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Old 11-27-2007, 11:49 AM   #297 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,513

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 52.71 mpg (US)

Even Fancier Metro - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage top spec
90 day: 70.75 mpg (US)

Appliance car - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 60.16 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4,058
Thanked 6,957 Times in 3,602 Posts
03-30-2007, 07:56 Pm

First test drive!
Well, at the end of March one year ago we were realizing that the red Suzuki Swift that lent its name to Project ForkenSwift was waaaaay rustier than we had originally thought. A week later, we would declare the car "DOA" as a host vehicle, and the hunt was on for a replacement.

Flash forward a year, and the red Swift lives on: this afternoon its wheels, struts, axles, brakes, hatchback and a pile of other parts collectively contributed to the ForkenSwift's first electric test drive!

I'm excited to say we took it up and down the street a bunch of times, and (once the bravery arrived) around the block a couple of times as well.

The ForkenSwift puts that to shame! It sounds awesome. A very quiet, almost turbine like whirr - nothing like the Volt's "differential-eating-itself" soundtrack. The loudest thing in the car - when going - is the speedo cable. When stopping - the rusty brakes.

Plus we drove faster than the Volt. (But not much.)

On one pass, I pulled into a driveway to turn around, and across the street a couple of guys were wrenching on a Neon. They stopped working and stared at the FS, and it was obvious they were somewhat perplexed. Then one stood up and yelled over: "how come your car doesn't make any noise?"

"It's electric!" I yell back.

Pause... "Bull$h!t! Really??"

Me: "Yup!"

I got it all on video Will post some tomorrow or Sunday.

PS - not surprisingly, the freebie floodies are toast. We drove maybe 1 km total, never went over about 25 km/h and even with stopping twice to freshen them up with a 20-minute blast from the charger, the car was just crawling at the end. It needed a helping hand to get back up the driveway the last time.
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Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
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