Several of my recent Hoonatica quests have focused on older automotive technologies, because Kennedy baby. Today, I am going with a more modern focus in order to make it up to those of you who have pre-school memories of Sega Dreamcast. For many years now, most speedometers installed in North American cars have indicated speed in both MPH and KPH. Manufacturers have typically accomplished this by simply printing two scales on the speedometer face, usually with the kilometer scale printed in tiny graduations inside of a larger MPH scale (and vise versa in North Canadica). But with the advent of digital sending units, it has become as simple as flipping a bit in the ECU code to have the same dial instantly re-calibrate itself to display the vehicle’s speed in either metric or US/imperial units. See the ZR1 speedo above? It can switch between metric and US units as easily as James Bond’s Aston could switch registration numbers. The MPH is actually an idiot light that is replaced by a KPH label when switched. Your mission for today, should you choose to accept it, is to name all the cars with this oh-so-modern feature. The Caveats (there are always caveats):
- This entry is about switchable speedometer gauges, so vehicles where only a digital (numeric) speedometer readout can be switched don’t count.
- Digital screens that display a virtual gauge are perfectly acceptable. And very cool.
- Cars, light trucks, motorcycles, three-wheelers (COUGH!), heavy-duty trucks, farm tractors, boats, pedal-assisted electric tuk-tuks and (yes!) airplanes are allowed.
- I’m not sure what sort of rabbit hole aftermarket speedometers constitute, but feel free to go there if you’d like.
- Getting dinged by your employer for any Google search involving the term “speedo” is totally on you.
Difficulty: A bit of a shot in the dark, really. I only know of a few myself, but I’m pretty much a new-car ignoramus. (To those of you outside North America, this might prove more difficult. Sorry.) How This Works: Read the comments first and don’t post duplicates! Bonus points for adding photos. Image Sources: David Yu’s Photobucket via GTRlife.com.
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