12/26/04
- Well, we had quite the sub-zero cold snap recently, and several
short morning trips with a cold engine in these conditions made my
Prius chug gas almost as much as a non-hybrid car does under ideal
conditions (gasp! ;-) As a result, one more entry has been added to
the 2004 Mileage log.
12/21/04
- Happy
Holidays!
- Temps near 0°F and lots of short trips do not make for good mileage
in any car, the Prius included. Still, mileage in the mid 30s is
pretty darn good under such cold conditions! See the details in what will
likely be the final update to the 2004
Mileage Log.
- It may not be a lot, but we just got our first good dusting of snow,
so I can finally change the site background to something a little more
seasonally appropriate. :)
12/10/04
- It seems the colder temps of the season have finally started to take
their annual toll on my mileage numbers. See the latest data in the 2004
Mileage Log.
12/04/04
- I had a bit of a scare today when I discovered a nail in one of my
tires! The Maintenance Log has been
updated with the details of my visit to
the dealership where the nail was removed and the tire repaired.
11/23/04
- Have a Happy Thanksgiving
everybody!
- The 2004 Mileage Log has been
updated with the latest data. We've had an unusually warm November
here in MN, which has been great for mileage. The forecast is calling
for colder temps to finally arrive later this week. They should then
stick around for the next few months -- but then again this is
Minnesota, so who knows what the weather will do... ;)
11/1/04
- I thought I'd better top-off my tank before the big election
tomorrow, and was surprised to discover that a few days of warmer
weather driving pushed the mileage above 50! See the details in the 2004
Mileage Log. And don't forget to get out and vote tomorrow!
10/16/04
- The 2004 Mileage Log has been
updated with the latest fill-up results. It looks like cold
temperatures may be here to stay, and lowered mileage along with
them...
10/13/04
- Both the leaves and the temperatures are falling. Fall is definitely
here, and now the site background reflects the recent change in
season....
10/4/04
9/18/04
8/31/04
- Two new fill-ups have been added to the 2004
Mileage Log. The first one was just to top off my tank before my
first road trip outside the Twin Cities Metro area, and the second one
was done today at approximately half a tank (as indicated by the gas
gauge) several days after I had returned home.
- Unfortunately, the random rattle in my dash has returned, so the
hunt continues for a more permanent fix...
- (Updated 9/6/04) Also with regard to maintenance, I received a notice today about a
"Special Service Campaign" to re-seal the positive terminals
on the hybrid battery to prevent possible leakage
in certain high-humidity weather. I'm not thrilled about having such a
major job done, especially since Minnesota is rarely very humid, but
I'll probably go ahead and agree to have it done during my free
30-month maintenance visit in October. There will be no cost to me for
the work. Stay tuned...
8/16/04
- The 2004 Mileage log has been
updated with (drum roll please....) a 51.1MPG fill-up! When I filled
up today I also learned how easy it can be to forget that the car
isn't "off" just because the engine isn't running. When I
got back into the car after filling the tank, I was startled to discover
that I had forgotten to turn the car off after recording my odometer
data! The car had been sitting there silently the whole time I was
pumping gas... Yikes! I guess that's what happens when you only visit
a gas station once every few weeks ;-)
7/23/04
- Lots of short trips and AC use really cut into my mileage this time.
See the latest data added to the 2004
Mileage Log. Despite the disappointing fill-up, I still managed an
overall 44.8MPG for the month of July!
7/5/04
- Another pleasing mileage result has been posted to the 2004
Mileage Log. I hope I can keep getting mileage results like this all
summer long! :)
7/2/04
- I've updated the Problems section
of the Maintenance Log with the
pleasant news that it appears I've finally found and resolved the
source of my randomly occurring rattle in the dash! Woo Hoo! :)
6/18/04
- Gas prices have gone down, and my mileage has gone up! See the
latest update to the 2004 Mileage Log.
6/2/04
- I've placed a new "Mail" button on the home menu of the
site. Feel free to click on it to e-mail me with any comments or
questions! I get a lot of spam in my inbox, but I'll do my best to
sort out any site-related e-mails and respond to them as soon as
possible.
5/24/04
- My first fill-up at over $2/gallon yielded a very pleasing 47.1MPG.
See the details in the 2004 Mileage
Log.
5/19/04
- Things are finally greening-up outside, so I've updated the site
background once again with a more seasonal image.
