It is a legal requirement in the UK (and indeed across all of the EU), that any car advertisement shall display the fuel consumption figures in litres/100 km as measured using three different cycles - see http://www.vca.gov.uk/fcb/faqs-fuel-consumptio.asp for a description. Advertisements must also carry CO2 emission figures in g/km. Imperial equivalents may be shown alongside, but they are not mandatory.
_____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Richard M Sent: 06 October 2007 06:20 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39523] Re: Metric & the new Mini Cooper >From what I understand in the UK fuel economy is still figured in mpg (imperial gallon). Even though petrol is purchased by the litre, fuel economy isn't figured that way. Maybe if they ever switch the roads to showing kilometres the situation will change. As it stands now it seems like you have to convert some unit or come up with something like 'miles per litre' or 'litres per 100 miles' or some other weird unit. Rather than converting miles to kilometers, it looks like litres are being converted to gallons. Rick On 10/6/07, Bill Potts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Are you sure the UK setting includes Imperial gallons? They've sold gasoline by the liter for years. Bill Potts Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator--approaching 100,000 hits] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Michael Palumbo Sent: Friday, October 05, 2007 08:16 To: U.S. Metric Association Cc: 'U.S. Metric Association' Subject: [USMA:39520] Re: Metric & the new Mini Cooper Surprisingly not. My 2004 VW R32 has the capability of displaying metric units, but they have no end-user exposed interface for switching the units in your car. You have to use a dealership diagnostic tool (VAS5150) or a home diag tool (VAGCOM, etc.) to change it. They tied all preferences into the car's country code, so if you set your car as being in the US, you get a 12-hour clock, miles, Fahrenheit, and gallons. Only the temperature can be switched with an obscure button key press. Set it to Canada or EU, 24-hour clock, kilometres, Celsius, litres. UK, 24-hour, Celsius, miles, imperial gallons. It's a very weird system and not at all user-friendly. And like I said, my 2002 Mini had a similar system, you could only switch the temperature. -Mike Martin Vlietstra wrote: > I would have thought that every North American car that had a digital > display would have this sort of facility, plus the ability to display > text in English, French or Spanish. Many cars in the European market > have the facility to display text is a dozen or so different languages. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Michael Palumbo > Sent: 04 October 2007 15:07 > To: U.S. Metric Association > 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
