billy
12-11-2006, 09:32 PM
Hi folks; just returned today home today (WA) from AltCarExpo in Santa Monica, CA. Unable to miss work, I had to leave my 2005 Insight down there for 5 days. I will fly back to Los Angeles this Friday to retrieve the car and drive home.
I left thursday after work amidst below freezing temps. Thank goodness for warm air mods! I had nearly all the radiator blocked off with a sample carpet square, and a hose directing air from the cat heat shield to the air filter box. Due to the winds I travelled west on I-84 to Portland, OR (194 miles) then turned south on I-5 all the way to Los Angeles. (1102 miles) No rain or snow, just cold and some varying winds. After driving through the night, I was really sleepy by 4:30am. Near Medford, OR I tried to sleep at a freeway rest stop, but got too chilly. So I had to "suck it up" and just continue driving.
As many of you know, 30 miles south of Bakersfield, CA there is a daunting uphill grade known as "the grapevine". For 8 miles it is super steep and trucks slow to a crawl. Armed with my Scangaue II, I knew this would be a perfect place to remove my warm air mods. It worked out great; during the climb my water temp remained at 198F and intake air temp was 105F. I cruised up the long hill in 3rd gear, 47 mph, just easy enough to NOT use any electric assist. Once on top I stabilized briefly to let temps cool, then it was FAS for about 7 miles! My mpg for the trip was 86.2
AltExpo was held on Santa Monica Airport in a giant airplane hangar used by McDonnell Douglas many years ago. Now it's a concert & event venue. After considerable badgering and persistence I was able to convince the person-in-charge to let me display my car INSIDE, rather than being relegated to the parking lot. You see, the exhibitors pay big bucks for a space. But I had nothing to sell or market; I am just a car nut! I just wanted to show off my shiny Honda as an example of technology. I just wanted to tell 1000 people to put more air in their tires & slow down!
It worked out great. All day Saturday and Sunday I had CROWDS of people around my car and display sign. My voice became hoarse answering all the questions. I referred many, many people to CleanMPG.com for answers to their Prius II questions. In the entire show, mine was the only example of the poor, forgotten Insight. Several local Insight owners stopped by and said "hello" and even helped me answer all the verbal inquiries being aimed my way. I'm glad I had my sign explaining the features & performance of the car!
I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting some VIP's. From Honda of North America, I met Stephen Ellis and also Annabel Cook. Try a quick Google search on those 2 names; Mr Ellis personally introduced the Insight back in 1999, and now is in charge of promoting Honda's natural gas vehicle program. It looks like Honda is ready to help install a small "gas pump" in your garage to refuel NG at home (in large urban areas such as LA) And Annabel Cook is an attorney and consultant for Honda and puts on many public events. Anyway, Mr. Ellis came over and looked at my Insight and grinned; he seemed to really like it; but I wonder what he was thinking? He observed tons of people gathering around a 2 seat hypermiling car that was recently discontinued? But he talked with me for quite awhile and I shared with him my driving techniques and bragged about my wonderful car. Maybe he would have liked to meet an Insight-nut like me, 4 years sooner?
Walking around the venue, one sees LOTS of cool cars and displays. I turned my camera on "flash" and tried to shoot several of them. There was the Solar Prius, Austin Energy, Zen Car Co, ZAP, AC propulsion, Toyota, GM, Lexus, Segway, Green Depot, EV World, Plug in America, UEV Corp, Myers Motors, E-85 Now, Eco Limo, and many others. Honda had a Civic Hybrid, a Fuel Cell Civic (FCX?) and the Natural gas car. There were also skateboards, bikes, and motorbikes. Even CA Air Resources Board had a display.
It was lots of fun, but I got rather worn out. The logistics of driving there, cleaning my car, setting up, finding a place to store the car for the next 5 days, getting lodging and airport transportation, was nearly overwhelming. By the way, when is the next show?
I left thursday after work amidst below freezing temps. Thank goodness for warm air mods! I had nearly all the radiator blocked off with a sample carpet square, and a hose directing air from the cat heat shield to the air filter box. Due to the winds I travelled west on I-84 to Portland, OR (194 miles) then turned south on I-5 all the way to Los Angeles. (1102 miles) No rain or snow, just cold and some varying winds. After driving through the night, I was really sleepy by 4:30am. Near Medford, OR I tried to sleep at a freeway rest stop, but got too chilly. So I had to "suck it up" and just continue driving.
As many of you know, 30 miles south of Bakersfield, CA there is a daunting uphill grade known as "the grapevine". For 8 miles it is super steep and trucks slow to a crawl. Armed with my Scangaue II, I knew this would be a perfect place to remove my warm air mods. It worked out great; during the climb my water temp remained at 198F and intake air temp was 105F. I cruised up the long hill in 3rd gear, 47 mph, just easy enough to NOT use any electric assist. Once on top I stabilized briefly to let temps cool, then it was FAS for about 7 miles! My mpg for the trip was 86.2
AltExpo was held on Santa Monica Airport in a giant airplane hangar used by McDonnell Douglas many years ago. Now it's a concert & event venue. After considerable badgering and persistence I was able to convince the person-in-charge to let me display my car INSIDE, rather than being relegated to the parking lot. You see, the exhibitors pay big bucks for a space. But I had nothing to sell or market; I am just a car nut! I just wanted to show off my shiny Honda as an example of technology. I just wanted to tell 1000 people to put more air in their tires & slow down!
It worked out great. All day Saturday and Sunday I had CROWDS of people around my car and display sign. My voice became hoarse answering all the questions. I referred many, many people to CleanMPG.com for answers to their Prius II questions. In the entire show, mine was the only example of the poor, forgotten Insight. Several local Insight owners stopped by and said "hello" and even helped me answer all the verbal inquiries being aimed my way. I'm glad I had my sign explaining the features & performance of the car!
I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting some VIP's. From Honda of North America, I met Stephen Ellis and also Annabel Cook. Try a quick Google search on those 2 names; Mr Ellis personally introduced the Insight back in 1999, and now is in charge of promoting Honda's natural gas vehicle program. It looks like Honda is ready to help install a small "gas pump" in your garage to refuel NG at home (in large urban areas such as LA) And Annabel Cook is an attorney and consultant for Honda and puts on many public events. Anyway, Mr. Ellis came over and looked at my Insight and grinned; he seemed to really like it; but I wonder what he was thinking? He observed tons of people gathering around a 2 seat hypermiling car that was recently discontinued? But he talked with me for quite awhile and I shared with him my driving techniques and bragged about my wonderful car. Maybe he would have liked to meet an Insight-nut like me, 4 years sooner?
Walking around the venue, one sees LOTS of cool cars and displays. I turned my camera on "flash" and tried to shoot several of them. There was the Solar Prius, Austin Energy, Zen Car Co, ZAP, AC propulsion, Toyota, GM, Lexus, Segway, Green Depot, EV World, Plug in America, UEV Corp, Myers Motors, E-85 Now, Eco Limo, and many others. Honda had a Civic Hybrid, a Fuel Cell Civic (FCX?) and the Natural gas car. There were also skateboards, bikes, and motorbikes. Even CA Air Resources Board had a display.
It was lots of fun, but I got rather worn out. The logistics of driving there, cleaning my car, setting up, finding a place to store the car for the next 5 days, getting lodging and airport transportation, was nearly overwhelming. By the way, when is the next show?