Month of April 2024 (Nat’l Avg $3.536)

12:50AM, 42degF.....Looks like temperatures won't get over 51degF & showers are predicted throughout the day, into Monday. Now, there isn't any rain, but the parking lot is wet. We'll see what the term "showers" really means.
8:45AM, 45degF.....No rain now with morning chances only in the teens. Predicted high temps will be to 53-55degF & rain chances rising to 30+%, only after 3PM. The term "showers" is being defined & morning to early afternoon walking should(?) be rewarded. Three Osprey are flying over the apts & having a good time, now! Surely, the parents from last year & maybe one offspring? Yes!
Monday & Tuesday will be a bit of cooling & showers(there's that term again) at times through the days.

PS, 53degF.....high temp today is going to 57degF. On my nice morning walk, the sun poked through the not thin clouds, just a bit. However, unlike the cold sun of early January, which is only about 37 diameters above the horizon here, Sol is now 58 diameters above the horizon, & I really could feel the warmth!
Now, rain prediction is for after 6PM....that definition of "shower" again.

PS I, presently 51degF.....Rain is being put off again, from 6PM to 7:45PM. People are walking & playing in the apt. parking lots. But, I see a thin black squall-line at the western ridge & coming this way. Wonder if that is the rain, the predictors have scheduled for us, all day long. Tho the line is densely black, I don't see any rain coming down. Maybe, it'll pass right over.

PS II, 7:50PM.....Oh, that is funny. The squall-line seems to be passing to the west of us, & on toward higher ground to the northeast & toward the mountains, just like the Everett, WA radar also indicates. No rain here, but maybe some rain in the mountains. Getting very dark because of the black squall-line and the setting & cloudy sun which can't be seen.

PS III, 8:10PM, 49degF....Yes, the squall-line is to the west & passing to the northeast into the mountains. The radar indicates that snow may be falling on the upper reaches of the mountains. But, again, no precipitation here. The clouds are really black & the night moves on us, quickly now.

 

In the Elantra today. First highway trip ( only about 23 of the 33.4 miles is highway ).
48 deg F in Naperville, 46 in Elk Grove.
Wind S 8
fcd = 60.3 MPG. A little disappointed. But the car is still a baby , less than a thousand miles.

 

Highway miles involve much more ICE time, and so the numbers are good but not great. My trip to the office this morning, with light wind and 45F, ended at 59.8. My trip home involves slower traffic and numbers are 10 to 20 higher. With these cars, small changes in road speed can provide a big boost in trip average because posted speed limits on highways are right around that limit where the engine needs to run for the majority of miles. Traffic permitting, I will use a sort of pulse and glide, running the engine up the hills since it's going to start up anyway, and then gliding downhill to force EV, and then adding just enough pedal to move that needle on the power gage to about the 10 to 11 o'clock spot. That gives enough thrust to maintain speed - for the most part - while keeping EV mode alive as long as possible.

 

9:10AM, 46degF. Both our old non-hybrid Elantras like temperatures above 50degF. Always liked when Elantra's rpms were down around 1200. Was your trip flat or did it have ups & downs, where rpms get away from 1200?

 

9:13AM...Presently we have no rain, but the west ridge is disappearing. Rain coming in? Prediction says rain coming in.

PS, 9:27AM....Yes, rain now.

 

Well...............I'm in Land of Lincoln, so........ not so many hills.
And this car doesn't have a tachometer.

 

If the 2013 automatic Elantra is moving under 35MPH in 6th gear, engine is a trace rough & I increase speed 2MPH, without the transmission shifting down, till the engine smooths....that's 1200rpms. However, our manual 2016 Elantra was smooth down to 1000rpms. Loved that manual transmission......

 

Today I'm driving the Fit again. I will take the Elantra when I
go to Michigan Friday. 50 deg F in Naperville , 50 in Elk Grove.

Wind SW 8

33.4 miles,fcd = 52.5 MPG

 

8:05AM, 47degF.....Not supposed to get over 52deg today, & the rain will continue for several more hours. Yes, cool again. Oh, yeah. I bet the Arctic above the 80th parallel has been above average HOT for March 2024. I'll check. The World is blowing its....HOT TOP OFF....AND all its other World's places, too.

PS, 4:57PM, 55degF.....Once the rain stopped, it got nice in late morning to afternoon. Got 3 degF warmer than predicted. Walked twice, the afternoon walk to the bottomland & river. Twice, saw crows chasing big predator birds, one an Osprey & the other a hawk. Few other birds, but scattered Common Merganzers were on the river. When the sun came out on the trees, the deciduous trees' new foliage was yellow, the early Spring reminding me of Fall colors.
Following doctor's orders, dinner is mixed peas & diced tomatoes. Will have fruit & peanut butter later, again following doctor's orders. Tomorrow, if the Senior Lunch has any left over, I may take some of the scheduled BBQ rib sandwich....which doctor will say, "NO, NO, NO!"

