The change in Canada from (imperial, not US) gallons was the cause (or at least one of the causes) of the stalling of the completion of Canada's conversion to metric. A 'metric martyr' wanted to keep his pumps in gallons, notwithstanding the change in the law requiring all fuel to be dispensed (and priced) in litres.
He still had to convert his pumps to litres in the end, but not till after the federal government in Canada decided to take a 'softly softly' approach to finalising the completion of the conversion to metric. Which of course never happened. Sometimes (not always) you need a strong government intervention to do what's right, regardless of whether it is popular or not. John F-L ----- Original Message ----- From: Martin Vlietstra To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2011 9:33 PM Subject: [USMA:50325] RE: U.S. gasoline prices A slip of the pen I can assure you - if I am scaring off potential tourist dollars by spreading malicious rumors, there is no telling what will happen, especially if I am known to be pro-metric! J ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: John M. Steele [mailto:jmsteele9...@sbcglobal.net] Sent: 10 April 2011 21:30 To: vliets...@btinternet.com; U.S. Metric Association Subject: Re: [USMA:50323] RE: U.S. gasoline prices I certainly hope those are pence, not pounds. I assume you mean £1.339/L ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Martin Vlietstra <vliets...@btinternet.com> To: U.S. Metric Association <usma@colostate.edu> Sent: Sun, April 10, 2011 3:01:28 PM Subject: [USMA:50323] RE: U.S. gasoline prices I saw petrol today at £133.9/litre (more at certain service stations). At least it is priced by the litre. The gallon to litre change-over occurred in the 1980's (when Mrs Thatcher was Prime Minister). Many petrol pumps of the era could not cope with prices greater than £1.999 per unit. The unit could be either litres or ( UK ) gallons, selectable I would imagine via a dual-in-line switch on the pump's motherboard. Once the price went past the $1.50 per gallon mark, the petrol companies lobbied the Government for a switch-over to litres. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: owner-u...@colostate.edu [mailto:owner-u...@colostate.edu] On Behalf Of Paul Trusten Sent: 10 April 2011 18:25 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:50322] U.S. gasoline prices Gasoline (petrol) in the U.S. has reached the retail price of $1.00 per liter in many places. That is the price when the posted price is $3.79. Paul
