Throwback Sunday: Service station goes metric

Randy Maxwell, manager of the Zephyr Service Station, 604 S. Saginaw. Randy Maxwell, manager of the Zephyr Service Station, 604 S. Saginaw. Photo: Daily News File Photo Photo: Daily News File Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Throwback Sunday: Service station goes metric 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

(This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Daily News on Aug. 11, 1979.)

Customers of the Zephyr Service Station, 604 South Saginaw, are doing double takes at the pump these days. Prices post regular gasoline at 24.7 cents — per liter, that is.

The Midland Zephyr switched to the metric system over two weeks ago, according to station manager, Randy Maxwell. Reactions range from indifference to disgust. “And if they’re bewildered, they just get $2 to $3 worth,” he said.

There are 3.8 liters to a gallon, so at 24.7 cents per liter, the buyer pays an equivalent of 93.9 cents per gallon. No-lead sells for 26.6 cents per liter ($1.011 per gallon) and premium costs 26.8 centers per liter ($1.018 per gallon).

“It’s pretty confusing to a lot of people,” said Maxwell. He pointed to a woman who drove a car into the station, took a look at the liter pricing, and left without stopping to read the decal bearing the cost in gallons positioned below the digital reading.

The station loses about 10 potential customers each day due to confusion over the metric price, according to Maxwell.

Bruce Decker, retail station manager for Naph-Sol Refining in Muskegon, says 40 out of 55 company operated Zephyr stations have already made the metric conversion in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Naph-Sol decided to change its gallons to liters to comply with the federal government’s prospective 1985 target date for national metric conversion, Decker sad. Changing pumps to metric pricing is also less expensive than purchasing a “full range” computer pump that reads up to $1.99 per gallon, he said.

“This country is going to go metric in a few years anyway,” Maxwell said. “We’re just a little bit ahead.”