Week of March 14 to March 20 (Nat'l Avg price $1.935)

Today , 45 deg F , wind WSW 8 , which was helpful. 34.3 miles , 65.3 * .93 = 60.73 MPG. Tank is at 467.0 miles , 67.8 * .93 = 63.05 MPG. Rained all day Sunday , but only drove from Cindi's house to mine (3.9 miles). Did a 23.5 mile bike ride Saturday. Looks like I will be buying fuel Wed AM , unless I'm feeling brave.

 

I was feeling good on that ride. I had a lot more miles left in me, but I wanted to save some energy for , you know , my girlfriend.

Our time changed this weekend , so now there will be more opportunities to get in a ride after work , before dinner.

 

Another One Takes The Plunge

So, Marjorie convinced me to buy a hybrid in 2006. Then a few months after that, my sister Rose, with a monstrous DC commute, bought her Camray hybrid.



Then, after a few Wayne 'adventure drives' and my spreading world fame, ;-), one of my coworkers - Robert - bought a Prius.



Then Ken, another coworker, bought a Leaf after his original Ford Model T met an untimely death when it was lanced in the hood by a tree limb during a freak windstorm while parked in his driveway. A deeply religious guy - I told him God was trying to tell him something.



Then another coworker, who shall remain nameless, ran out of room in his car and couldn't stack any more newspapers, magazines, Burger King bags or junk mail on the seats. So rather than cleaning it out, he bought a Camray Hybrid.



I told my friend Bruce about leasing availability and pricing for a Leaf, and in a few weeks, he was gas free for his commute.



My brother Mike bought a Leaf, and now is the proud owner of a Volt.



Awhile later, Steve, another coworker, needed to change the spark plugs in his Ridgeline. So instead, he traded it in for a F150 Ecoboost.



This morning, the other Steve in the office walks in to the lab and says "I got 38 mpg on the way in this morning." He always teases me, describing how he LOVES to drive around with his windows rolled down. ;-) He had been talking about buying a RAV-4 hybrid, but the last thing he said about it last week was that he couldn't find an acceptable deal. I didn't quite catch on. I mean, it *IS* Monday after the time change?



We all just got back from the parking lot, checking out his new, pearl while RAV-4 hybrid.



Only 2 more guys left in the lab driving regular cars now.



Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimilated!







Bob

 

Welcome back Andrew.

Friday on the way home:
To Gas station:
- 54.3 / 11.2 miles (50F E@5 wr roads)
FCD = 55.6

Filled:
11.082 gals
577.9 miles
24 days
52.15 MPG (up 2 MPG from last take with warmer temps)

GS to home:
- 52.0 / 1.7 miles

This morning with school drop off:
- 51.0 / 13.1 miles (47F S@4) with dense fog and windows continually fogging up.
FCD = 53.9

tank:
0.29 gals converted
14.7 miles
>F

 

Today , 48.5 deg F , wind ESE 6. 34.3 miles , 66.8 * .93 = 62.12MPG. Tank is at 534.6 miles , 67.8 * .93 = 63.05 MPG. If I don't get caught in the thunderstorm tonight , I may try to squeeze another day ( 70 miles ) out of this tank Wednesday. Two pips remaining.

 

Last night:
- 62.2 / 12.9 miles (77F SSE@6) a few cling ons so I couldn't go flat out, but appriciate not having to use the lights on if I leave work a little late now.
FCD = 58.3 (+4.4)

this morning with school drop off:
- 53.1 / 13.1 miles (58F SSE@7)
FCD = 57.4 (-0.9)

tank:
0.75 gals converted
40.4 miles
>F

 

After work , I went directly to the polling place. I knew it would be pretty fast , so I left the car in ready mode. An east wind ( tailwind ) helped me a bit on the highway. I'm on my last pip , but it's not flashing.
And no thunderstorm yet ! If the weather cooperates in the morning , I will do 64 miles tomorrow to get back to my Shell station on Eola Rd.
34.5 miles , 70.9 * .93 = 65.94 MPG. Tank is at 569.1 miles , 68.0 * .93 = 63.24 MPG.

 

Last pip started flashing about halfway to work today. I'll be fine until I get home. Today , 48.5 deg F , wind WSW 15. 34.3 miles , 69.7 * .93 = 64.82 MPG. Tank is at 604.2 miles , 68.1 * .93 = 63.33 MPG. When I get to the Shell , I should be at 634 miles.

 

I think that's a bone head move... just saying.

 

BillLin , I appreciate your comment. But is it a bad thing to leave in ready mode for five minutes ? If so , why ?

If I didn't do that, I wouldn't get any engine-off glides on the 1.1 mile trip home. Guaranteed.

 

Hi Edwin, sorry I was so judgmental. I was thinking more from a safety and potential theft perspective. If you have someone in the car, then the theft aspect would be less of an issue, but very unsafe for a car ready to go with no one in the driver's seat. If no one is in the car, well... Or do you have a way to lock the door with key fob left in the car, or worse with the car beeping that the car is ready with no key in sight?

Regarding inability for the engine to shut off for the remainder of the trip, I'm very surprised the car would not retain sufficient engine heat to quickly achieve engine off states.

 

It does, but in those circumstances, the programming doesn't fully recognize that fact, so insists on going through its warm-up routine anyway. I suppose Edwin left his Prius "READY" to work around that frustrating quirk.

 

BillLin , I was not offended. If I leave the car in ready mode for a short time, it's usually in a fairly safe area , and I don't lock it. I don't believe someone can just drive off with the smartkey on their person. I do turn off the stereo to have fewer lights on. And I don't do it when it's dark. I think , but I'm not sure , that I can lock the car and still have it in ready mode. The car does beep a few times as you walk away from it in ready mode , but not more than a few. Will do some more testing.

RedylC94 also has a Gen 3 , so he knows it has a few quirks. One of them is ; it seems that even with plenty of temp and charge , it wants to go about a mile before allowing full glide capability.
Not sure why. I need to observe this some more.

 

Last night:
- 60.6 / 12.9 miles (65F WNW@23 gusting to 33) which was an favorable wind all around on the way home. Headwind or a nearly 90 cross wind.
FCD = 58.6 (+1.2)

this morning with school drop off:
- 52.5 / 13.2 miles (40F SSW@4)
FCD = 57.9 (-0.7)

tank:
1.21 gals converted
66.1 miles
>F