Finally hit 40mpg

Since getting Blue (my creative name for the Yaris -- it's all about efficiency, and "Blue" is one syllable shorter ;-) ...my goal has been to average 40 miles per gallon. The EPA rating for this car is less than that for highway driving. But with some conservative driving techniques (see, I can use the C word in a positive way :) ...I figured that I should be able to beat the estimates.

I'm not doing hardcore hypermiling, but I am doing easy acceleration, shifting at 2000 RPM, turning the car off if sitting at a stoplight ...sensible things. Given that I share the ride to work with a colleague several days a week, have Shirley in the car with me various other times, and my daily commute is a mix of city/hwy, with some stop and go mixed in there ...I'm happy to report that yesterday's fill-up revealed 40.01 mpg.

This is, of course, not as good as taking mass transit - as was easy in the Pacific Northwest. And nothing beats the low impact of riding a bike or telecommuting. I do hope to get back to telecommuting a couple of days a week in the near future. But for now, I'm happy that I've reached one goal, and my American footprint on the earth, while still quite large compared to most other areas of the world, is getting better. The next goal is 41 mpg :)

Please let me just cancel service if I ask nicely

Think how nice it would be if we could ask for (insert name of any company here) to cancel our service, and have the friendly voice on the phone agree to do that, we wish each other a pleasant day, and we move on. It doesn't work that way yet.

Lawn pest/weed control: We have to keep a lawn in our front yard. It's our own fault for buying in a neighborhood with an HOA. Most of the side and back lawn is gone now (Florida-friendly fruit trees, ornamentals, flowers, etc, in its place, with no need for sprinkler). But we are required to have St Augustine grass in the front, which I am certain was an invention of Scotts fertilizer company. So for a while, we subscribed to a service (close to a year). I decided to cancel, convinced I could do as good of a job as they did, and for less money and using less chemicals. I've done it before. So I called to cancel the service. Seemed to go well. Then someone stopped by the house to see what the 'problem' was and to see how they could fix it. I told them no problem at all, I just wanted to save money, have more control (surprised? :) ...and thank you anyway for checking. Then a manager called. This time (still being polite) I stated firmly that there had been no problem, and I was not going to use their service or any service, and please do not call again, we are through, thank you. A week or two later another manager called. This time I figured (as I've sadly learned time and again) that I would have to be 'crazy customer' to get them to stop calling. So I raised my voice and told him that I would file formal complaints about their harassing techniques if they ever contact me again. It's been a month or so now with no contact.

Credit card: Being a bleeding heart liberal, I've considered using a Working Assets VISA for some time. I finally signed up, and, now that the other card was paid off and automatic payments had been switched, I called today to cancel the account. First I was transferred to someone who could better 'help' me (right). 'Jason' reminded me how much they value my business and what great features the old card has. I told Jason that I was very familiar with all the features, that the company has been great, but I'm a bleeding heart liberal and really wanted a card that would be doing a little good each time I use it, and please respect my wishes, please don't make me get nasty, please just honor my request to close the account. Jason needed to remind me (two more times) about the great features and how they really appreciate my business all of these years, and ...SO I raised my voice (I don't yell, I just raise it a little so they know that the mood is changed) and stated that he needed to do what I was asking and JUST CLOSE THE ACCOUNT!!! So then he finally did agree ...with a very different no-longer-appreciating-me tone of voice.

I understand that it's cheaper to retain a customer than to get a new one. But come on, there's got to be a better way to handle a break up.

"No guy buys a car for the mileage"

The other night I was chatting with a guy who was talking about the car he was buying. He was selling his current SUV and was real excited about the sportier SUV he was buying. He mentioned that a woman at work or somewhere asked him about the mileage his new vehicle would be getting. There were a few of us chatting, and he turned to me (the only other guy) and said, "No guy buys a car for the mileage."

To which I happily replied, "I did"

And it struck me that even though I get all jazzed to eek out the best mileage I can - sort of like a sport to me, really - there's a lot of folks who flat don't care. I've just been hanging with so many folks who do absolutely care about mileage and energy footprint, that I'd forgotten just how many people are simply living their lives. I guess this is how a religious fanatic would feel, 'cause I am so sure that it really does matter how we live our lives -- what we say/ do / think in relation to other folks (even though sometimes I think thoughts that are not so nice :) ...and I see folks who seem to be in this me me ME mode.

