Metric (non-SI) Fuel Economy

[dj_strom@ccmail.pnl.gov]

In France, fuel economy used to be (and may still be) expressed 
as "liters per 100 kilometers," essentially the inverse of the 
USA quantity of distance per unit volume.  Under such a system, 
a small number is good.  I remember in the late '60s the little 
425 cc Citroen 2CV (deux chevaux, i.e., "two horse") used only 
4-5 L/100 km, the equivalent of 47-59 mpg (20-25 km/L).  Since 
units are merely reference values of quantities (see NIST 
Special Publications 330 and 811 for the real stuff), obviously 
benchmarks depend on units.

Dan Strom dj_strom@pnl.gov