New MiHG meet, Saturday 10-18

Hello to our MiHG members and friends,

As the halcyon days of late summer lead us into the glorious days of fall and Thanksgiving, our MiHG has many things to be thankful for. This meet will be a celebration of events and activities that our MiHG has been a part of, including those still in process. We will also begin to reconnect with the cold weather strategies, as we give up these days of our best fuel economy. But thanksgiving will be the theme as we share our stories and thank each other on the continued growth of our MiHG.

Wayne Gerdes, founder of CleanMPG, MiHG PT member and the finest hypermiler in the world, will offer a segment on his newest test of endurance and fuel efficiency, the 48 Contiguous State World Record Drive. Two teams of four drivers will travel about 7000 miles across America in 2nd generation Honda Civic Hybrids, travelling into each of the 48 contagious states. This event, which will start in mid November, has the potential to be accredited by the Guinness World Record organization. The other exciting news is that MiHG founder, MiHG PT member and hypermiler extraordinaire, Justin Fons, will be co driving the event with Wayne. Another MiHG member Ken Gordon may also be one of the four drivers as well. Wayne is still actively looking for event sponsors. Instant details can be found here:

Calling every member from every state for help on World Record route planning - CleanMPG Forums

After break, we’ll do a segment on one of the most exciting projects that our MiHG has been a part of. The Wisconsin DNR has given a grant to Wisconsin Clean Cities SE to perform Ecodriving training of SE Wisconsin fleet owners. Under the guidance of WCC and Francis Vogel, this Wisconsin Fleet EcoDriver Training Program has partnered with MATC to train fleet drivers and is currently working with the City of Milwaukee on training 18 drivers out of their Central Garage. I have been hired as Instructor and consultant for the Project and several MiHG members have provided support services as well. We should have several graduates of the WFT first class at this meet to share their experiences with the Program. This should be an exciting segment, as we see what can be done with the techniques that we’ve been teaching and using for years in the MiHG.

Another segment on the topic of fuel efficient driver training will be presented by myself regarding a recent Drive $mart America FE Training Program that we taught at Pat’s Garage in San Francisco, on Oct 4th. Justin and I were invited to train 13 preferred customers of Pat Cadem and his Garage, rated as “Best of the Bay†three years running as well as the finest independent hybrid garage in the area. Pat is also one of the certified installers of the A123 PHEV System. This was an opportunity to teach an all day formalized Drive $mart America program in its entirety. We worked hard and still had a great time.

In our last formal segment, three MiHG PT members will share their varied experiences at events that they took leadership in as representatives of our MiHG. These events held in Beloit, Oconomowoc, Milwaukee and Pewaukee have helped our MiHG begin to spread our wings to the larger community and beyond. We are developing into an organization that is sought after for its knowledge and expertise and we are fortunate to have members that wish to spread their wings as well as representatives of the MiHG. Debbie, Randy and Ken will share their adventures on the road for the MiHG.

For our first timers, here’s the way things generally work at a meet. We begin to gather in the Library parking lot about 9:15am to schmooze and show off our vehicles. If the weather is good, we’ll begin check-in and our VTP’s (Vehicle Tire Pressures) at that time. At 10:00am we’ll begin to setup our room and by 10:20 we should be set to begin our introduction round robin. We’ll have a short session and then take a short break for snacks and item sales. We’ll then have our main session and offer some updates, reviews, news, short subjects and door prizes and then break for lunch about 12:45pm. After our potluck lunch, we’ll begin our Drive $mart sessions about 1:00 pm and begin cleanup. Beverages and utensils will be supplied but we encourage all attending to bring some food to share. (Main dishes are greatly appreciated). Be prepared to be gracious, with the understanding that the agenda usually does not follow the timeline.

Milwaukee Hybrid Group Meet, No 19

Saturday, October 18 2008
9:30am to 1:30pm
Oak Creek Public Library
8620 South Howell Avenue
Oak Creek, WI. 53154
414-764-4400

Directions: [FONT=&quot]http://tinyurl.com/2kv67k[/FONT]

9:00 – 10:00 Outdoor gathering, discussion and VTP checks
10:00 – 10:20 Check in, room setup and informal discussion
10:20 – 11:00 Introductions and performance updates
11:00 – 11:15 “48 Contiguous State World Record Drive†by Wayne Gerdes
11:15 – 11:25 Break
11:25 – 11:45 “Wisconsin Fleet EcoDriver Training- City of Milwaukee†by Francis Vogel, WCC (tentative)
11:45 – 11:55 “Drive $mart America Goes to San Francisco†by Bradlee Fons
11:55 – 12:10 “MiHG Spreads It’s Wings†with Debbie Anders, Randy Mays and Ken Keuler
12:10 – 12:40 Open Discussion
12:40 – 1:00 MiHG updates, spectacular door prizes and Q and A
1:00 - Open Lunch, VTP results and informal discussion
1:20 – Open Drive $mart America driver training

We will once again be promoting the Drive$mart America Program as the strategy to drive any vehicle more fuel efficiently in order to improve safety, save money and to lower oil dependency and tailpipe emissions. So if you know anyone who would like to learn how to save money and lower their fuel costs, invite them to attend. This has become a major part of the MiHG public outreach in 2008 and even though fuel prices are modulating for now, there is still no better time to start saving money than now.

Please feel free to bring any co-worker, friend or relative if they are thinking about buying a hybrid or are interested in getting better mpg in whatever they’re currently driving. Our meets are the best way to get accurate and real life info on hybrids and actual hands on Drive $mart training for hybrids and non-hybrid vehicles. We’ll also have “spectacular†door prizes, free handouts and interesting displays in addition to our legendary MiHG camaraderie.

We will also have the following items for sale at the meet:

The Accutire Tire Gauge MS4350B for $14.95.
The Linear Logic ScanGauge 2 with X Gauge for $139.95
Toyota OEM Electric Block Heater for $39.95
Bob Sikorsky’s book, “Green Driving†for $14.95
Bentley 2004-2008 Toyota Prius Repair and Maintenance Manual, for $49.95

We anticipate another great and memorable meet and we thank you for all your encouragement and support in the continual growth of the MiHG, the largest hybrid owners group in North America.

Questions please call us at 262-691-4349.

Bradlee and Justin Fons
& the MiHG Planning Group
milwaukeehybridgroup.com