As we know, the more things change, the more they stay the same.To wit: An industry advertisement in the July 20, 2009 Automotive News describes the new Ford Fusion Hybrid as having SmartGauge with EcoGuide.
This marvel is described thus: "an instrument cluster created to help the driver maximize fuel economy. Green leaves appear on the first-in-class LCD screen, rewarding the driver for good driving habits. More leaves mean more efficient driving. 'Real-time feedback that could turn everyday drivers into hypermilers."
For the most part, this sounds suspiciously like a glorified LCD vacuum gauge, a natural evolution of the standard-issue vacuum gauge on Golden Hawks, Packard Hawks, and Avantis.
So, owners of those Studebakers might want to consider acquiring little press-on green leaves to replace the numerical scale on the dials of those instruments. Larger green leaves would be toward the right of the scale, whereas smaller green leaves would be placed near the center of the scale.
On the negative (supercharger-boost) portion of the scale, increasingly-large crispy-brown burned leaves could replace the pounds of boost graduations.
Finally, at the far left of the scale, a little icon of a forest in full conflagration might be appropriate.
(Obviously, the new Ford Fusion Hybrid SmartGauge with EcoGuide has nothing on the instrumentation of 1950s and 1960s supercharged Studebaker Hawks and Avantis!
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