Next MiHG Meet, Sat. August 16, 2008

Hello to our MiHG members and friends,

As we continue to enjoy the afterglow of Hybridfest 2008, we look forward to reminiscing about this year’s great event. We’ll share some of our experiences at HF08 at our upcoming meet on Saturday August 16th among our other planned segments. We want to thank all our MiHG who came to HF08 as well as the members who served as volunteers. Hybridfest, like our MiHG, is supported and nourished by individuals freely giving of their precious personal time. Thank you for your gift of sharing.

We are excited to have a private Toyota Prius PHEV as the focus of this meet. Francis Vogel, from Wisconsin Clean Cities, had his personal Prius converted by A123 Systems at HF08. Francis will be bringing this Hymotion PHEV to the meet and will along with Randy Mays present a segment on “PHEV Ownership, Now and in the Futureâ€. We also hope that some of our expert Prius drivers will be able to take it out to see what this PHEV’s capabilities really are.

Additional presenters will be Jeanie Wridt with a segment on “My Learning Curve: My First Year With a Prius†and Randy Mays with “New Metrics for Fuel Efficiencyâ€. Jeanie will share her experience of growing in knowledge and experience from an average owner’s perspective while Randy will open discussions of whether we should look at using different metrics to determine efficiency over MPG. Both Jeanie and Randy are part of our MiHG Planning Team.

There will also be discussions regarding our new MiHG, “Pump Your Ride To $avings†Program. With all the discussion in the news recently about tire pressure, we think it will be good to share the facts and cost saving potential about this important part of our larger Drive $mart Program. Since knowledge is power, we believe that our MiHG members should be armed with accurate information while discussing this topic with friends and co-workers.

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 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 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 18
Saturday, August 16, 2008
9:30am to 1:30pm
Oak Creek Public Library
8620 South Howell Avenue
Oak Creek, WI. 53154
414-764-4400

Directions: [FONT=&quot] Map of Oak Creek Library, 8620 S Howell Ave Oak Creek, WI by MapQuest[/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 – 11:05 “My Learning Curve: My First Year with a Prius†by Jeanie Wridt
11:05 – 11:15 Break
11:15 – 11:35 “PHEV Ownership; Now and in the Future†by Francis Vogel and Randy Mays
11:35 – 11:50 Open discussion
11:50 – 12:05 “New Metrics for Fuel Efficiencyâ€, by Randy Mays
12:05 – 12:20 “Pump Your Ride to $avingsâ€, Facts vs Fiction
12:20 – 12:40 Open Discussion and Reminisces of Hybridfest 2008
12:40 – 12:50 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 with fuel prices hitting $4 per gallon, there is 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

 

Hello MiHG members and friends,


This was the outline for the 18th Meet of the MiHG:

Milwaukee Hybrid Group Meet, No. 18​

August 16, 2008​

A. Room setup and registration

B. Introductions and performance updates

C. “My First Year With My Prius†– Jeanie Wridt

D. Open discussion

D. Break and sales

E. “PHEV 101†– Randy Mays

F. “My First Month in My PHEV Prius†– Francis Vogel, Wisconsin Clean Cities, SE

G. Open Discussion

H. MiHG news, events and updates

1.Hybridfest 2008: Reminisces by attendees
2.Eco-Road Trip : to Beloit and environs – Saturday, September 6
3.Madison Hybrid Cruise Night: Quaker State – Thursday, September 11 - Middleton
4.Sustainability Conference : Olympia Resort – Friday, September 12 - Oconomowoc
5.Madison Hybrid Group Meet: Saturday, September 13 - Madison
6.Chilton Energy Fair: Saturday, September 13 - Chilton
7.Urban Ecology Center Fair: Sunday, September 28 - Milwaukee
8.Next MiHG Meet - Saturday, October 18, – Oak Creek Public Library
9.Pump Your Ride to $avings – proposed Public VTP program
10.Drive$mart America - proposed meet and greets
11.MiHG Prius EBH Buy and Install – buy now & install in Sept/Oct

