Submission + - First it was Y2K, now it's mechanical gas pumps
OnTheWay writes: "The Associated Press has a story on the estimated 17,000 mechanical dial gas pumps that need upgrades because they can't set the price higher than $3.99 / gallon. The service stations owning the pumps are small-town mom-and-pop operations that have thin profit margins on gas and can't afford to upgrade to digital pumps. "Mechanical meters can be retrofitted with higher numbers when pump prices climb another dollar. The last time that happened was in late 2005, when gas went over $3 a gallon, and owners of the older pumps installed kits that went to $3.999." Man, why didn't they allow for higher prices back then? But this is the best quote: "The computer that they're upgrading was not designed to go any more than what it's going now, and if you do it, they don't last long enough," Turner said. "They run so fast that the gears are wearing out.""
