Being one of the greenest folk of Middle Earth, hobbits are particularly fond of not only the environment, but anything environmentally friendly. The Toyota Prius is their favorite mode of transportation this side of a pony. They have been sensing, however, the smog of evil creeping towards the Shire, and in an effort to halt its advance are trying to educate people on the magical wonders of Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive.
This man in the video calls himself Hobbit, and while I do know his real name, we agree that his alias suits him better. He claims to be the Toyota's lowest-paid salesman because of how much publicity he has given them over the past couple years. He is trying to promote and distribute information on using the Prius to its full potential, maintaining it properly, and driving more economically and intelligently. He is a strong believer in the information exchange of the internet, and surfaces on blogs and message boards throughout cyberspace. The above video was shot at Hybrid Fest 2007 in Madison, WI. Despite his eccentricities, Hobbit has a wealth of knowledge and enough personality to perhaps save the Shire and the rest of Middle Earth.
Now here's a guy that knows how to build a plug-in Prius. I don't mean he just has the technical expertise, which Horacio seems to have in spades, I mean he knows how to build one for only $4000.
I met Horacio at HybridFest. He doesn't consider himself a hypermiler, but he is concerned about the environment and tries to be as ecologically friendly as possible. As a member of the Long Island Prius Owners Group, he and many other members enjoy trading ideas and implementing ways of improving the Prius in one way or another. Thus, adding a heap of batteries, some multimedia extras and a plug in the bumper became a popular idea and was made a reality by Horacio Calvento. Fortunately for him, he is in the retail electronics business, which means he has working relationships with companies like Panasonic, Jayso Electronics and Manzanita Micro (previously seen here). With batteries donated by Panasonic, he instantly saved thousands of dollars. Since he did it himself or with the help of the occasional friend/hobbyist/enthusiast, there were no labor costs involved either except for time. And it only took him a few months. The result is a clean, crisp-looking Prius that gets a cool 88 mpg every day. Imagine what it could do in the hands of a hypermiler.
For those of you not gifted with a friendship with Panasonic, your task is made easier if not less expensive by Horacio's online instructions on the Owners Group website at the Read link. A brief gallery is below, and there are many more in-depth pictures at the aforementioned site.
Three grown men, a global positioning system satellite navigation screen, and a map with directions. Seems like shooting fish in a barrel, right? Wrong. These fish apparently are wearing kevlar vests, you have a slingshot, and do I see a chain gun in the flippers of that sturgeon homing in on me?
That's what it seemed like while attempting the MPG Challenge, the residential/rural course in Madison, WI where hypermilers tested their skills against one another. Except, it wasn't the full course - we were, for the sake of time, only doing 9 of the 22 miles laid out on the route.
Our vessel for the treacherous voyage was the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, equipped with the same Hybrid Synergy Drive as the Prius, but instead of combusting the more planet-friendly amounts of fossil-fuels with an electric-assisted, asthmatic, chain-smoker-on-the-patch 1.6 liter four-cylinder, there is a 3.3 liter V6 aided by two electric motors.
Thankfully, in spite of numerous failed attempts at navigation, once the actual course was located and followed, we achieved an average of 44.5 mpg over those 9 miles. Tell that to the EPA.
Glad to be back in the blogosphere. Two more Hybrid Fest videos coming up, so stay tuned!
Coming at you from Hybrid Fest 2007, here's an interview with Ryan Fulcher about his plug-in Prius. Interestingly, Ryan does not consider himself a hypermiler - he doesn't like to worry about his driving habits, and just drives safely. While that may make those of you in the forest green spectrum scoff, the fact that Ryan is a paler shade of green really only makes his Prius' mpg figure more impressive.
He uses a battery charger from Manzanita Micro to not only charge the batteries when plugged in at home, but to have the additional lead-acid batteries charge the stock battery, extending the range of the Prius' electric motor. A simple solution, but unfortunately a costly one. A conversion kit can cost $10-12,000, which would take years to return in fuel savings. However, the point is not to make a business out of this kit. Admirably, it's to show the major automakers that plug-in hybrids are easy to build and that there is a market for them. One would hope they already realize that, but as Ryan says, this "proof of concept" should be pretty good evidence in favor of production.
Our own team member Shane went to the HybridFest in Madison, Wisconsin, last weekend and he's got lots of coverage already posted and still more to come, but he wasn't the only one there. ABG friend Matt Kelly of the NextGear and Amanda Congdon of ABC were also there and they have some video online. He's got an interview with hypermiler Bill Kinney above and an interview with Francis Vogel from Clean Cities, Wisconsin after the jump. Amanda has a general report on the event that you can find here.
As mentioned by Insight owner and hypermiler Randall Burkhalter in the first Hybrid Fest video posted, the MIMA system is an electronic retrofit which allows the driver to manually control the Integrated Motor Assist in the Honda Insight. At Hybrid Fest 2007, I got to meet and interview Mike Dabrowski, who invented the system and is building and selling them to Insight owners.
