THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408050016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
The recent action of the Federal Highway Administration not to require conversion of highway signs to metric may (or may not) be a wise economic decision. In either case, your editorial on metric conversion ``A measured failure'' (July 22) misses the point. The failure is in leadership, not the metric system.
Highway signs in miles are symbolic of America's love affair with the automobile and a time when the United States was the undisputed automobile capital of the world. Times changed, markets changed, but the American automobile manufacturers did not. Today the industry is struggling to recover its position by producing world-class automobiles - in metric sizes.
Every industrialized country in the world except the United States uses the metric system including our trading partners Great Britain, Canada, Mexico, Japan and China. Foreign markets are growing faster than domestic, and we must export competitively priced, quality goods to expand our economy. These markets use metric, and it is inefficient to produce one size for domestic consumption and another for export, as the automobile industry learned.
Resisting ``dictates'' and changes (to metric) from Washington may be macho and give a warm feeling but may not be prudent. It is up to our leaders to recognize the implications of a global marketplace (which is metric) and align our institutions to support full participation. The Metric System works in every country except the United States. Failure in this country will likely be measured in our standard of living, not in miles per hour.
LEN R. COLEMAN
Norfolk, July 31, 1994 by CNB