Hmmmm... I kinda want to do some converting of these 'lost souls' :) Self-righteousness is a terrible thing to waste, y'know.

Yaris pics

OK, Jess asked for pics... Here's a few :) Yaris in the driveway when we first got it home

Later that first day (that evening), with the front ripped off so I could swap out the horn :)

Stock horn replaced with dual LOUD Fiamm horns (with this tiny car, I want 130 decibels of real car sound to let folks know I'm there)

Blue (yes, that is my extremely creative name for the Yaris) at St Pete Beach a few days after getting it.

If ya gotta grip the wheel, ya might as well do it with style :)

Showing the Yaris love with a shout out to the YarisWorld.com forum

The Tanabe strut tower bar ...made an incredible difference in handling!

The window tint ...just after it was installed ...helping it dry by parking in the Florida sun up on the roof.

Most recent mod. NST crank pulley - this was after torquing on the pulley and before tightening the alternator belt back up.

And, I'm sure there will be more :)

Addicted to Yaris

Just over a month ago, we picked up the Yaris that we'd ordered back in August. That first night I ripped the bumper assembly off and swapped out the stock horn for a dual Fiamm horn setup to increase the volume and to make it sound more like a "real" car instead of like a Roadrunner cartoon.

Well, similar to my Rhode Island geek buddy Jess, who just keeps on modding her Mini Cooper S, I've been doing a few modifications to the Yaris. The mods I've done fall into the categories of fun, better mileage, and safety.

Fun:
NST Short Shift Kit. This was purely to add to the joy of driving. I measured a 40% reduction in the throw of the shift, reducing what had been 5 inches shifting from 1st to 2nd, down to the current 3 inches. It just feels a lot "tighter". Makes me smile :) This was US$98 and about 3 minutes to install.

Better mileage:
NST crankshaft pulley. This is the same diameter as the stock pulley, but weighs about 3/4 of a pound, compared to about 3.5 pounds for the stock pulley. The result that we've noticed is a much smoother take off. Before I had to gun the engine a little to get it moving in 1st gear; now it just sort of glides off from a stop. US$118 and about an hour to install ...OK and I spent about fifty bucks for a 12v digital impact wrench to make the job super easy to do!

Window tint. US$190. This is the one modification that I did not do myself. And yes, this is for better mileage. I like the look, but the 30% tint on all side and rear windows means the car is cooler, so less air conditioning use, so better mileage. And it keeps out 99% of all UV rays, so my lovely skin won't get all sunburned.

WeatherTech air deflectors. US$55 and about 2 minutes to install. These allow me to keep the windows down a little, letting fresh air in, keeping rain out - even when parked and locked, and thereby again reducing use of air conditioning.

Safety:
The loud dual horns (1 2). US$20 and about an hour to install. 130 decibels and has already saved me from a couple of crazy Tampa drivers (one was starting to change lanes without looking, and the other was BEHIND me ...looking at something on her passenger seat as she approached ME, stopped at a stop sign!).
Leather steering wheel cover. OK, this is also fun, since I think it looks cool, but it also makes a very definite difference in the control. I hate when we rent a car and there's no decent grip. US$50 and about 2 hours for me to sew it on.
Tanabe strut tower bar. $US93 and added a lot of stability. I drive the highway for part of my daily commute, and it includes a couple of "cloverleaf" interchanges. The stability on the turns is nothing less than striking -- and I'm not at all racing! OK, and it looks sweet when I pop the hood.

Where will it end? Man, I don't know. I'm not going to go lowering the car or getting a carbon fiber hood or any of that kind of mainly cosmetic mod. But I have ordered a tip for the exhaust pipe ...and that is purely cosmetic, but pretty cheap. Oh, and I have spotted some rear disc brakes that I could install myself to replace the stock drum brakes (added safety) if I pony up the $800 for the kit. I don't think I'll tell Shirley about this yet; I have no plans to order it (although I would love to!), and no need making her think I'm spending our retirement fund :)