I. Wrap up, door prizes, VTP results and thank you’s

J. Lunch and informal discussions

K. Personal driver training: Drive $mart America

L. Room breakdown and cleanup

Thank you for your attendance today
and your continued support and encouragement
of your Milwaukee Hybrid Group



We had great weather and another great turnout. We had 49 attendees, including 12 first timers and 4 who came in from off the street. We had 4 members come in from Illinois and welcomed Jud Engels who came in from Kentucky. We also had Wisconsin members from Madison, WI and the surrounding SE Wisconsin area. We had 29 hybrid vehicles in the lot, several motorcycles and non hybrid vehicles and of course 1 PHEV.


We fortunately had several of the best hypermilers in the world at the meet including Wayne Gerdes, Jerad Parrish, Jud Engels, Debbie Anders, Wayne Mitchell and Justin Fons. Taking advantage of this opportunity, we had several of these drivers take out 7 new members to do some Drive $mart training. With the focus on PHEV’s for this meet, Francis was gracious enough to let many of these hypermilers take his new A123 System PHEV Prius out for some diagnosis and training as well.


The meet began in the parking lot at around 9 am and proceeded indoors at 10 am. This meet ran a little behind schedule (more so than usual) and ran until around 1:30 pm when we had our potluck lunch. In our initial segment, MiHG PT member Jeanie Wridt gave a wonderful segment on her FE learning and growth curve during her 1st year of driving her Prius. Jeanie shared her down to earth, non-technical, step by step learning curve (including spreadsheet) which gave our newest members a great roadmap on how to achieve success without being overwhelmed by doing too many things too quickly. We had a great open discussion about dealers, oil, tire pressure, EBH’s, among other topics.


In our main segment on PHEV’s, MiHG PT member Randy Mays gave a great PHEV 101 prep segment with the history of PHEV’s, their mechanics and their potential in the marketplace. Randy’s segment led to Francis offering his insights and personal experiences in operating a PHEV for about 1 month. As with any new vehicle or technology, Francis shared that there is a learning curve in understanding how to drive a PHEV and reported some success and some room for improvement. Members had an opportunity to view the PHEV and it’s setup as Francis and other members showcased the PHEV outside the meet room. Francis was anxious to seek the advice and input from our MiHG members so he can speed up his learning cycle and the Wayne’s, Jerald, Justin and Jud were salivating at the chance to do just that. Francis took away from this meet several new ideas on how to better achieve the potential of his PHEV. During the next months, we hope that Francis, his PHEV and the MiHG may be able to help set the standards on driving style, as more and more PHEV’s begin to hit the market.



As the meet began to finally wind down, we distributed our spectacular door prizes and presented Jud with our MiHG Thank You Travelling the Farthest Gas Money Award. We had a discussion regarding our lost opportunity to launch our Pump Your Ride To $avings initiative with a local business. Though it was approved, the business failed to confirm that commitment in a timely manner. However, we will pursue other options in getting our PYR$ Program launched. We also continue to spread the word of our Drive $mart America program to local businesses as well. In addition we reviewed 3 new MiHG meet and great opportunities that we have been offered within the next month by various organizations, including a Hybrid-Eco Tour set for Saturday Sept. 6th in Beloit WI. Details on the Hybrid-Eco Tour will be posted soon.


I want personally thank Jud for taking the time to come to this meet and participating as much as you did. I hope that you enjoyed our meet and came away with some ideas for your Cinn/Kentucky group. Thank you to Francis for his allowing our MiHG members to work with your PHEV. Lastly thanks to our out of state members who also took the time to travel to our meet and share their expertise and enthusiasm. We’re very fortunate to have dedicated members willing to spend a Saturday in Oak Creek.


Thanks to all our MiHG members who attended, especially our 12 newest members. We continue to grow because of what our MiHG can offer to the public and the hybrid community and the support and dedication of our members.



Our next official meet will be on Saturday October 18th at the Oak Creek Public Library at this point. More detailed minutes will be emailed to all MiHG members soon.


Bradlee