The simplicity and the results of the system are remarkable, however, Mike is running out of the control boards that make it possible. He's working for cheap because he really wants to do the green thing (check out his personal Insight) and do what he can for the environment, but if people aren't going to order them any longer, her can't invest the money into having more boards made. So if you own an Insight and want to maximize its efficiency, call up this self-proclaimed "mad scientist" now, and thank me later.
Randall Burkhalter is the proud owner of a Honda Insight - the first exclusive hybrid model to the United States. It is not an ordinary Insight, however. Randall has fitted it with the MIMA system - a favorite tool of the hypermiler. It basically slaps an M in front of the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) Honda hybrid system, standing for 'Manual.' This gives the driver total manual control over how much motor assist or regeneration you are using at any given time with the use of a joystick. There is a small joystick in the cupholder in the center console, some control buttons on the stick shift, an LED display in the rear viewed through the rearview mirror, and the rest is all you. The system is actually quite reasonable at about $600 and consists of a few wiring harnesses that work around the factory system, a couple custom control boards, and that's basically it. The result, with practice and a change in "driver attitude" as Randall calls it, is an average of around 95 mpg. Remember, no mechanical modifications are being made, just some electronic add-ons.
Randall commutes 80 miles round trip each day, and goes to the gas station once a month. I'll just let that sink in for a second.... So that one-time $600 investment, for you lucky Insight owners, you can make back in savings probably in about six months. If your feet tend to go towards the "hot-rod performance" (which would likely mean you don't own an Insight anyway), make sure you adjust that driver attitude first - and quit complaining about not getting those EPA estimates - take a page from the books of these hypermilers.
From the onset of the MPG Challenge on Friday to the conversion of Wisconsin Power's stock Toyota Prius to a plug-in hybrid on Sunday, HybridFest 2007 was the most rockin' party for treehuggers, hypermilers and other greenfolk this side of the Atlantic. If you feel bad that you didn't make it, you should. But to take the edge off, I'm here to tell you about it – as long as you promise to make it next year.
First of all, keep your eyes peeled here at AutoblogGreen, because we'll have interviews from happy hybrid owners, hypermilers (including those that competed in the MPG Challenge), and other attendees of various shades of green. You'll also find out how to get much better fuel economy that the EPA estimates, as long as you're okay with being tailgated. We'll also have a video of my sample attempt of the MPG Challenge in a Toyota Highlander Hybrid – it wasn't pretty.
Last year, HybridFest visitors endured the heat outside, but this year the event was in the air-conditioned comfort of the Exhibition Hall of the Dane County Fairgrounds, and was reportedly bigger and better than last year. Count on that being the theme of next year's Fest as well. Attendees were able to view exhibits from major automakers and their green offerings, alternative fuel promoters, green product manufacturers, and even a vintage Aston Martin V8 Vantage running on E85 (see gallery). I don't agree with the fuzzy seat covers, but to each their own. I'll see you there again next year!
On the road again... Hybrid Fest 2007 is happening this weekend, folks, so buckle up, plug your PDA into your Prius, and maximize every ounce of oil in your tank to get to Madison, Wisconsin for two days of jolly green joy. Bloggers, hypermilers, hybrid owners and everyone else is invited to the largest hybrid event in the country for mingling, test driving, and a little learning on the side.
On the agenda in the presentation department are author Sherry Boschert talking about plug-in hybrids and how they'll change America, Jonathon Foley from SAGE giving us "News from a Warming Planet", and Wisconsin State Representative Joe Parisi on the Wisconsin hybrid car tax bill, among other things. There will be interactive displays from Toyota (naturally) and other manufacturers, as well as exhibits on alternative fuels. The MPG Challenge invites competitors on a 20-mile course to see who can get the most miles per gallon - any prize for the winner beyond saving the planet for a day is just icing on the cake.
I'll be there covering the event for those of you who can't make it, and I'll be meeting and greeting the average Joe's to find out how they get above average fuel economy, so you can learn about them right from the comfort of your own home. Unfortunately, it looks as though I'll miss the conversion of Wisconsin Public Power's Prius to a plug-in hybrid, so whoever can videotape that and post it on YouTube, will get the vid posted here on AutoblogGreen, a shout out for who it came from, and a high-bandwidth stream of happy thoughts from me. I'll see you guys Saturday!
The second annual Hybridfest is going to happen July 21-22, 2007 at the Alliant Energy Center Grounds in Madison, WI. A local non-profit group called Hybridfest, Inc. organized the first event last summer and after a huge turnout decided to expand the event to two days this time around. The festival is actually growing beyond just hybrids this year to include other alternative fuel transport, like biofuels, hydrogen, and plug-in vehicles.
One of the weekend's activities is a 20 mile MPG Challenge course were drivers can take their un-hacked hybrids and see if they can beat the 73-150 mpg averages that drivers achieved last year. In 2006, 160 hybrids from 21 states and Canada turned up to participate and 2,500 people who attended the Dane County Fair also checked out the cars on display. Other activities that are planned for this year are test drives in hybrid vehicles, educational exhibits, and assorted speakers such as Sherry Boschert, author of Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America.
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