5/9/04
- If you live in Minnesota, be sure to check out today's article on
the front page of the St. Paul Pioneer Press titled "A passion
fueled by mileage." It's a fun and interesting article about
hybrid owners and their quest to maximize gas mileage. It's
non-political, informative and fun to read. I was interviewed for this
article a while ago, and was really excited to see that the reporter
quoted me twice, and even included the URL of this website!
:-)
5/8/04
5/3/04
4/30/04
- I've updated the Misc. section of the site
with a new page for my recently expanded Tomica
Prius collection! There should be another update to the Misc.
section during the next week, so stay tuned -- especially if you're an
avid video game player.... (hint, hint ;)
4/28/04
- I've got some more interesting Prius collectibles on order, and I'll be updating the Misc. section of the
site as soon as they arrive (hopefully within the next week or so.) Watch this space!
- I've also made a final update to the 24-month
maintenance page. Now everything is wrapped up nice and tidy! :)
4/15/04
- 46.1 MPG calculated! Now that's more like it! The temperature has
still been fluctuating quite a bit, but today it was actually 2
degrees warmer than during my last fill-up on March 24th. Hopefully the tank's "bladder-effect"
has come and gone for the season. I guess I'll know for sure after my
next few fill-ups. Today's data has been added to the 2004
Mileage Log.
- It seemed too good to be true, and it looks like it was. I've
updated the page for my 24-month maintenance
visit with some upsetting discoveries made after the service was
performed. All appears well now, so I can take a deep breath and
relax.
4/12/04
- I've updated the bottom of each page with a hyperlink for e-mailing
me with comments, questions or general feedback. I had avoided doing
this with the hope that it might cut down on spam from bots crawling
the web to harvest addresses, but my spam software is busy as ever. So
I figure I might as well make it easier for people to send legit mail
as well!
4/8/04
3/26/04
- Since it looks like spring has finally arrived (for now anyway ;-)
I've updated the site background to reflect the recent change in scenery.
3/24/04
- Today's fill-up is a great example of how the Prius'
gas tank bladder affects mileage calculations. My previous
fill-up was done with the temperature at 37°F. Since then, temperatures
have climbed all the way to a high of 70°F today (as shown on the car's
display)! As a result, the Prius' gas tank bladder has expanded enough
to hold more gas than it did on the 15th. In this case, it held enough
extra gas to drag the mileage calculations down to a startling
39.6MPG. The actual amount of gas burned likely lies somewhere between
this figure and the multi-display's readout of 47.0MPG. As long as
temperatures stay fairly similar between now and my next gas station
visit, my next fill-up should yield a much more favorable calculation.
But then again, this is Minnesota, so we will probably have another
foot of snow before spring takes hold for good! ;-) See the mileage
data on the 2004 Mileage Log. Be
sure to compare it with last year's
data to see how mileage is actually better than is was at
the same time last year...
3/17/04
- Corrected some links that have changed on the Hybridlinks
page.
- Wow! It's already been a whole year since this page was first put
online. Thanks to everyone who has visited during that time!
3/15/04
- Ah, March in Minnesota! Temperatures have been bouncing around like a refrigerator with a flakey thermostat, but it turns out
there have been enough warm days to boost my latest mileage data back to the
40+ territory for the first time since January! See the early springtime details in the 2004
Mileage Log.
2/23/04
2/19/04
- I've finally started making a version of the site for those of you
viewing on higher resolution displays. The new scale should fit a
1024x768 display exactly, and will hopefully be easier to view at
resolutions even higher than that. It is still a work in progress, but
you can access it by clicking the "View High-Res Site"
button on the home
page's navigation panel in the bottom frame. Or you can just
click here :)
There is a "View Low-Res Site" button as well, so you can
switch between whichever version you prefer.
2/4/04
- Another frigid fill-up has been added to the 2004
Mileage Log. At least this time the temperature was in the
teens. That's pretty cozy for this time of year!
1/30/04
1/22/04
- A good old-fashioned Minnesota winter means it will probably be a
few months before my mileage leaves the mid-to-upper-30s. Check out my
latest chilly fill-up in the 2004
Mileage Log. Reduced mileage or not, the Prius' has so far handled
the extreme cold like a champ! :-)
1/15/04
1/5/04
- Happy New Year!
- Lots of short trips and frigid temps near and below 0°F have resulted
in my first real mileage dip of the winter season. See all the details
in my first update to the 2004
mileage log.
Click here for a list of site updates from 2003...
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