 

For most of March 2024, average temperatures were above average for the Arctic above the 80th parallel, indicating cold Arctic weather fronts had been shifted south onto Canada & the US, by intruding warm weather from the south. For 2(3?) days only, temperatures touched average. However, the last decades show that Arctic warmings are strongest during latter Autumn thru Winter months. It's not unusual that elevated latter Arctic March temperatures are averaging closer to average Arctic temperatures of the last century. All average above 80th parallel February 2024 day temperatures were well above average Arctic February temperatures.

 

I heard it'll be in the 80s in Syracuse, NY today... odd weather. Friends there who are Subaru ICE car fanatics. I never ask how their mpgs are...

add: oh, they were also "blessed" to be in the path of the complete solar eclipse yesterday.

 

Yes, I went to Eastern Washington near the Stonehedge Replica at Maryshill, WA & saw the solar eclipse of 1979. Spectacular! Camping on the Columbia River, I could feel the temperature drop as Sol got covered by the Moon! Looking west-southwest down the Columbia River, I saw the Moon's shadow cover the canyon walls, as the shadow approached at under(?) 2000 Miles an Hour, covered the camp site & then proceeded upriver, receding at under(?) 2000 MPH. Of course, I was taking photographs of the Eclipse & got some pretty good pix.
I was going to go to Oregon to see the Solar Eclipse some years ago, but failed to get proper sleep the night before. I didn't want to fall asleep during a long Eclipse drive. So I contented myself with a home viewing, seeing a 95+% Sol coverage during that Eclipse. I walked around the neighborhood, showing the eclipse to people, using my binoculars to project an image of Sol(& the covering Moon) on a white paper.

 

Today 42 deg F in Naperville , 44 in Elk Grove.

Wind SW 3

33.4 miles, fcd = 50.0 MPG.

Filled up the Fit this morning for $4.089.
411.4 miles, 8.835 gallons, fcd = 48.2 MPG.
411.4/8.835 = 46.56.

Elantra is full of fuel and ready to hit the road at 4:15 AM Friday.

 

My brother does frequent runs to MI from Ft Wayne, IN. He is finally on the hybrid bandwagon. He picked up a 2012 Prius V not long ago. Loves it. It replaced an even older than that, Sienna. He still has his second Sienna, but I suspect that'll be sold once he realizes the V can do everything he needs right now. He used to have deliveries to do from his printing business, as well as to transport his wife with wheelchair. The V currently handles both needs.

 

Im' a little irritated with Yota at the moment , but I'd have to say that any Prius
is probably a good car.

 

I think Toyota still cannot build enough of the Primes in either flavor.

 

Toyota, and to a lesser extent Honda, have the shortest supply of new inventory in the market. Toyota has a bunch of unsold Tundra pickups that they're slashing prices on, but the overproduction is just them trying to keep the plant open since it's in Texas and so is their headquarters. Same deal on the Camry - keeping the Kentucky plant zooming along and having a decent supply on dealer lots. The 2025 Camry is going to be hybrid only. Once again, Toyota is responding to the market with what owners will need in the coming years.
Toyota hybrids - especially the Grand Highlander, where "Grand" is a reference to the car payment of about a thousand a month - are still selling at MSRP. Demand is strong and supply is lean, so there aren't many discounts to be seen. People who want a Prime are still getting on the waiting list for when one arrives. That's only a problem for people who need a car "now" and not "later".

 

9:50AM, 49degF......Beautiful, clear morning! The binoculars show good detail in the western ridge. Just very thin clouds that hint that the day may cloud up later. Supposed to get to 60degF today. Oh, one of the Osprey just landed in the Tower Nest. Expect a sweet walk to the Senior Center. Would be an excellent lunch, except the doctor says I can't have the BBQ pork sandwich. See another Osprey land in the Nest. Ma & pa are busy.

 

Wish Hyundai would produce EVs in the US, so I could get the $7500 tax credit in the future. But now, like the Chevy Bolt EV, the latest Kona has also increased beyond the 14 foot length & I can't get the Washington state Ferry "short vehicle" discount. If the sub-14 foot Venue was EV, Hyundai would still have me for a possible customer, IF the Venue was built in the US. Our 2016 manual 6 speed Hyundai Elantra was built in the US.

 

The deciduous tree leaves are growing quickly, the newest & thinnest leaves letting sunlight thru & appearing yellow, are thickening & now have their normal & darkening green.

PS, 9PM....Oh, the thin crescent Moon & Jupiter look nice in the evening sky, specially with binoculars & the spotting scope!