Hi Eric:
___Might as well “show em if you gottem”
Madison Hybrid Group Meeting Minutes
January 13, 2007
Next Meeting:
Saturday, March 13th. 10-noon. Culvers Todd Drive, Madison
It was great to see everyone who was able to make the meeting today!
18 people in attendance with some new faces and some familiar ones as well.
Jared, Bradlee, Justin, Caryl, Jan, Cheryl, Joe, Sasha, Sue, Tracy, Tom, Wayne, Matt, Pete, Colby, Mike and Lisa.
Cars represented included Prius Classic, Prius II, Highlander Hybrid, Insight, Civic I, and a couple of non hybrid as well, including my minivan.
I posted a few pictures of the meeting in the Madison Hybrid Group folder at Cleanmpg.com.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/showgallery.php/cat/515
A. Check in
We did introductions and learned interesting info. For example, one new member shared her story about winning a 2007 Prius. That's right. Won it from Cub Foods. She said there were over a million entries and she won. Fun story! Everyone signed up for the door prize.
B. "New Owner" Q&As
Next we moved on to "new owner" Q&A. I put "new owner" in parenthesis simply because the Q&A isn't just for new owners. We all can learn a thing or two from one another no matter how long we've owned our vehicles.
Some items:
Tire pressures
Had a debate about tire pressures which is right. Well…we can all agree that underinflation is a bad and dangerous thing. Lots of opinions were given with no consensus at what is "best". I stated that the maximum sidewall pressure is not near the bursting point of the tire's capacity.
Radiator block
How much to block off your radiator to decrease the amount of time it takes for your car to heat up. Basically it varies. Later on were going to check the car of the person who asked.
Drafting
Drafting is when you follow closely behind to increased gas mileage. (See more on cleanmpg.com for details.) One member shared a story of a death front his practice. Others mentioned doing this with great caution. Never behind a passenger vehicle; they may stop too quickly for reaction time.
Block heaters
Discussed the advantages of block heaters especially when cars only go short distances. Can set the heater on a timer so that it start to warm the car's coolant about three hours before you have to actually leave. Jan will work with Bradley of Milwaukee hybrid Group to see about a group buy? Others offered to possible host garage space if we can arrange someone to do the installs for a reasonable price. Milwaukee Hybrid Group did some installs at one of their meetings. Go to this post on the Madison Hybrid Group Forums if you are interested in being a part of this endeavor.
http://madisonhybridgroup.com/yabb/i...ay&threadid=55
Washing a Prius key fob
Did you know that if you send you Prius key fob through the wash there's still hope? Yep. One member admitted she has done it twice, and hers still works. (But please, don't try this at home)
Attach a phone number to your key chain
One member has a little plastic (?) tag attached to her keychain that contains her phone number. The thought is if she ever loses her keys, hopefully the finder of her keys will give it a call so the keys can be recovered.
Reverse Camera switch
Sue is looking for a way to be able to put a switch in her 2007 Prius so that she can flip her backup camera at will. Anyone done that yet? Sounds like it might be a warranty voiding kind of things but who knows. If you know how please reply to this post on the MHG site.
http://madisonhybridgroup.com/yabb/i...ay&threadid=56
Dealer employee hybrid knowledge
Shared frustration with some employees at local dealers not knowing all there is to know about our hybrids. Don’t forget that the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" so certainly feel free to speak up for yourself if you think the person may be need some additional information about your hybrid. (Like how to move it from one part of the service garage to another!)
Getting your car washed
Tired of the guys at the full serve car wash not knowing how to restart your hybrid after it comes through the car wash? (Prius, highlander, etc) One member suggested Flex Care Auto Wash at 2015 Deming Way in Middleton. (Hwy 12 and Deming). You can drive the car through the car wash yourself.
Treo phone and the 2006 Prius
Anyone been able to do it? The person asking will check PriusChat and let us know. But if you have done it, please reply to this post on the MHG site.
http://madisonhybridgroup.com/yabb/i...ay&threadid=57
Replacement Prius key fob
A member lost her 2006 Prius key fob and she is going to possible see about getting one from somewhere other than the dealer. She related that a new one is very expensive. (over $200?) Plus once you get the fob, you must pay $50 to get it programmed by the dealer. She was also told to be sure to not lose the current spare fob she has. Apparently if you don't have any key at all it is even more expensive to get it fixed? 4 digits in price?
Free admission to Milwaukee Auto show for 3 hours of volunteer time
Bradlee of Milwaukee Hybrid Group needs help staffing a Hybrid information booth at the Milwaukee Auto Show. They need 50 volunteers. Sat. Feb 24 to Sun Mar. 4. See the thread on the Madison hybrid Group web site for details.
http://madisonhybridgroup.com/yabb/i...ay&threadid=58
C. Wisconsin Hybrid Car Tax Credit Update
I gave an update on the Wisconsin hybrid car tax credit efforts that I am involved with. As the representative of Madison Hybrid Group, I have affiliated us with Wisconsin Alternate Fuel Vehicle Coalition. (WAVC) We are giving our feedback to get legislation introduced that would allow a tax credit for hybrid vehicles. The details aren’t finalized, but be looking for updates and be ready to contact your legislators if you agree with the legislation once it comes up for public discussion.
D. Direction for Madison Hybrid Group
We did a "check in" to judge people's opinions about Madison Hybrid Group. Did some comparisons to what they are doing in Milwaukee. Do people want to meet more? Is Saturday 10-noon a good time? (Except home football games, right?) While overall Madison Hyb5rid Group is somewhat of a social group, it is meant as an opportunity to gather and share ideas. Helping new owners is important so that they can get started on the right foot. We are all ambassadors of hybrid cars, whether we realize it or not.
It was agreed to see about setting up meeting times every other month if possible. Bring in a speaker every other meeting. Keep it informal with some structure. We didn't discuss much about the length of meetings. But feel free to send you feedback or make a post about it on the Madison Hybrid Group forums. I asked Bradlee about co-opting their Hybrid "STEP Program". (Support Train Educate and Promote). Bradlee mentioned a July joint outing at Miller Park to see the Brewers. I suggested also a possible fall caravan of hybrids driving to Mazomanie for a meeting/lunch/sightseeing/shopping?
E. Hybridfest
Re-confirmed date for Hybridfest. Public days are Saturday and Sunday July 21 and 22. But for people who choose to pay the $30 Hybridfest Member fee you will get much more. Besides the public days you get an additional ½ day of fun on Friday afternoon (the 20th) and a few hours worth of exclusive How-To sessions Sunday morning before the noon start of the public portion of the show. Although I mentioned good stuff like the MPG Challenge, member reception and Member Hospitality room, I forgot to mention that, as a Hybridfest member you get you get free tickets to the Fair Friday-Sunday and entry for special member only door prizes. If you know of any business that would like to set up a 10x10 vendor booth at the event it is only $150 for the weekend (Sat and Sunday). Please direct them to the
www.hybridfest.com web site for details. More details will be added to the site soon.
F. And more…
12:15pm At this point in the meeting I had to leave and the meeting continued. Colby chose the door prize winner: Tom. Fancy never been opened smart Toyota Tshirt from Hybridfest. There was to be discussion on the Detroit Auto Show, specifically the GM plug-in-hybrid announcement. Also to be covered was setup of a member's Scangauge II and a look inside Matt's Prius which now has CANVIEW, a device which provides lots of data in real time about the inner workings of his Prius.
G. Next meeting
Going with the every two month meeting schedule that was discussed today, the next Madison hybrid Group Meeting will be March 10th at 10:00am. Pencil in Culver's for now… but this may change.
___Good Luck
___Wayne
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