The 1 Litre Car!

On June 12 - 13, 2010, I attended the Newmarket Windfall Ecology Festival, and towed up my electricfly there to represent the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada.

It was quite an interesting show, and I learned a few things about Fleet Vehicle licencing versus personal licensing: More Options!

The Key point of this posting comes to this: My Saturday trip to the show - I towed the electricfly up via Highway 401 - 400, and exited Highway #9 - Davis Drive East, continuing to Eagle Street, and on to the Fairy Lake Park where the Show was held, and where I disconnected and positioned th car for the weekend. I drove home via Mulock and Highway 404 - 410. The Average for the day was at 11.0 Litres per 100 Km!

Sunday - I went up the same was as Saturday,k but returned with the car in tow back the same route, and my daily fuel consumption average was at 10.5 Litres/100 Km!

The average between the two days then as at 10.75 L/100 Km, just under a litre above the Vehicle Rating of 9.8 L/100 Km Highway!

This while maintaining a basic steady speed of 100 KPH, and while towing the electricfly for a total of 150 KMs! Consider that the Electricfly weighs in at 2,000 lbs, and - as a Gas Model - even with the 1.0 Litre, 3-cylinder engine, was rated at 4.5 L/100 Km.!

So the combination of my Dodge Dakota with the Aerocap, and the electricfly in tow - used some 3.5 Litres of fuel less, per 100 Kms., than the two vehicles would have used as gas powered - driving seperately to the show!!

Towing to the Distillery!

This weekend - I had the Electricfly 'In Tow' behind the Aerocap to downtown Toronto (East Side) to the Eco Wheels Show in the Distillery District!

It was there as a reference Vehicle for the presentation of the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada, Along with our Tent, and Banners, as provided by our President - Howard Hutt.

We were positioned by the main entrance gate, and I parked my Aerocap Dakota in the back parking lot.

Over the Course of the two days - over 90 people stoped and asked various question about the vehicle, and took some information home with them!

Honestly speaking - many people might not have been there for the show - as the Eco Wheels Show was held in an active entertainment area, and there were even a couple Weddings there on the Saturday! Also - restaurants and bakeries were popular venues in the district! As Such - we did not have a total focused autdience comeing through the show, so I think we did OK!

Aerocap Gets (to) the Captical!

This Past Saturday, I drove the Dodge Dakota with the Aerocap on it up to Ottawa, and ... I towed the Electricfly the whole way!

Nearly 1,000 Kms for the trip with the Electricfly in tow - and only one casualty - the Magnetic Trailer Lights were blown off somewhere between Odessa, Ontario, at my Gas Stop, and The Ottawa Science Center - where I was taking the Electricfly up to EV EXPO 2010! (Anyone know how to keep the Magnetic base Trailer Lights attached? Or - is there some speed limit not listed on the package?)

The Tow Bar that is for the car - is not really designed for towing with a bumper ball - which is all I have on the truck at this point, since it is still a lease! On tighter corners - there is a bit of touching and chipping of the paint on the bumper at the drop down.

For pictures of the EVent - I will be posting them on my electricfly blog.

AeroCap Does Detroit Auto Show!

Well, at least I drove the AeroCap Truck, my 2008 Dodge Dakota to Detroit to SEE the Detroit - excuse me - North American International Auto Show (NAIAS 2010) this Past Weekend!

The Show seemed to have a whole new Flavour, in part to the Absences, and in large part - to the new players: No Porsche exhibit, just one Ferrari, I saw no Bentley, (might have missed that one), and new - a whole section - Electric Avenue, with a focus on the participants in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize Competition, and new Electric Vehicle Companies exhibiting!

Kokam America - is now Owned by Dow Chemical, showed a booth downstairs beside the EV-Ride Pavilion, and one presenter in the X-Prize Area - SSI Racing - Showed their car powered by A123 Systems 26650M1 Cells!
The Battery Pack was in a Clear Polycarbonate Case for show!

It seemed like the show was almost dominated by either EV's or Hybrids, with a push towards higher end Hybrids, and smaller EV's but also Plug-in Hybrids were hinted at! Even Mercedes had a couple of Hybrids out for show! Nearly 1/3rd of the show seemed to focus in this direction!

I saw no mods, or even variations that were obviously targeted at making Pickups more Aerodynamic, less Blunt or draggy, or even cleaner and tigher in their cheet metal, but I might have missed it if it was there - as I was quite excited about the Electric Avenue portion of the show. Anyone else notice such things at the show for Pickups?

Boat Tail Mod shows 15% measured improvement!

Just a couple days back - there was a recent story: DIY ‘Boat Tail’ Gives Little Car Big Fuel Economy - By Chuck Squatriglia, Autopia, about Darin Cosgrove, an aquaintances Geo Metro Aero Mod package!

His Car - a Pontiac firefly - Like the same one I am using for my Electricfly, but newer, has had simple but practacal testing done - and recorded by Video camera and Tuft Testing to measure flow and turbulence, as well as multiple driving runs to test with mods on and off, to verify the differences, has shown at least a 15% improvement on an already very fuel efficient vehicle.

He Says - “I’ve driven with the tail on for about 300 km in total, mostly at highway speeds up to 100 km/h,” Cosgrove told us. “I didn’t notice any change in handling. The only effect on driving is I have to watch out for rubberneckers in other cars. Seriously.”

The Article mentions "The tail joins the rear wheel skirts, bellypan and other mods he’s made to boost aerodynamic efficiency. The result isn’t much to look at, but it boosted Cosgrove’s fuel efficiency by 15.1 percent at 90 km/hr (56 mph)."

These are all elements to show - that - a vehicle which usually gets below 5 Litre per 100 km, and is now getting below 4 litres per 100 km range - means that's now about one less trip needed to go to the gas station each month or so, so there is a time saving portion to the result as well as a money saving part!

Follow the story to see the Video he posted at the end.

Just think - what would you save if you cleaned up the bottom and rear of your vehicle? Also - if it's done right - you gain a large rear end cruple zone to protect your self and your fellow occupants!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and may your feet not freeze over the winter, and your nose not be red from Alcohol while driving!

Please take a moment to Enjoy a good Christmas Song and share it with others!

Are you staying home this Christmas - or Traveling to Visit Family, Friends? If your Traveling - Safe Journey and return Home Safe, and all the better for the relationship in your life!

We are going out to a Christmas Dinner at one of our Favourite Restaurants in Richmond Hill this time! (No cooking, no dishes, no leftovers! More time to try our hand at some candy and special baking projects we want to do!)

the AeroCaps project is on a bit of a hold with the cold weather an no shop, but it is still generating interest - I can tell by the web traffic!

A Special thank you to my new visitors. Please book mark the site and stop in once a month or so - more often in warmer weather! Feel free to let me know what you would like to see more - in the comments you leave!

Merry Christmas to you all and may the winds of change treat you well in the coming new year!