend for a new 2007 Mini
Cooper. The 02 model had a centrally mounted speedometer that was
listed in both miles & kilometres, but was otherwise entirely customary
units. Fuel efficiency was always listed in miles per gallon, range was
listed in miles, and temperature was in Fahrenheit (at least the latter
could be changed to Celsius by holding in a combination of buttons every
time you started the car).
When I went to the dealership to look at the 07 model, the first thing I
noticed (and commented on to the salesman) was that the speedometer was
only listed in miles, they removed the secondary ring for km/h. I was
apparently the first person to ever mention that. However, I was
quickly appeased when he showed me the new in-car computer.
Press just one button, and you're taken to the configuration menu. From
there, you can set every single variable in the car to metric standards.
Range in kilos, speed in km/h, temperature in Celsius, fuel efficiency
in L/100 km, and if you prefer, time on a 24-hour clock. You can even
get a secondary digital speed display that works in km/h.
I've attached a picture of the tachometer that's mounted above the
steering column; this is where the relevant information is shown to the
driver. Note the larger digital speed display at the top, with
temperature, current km, and trip km below that.
It's so nice to see a car manufacturer make this easy to switch, without
going through hidden menus, obscure button combinations, or requiring a
dealership diagnostic tool.
I'm very pleased with this, if I could just find out how to get rid of
that accursed MPH ring in the middle, I'd be all set! By the way, it
handles splendidly and so far uses 5.6 L/100 km (or 17.8 km/L if you
prefer distance per volume). Excellent!
Cheers,
Mike
