[alfa] Quarts, pints, litres etc

[alfacybersite <acs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Without repeating John Fielding's post in #781 I'll just comment that I
believe the reason we in the US refer to it as half a quart is because
motor oil comes in either quarts or gallons. Therefore if one needs
(roughly) a pint, you just tip the quart bottle until you feel you've
poured in (roughly) half of it, then recap.

In the olden day when I was a kid, one either had the filling station
attendant put in a quart of oil by getting out a metal can with a
spigot, he'd take a quart can of oil and press it into the sharp edged
center tube of the can. The oil would pour out into the can, then he'd
undo the oil filer cap, lower the spigot and let the oil pour into the
engine. Basically you either bought a quart (or more) or none. The other
alternative was to buy bulk oil from 55 gallon (please don't ask why 55,
no idea) drums, each type having their own hand cranked pump on top. A
glass container was filled and through an open 'tube' on top was poured
into the engine.

Motor for engine: Actually I'm going to blame this one on the English.
The English (certainly in the 50's when their little sports cars began
showing up) referred to the little engines as motors. Bet most US folk
who refer to it as a motor either had an English car at one time or
their dad did.

However, it certainly wouldn't sound too keen if one asked their sweety
/ significant other if she wants to go 'engining'.

New Alfa's electronic woes: Really sorry to hear Alfa (Fiat) is lagging
behind in the electronics department. Should they actually return here,
this will squelch the deal in a manner of months. There is a lot I can't
/ won't defend regarding US made cars, but gosh darn, we've made
reliable automotive air conditioning systems, heaters, electric seats,
electrically controlled convertible tops, for many, many years and do
believe we invented the transistor, which (indirectly) made the whole
electronic revolution possible.

While it appears to be doubtful, but should GM significantly buy into
Fiat and import Alfas, betcha the electronic problems / gremlins would
decrease significantly.

Biba
Irwindale, CA USA
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