The weather's warming up, and so is everyone's fuel economy! Here's a great opportunity to help create a huge, high-density cloud of smug even in the face of $3-and-up fuel prices. . As it's turning out, I will be helping staff the High Efficiency Rally part of Tour de Sol this year, which among other things means that I'm NOT competing. However, I and another gentleman with a stock Insight will likely be running the course the day before, to make sure it's free of hazards/construction/confusion, and also to hopefully set a benchmark as to fuel economy that's reasonable for the course. We will try to run under the same conditions -- warmed up, good tire pressure, force-charged, all that -- and ballasted for navigator weight if we don't have one going with us. [Which is likely, since a lot of the rest of the NESEA staff/volunteers will be doing six thousand other things at once]. . I don't consider myself a radical hypermiler but I do try to pay attention, and think I do reasonably well in an essentially unmodded Prius. Your job, therefore, is to . A> sign up, at _ http://www.nesea.org/transportation/tour/2...Carlo_Rally.php B> read the rules, posted as PDFs under _ http://www.nesea.org/transportation/tour/2006rules.php C> arrange NOW for a couple of days off from work in May, D> check the latest version of advice for Prius drivers, at _ http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/prius-rally-hints.txt E> and come out to beautiful Saratoga Springs NY and environs, and blow the doors off our benchmarks. . Even if you don't want to drive the rally, there will be plenty of hybrid geekin' to be done at the auto show on Saturday. If we get our act together we might even have the "EV button install clinic". . _H* [Cross-spammed to several forums and groups.]
