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-   -   Vancouver B.C. meet-up? Jan 2013? (https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/vancouver-b-c-meet-up-jan-2013-a-24350.html)

MetroMPG 12-19-2012 02:52 PM

Vancouver B.C. meet-up? Jan 2013?
 
I'm in Vancouver until the end of Jan. Anyone interested in getting together after the holidays?

I'm in town, near Little Mountain/Queen Elizabeth Park. I do have use of a vehicle -- Honda Odyssey van (V6, oink, oink) ... though I've managed to avoid driving it so far.

--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--

I get a kick out of spending time here. Part of the enjoyment comes from seeing a very different automotive scene vs. small town Ontario.

Some efficiency-themed observations on this visit so far ...

1. Prius & hybrid taxis. They're everywhere!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2336/...25277c6b19.jpg

Can't step off the curb without risk of being run over by one of these!


2) Old Metros / Fireflies!

http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0028_large.jpg

Even the older generations! These are long, long gone from rust-belt Ontario. I'm pretty sure I literally have the last Metro/Firefly on the road in my city back home (and my "BlackFly" is the last generation car)!

3) Electric Smart Car

http://www.evworld.com/images/smart_..._driveaway.jpg

I saw... correction heard, then saw ... one of these go by yesterday. Haven't seen a Leaf or Volt yet, but surprisingly, I did see ...

4) Fisker Karma

http://www.byteyourlife.com/wp-conte...ma-300x225.jpg

Saw one cruising down Main St last week. Unmistakeable looks. OK, a Karma doesn't really belong in a list of "efficient" cars - It's a hog whether running on electrons or gasoline. It's only efficient in EV mode relative to other gas hogs.

5) Car sharing services

The Daimler-owned Car2Go smarts are everywhere.

http://vancouverisawesome.com/wp-con...ic-village.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcezciJQJu1qjgeub.jpg

The "Modo" car co-op has a wider variety of cars. I've seen a Prius C, and a few other conventional compacts/sub-compacts.

http://www.modo.coop/files/cache/762...953ffd4486.jpg

And spotted this Hymotion-converted PHEV Prius (2009 according to their site: http://www.modo.coop/phev

6) Various blasts from the past...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ewpEPV7ANW...ckup_320mz.jpg

One of these VW pickups lives a block from where I'm staying. It's being used as a work truck.

http://www.hondacivic.ro/wp-content/...tchback500.jpg

Saw a Civic like this on my first day here. I had one of these for a few months about a dozen years ago: bought it for $265 and it got 50 mpg (US) easily, cruising at 90 km/h / 55 mph in summertime conditions. Then the head gasket blew & I cracked the head.

There seem to be tons of 80's & 90's subcompacts still on the roads around here. Far more choice for the efficient used-car shopper than anywhere that uses salt on the roads!

mechman600 12-19-2012 03:41 PM

I'm in for a meet up!
Within eBooger driving distance?:turtle:
Any plans to go east out of the city towards me? There's a nice new bridge to check out - you can say you've driven over the world's widest long span bridge if you do!

MetroMPG 12-19-2012 04:09 PM

Cool! I definitely still want to see eBooger. If we don't end up meeting within eDriving distance, I'll head out your way for sure.

There are a handful of other active members in this area that I can think of off the top of my head ... orange4boy , War_Wagon , ecomodded .

And there are a pile of others who list "Vancouver" as their location who are just lurkers / fuel log users only. And there are undoubtedly others around here who haven't posted their location at all.

Hopefully more will chime in over the next couple of weeks and we can set something up.

darcane 12-20-2012 12:29 AM

I'm a bit farther south (near Seattle) but find your car observations interesting. Other than the electric Smart car, you could be describing Seattle. I do see Volts and Leafs regularly as well. We have lots of Prius taxis (and Microsft uses them for on campus shuttles) and I have even seen Fiskers (there was a dealer a few blocks from my work).

Some of those with "Vancouver" locations might be from Washington rather than BC...

MetroMPG 12-23-2012 03:18 PM

More sightings I forgot to post...

7) Kei cars ...

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6...20porthole.jpg
Nissan S Cargo Van club

I've seen a few cargo-type Kei cars and micro-vans like this Nissan S-Cargo. Also a pile of non-Kei JDM right hand drive cars.

8) Electric city buses ...

http://www.newflyer.com/pix/timeline...rge/2005_1.jpg

orange4boy 12-30-2012 02:14 AM

Hey, Darin

I'm in for a meet up! What brings you to the wet coast?

My vehicles are embarrassingly not in full eco-regalia due to our construction priorities. A meet up will give me an excuse to get on that at least partially.

We need to figure out a good time and location.

MetroMPG 12-30-2012 09:46 PM

Oh - I took the opportunity to come to Lotusland to look after my friends' hound and house while they're away traveling.

So far (today notwithstanding), it's lived up to the Wet Coast stereotype! I've been here since early Dec., but I've been here 5 or 6 times before in all seasons and for various durations (from days to months) but the last 3 and a half weeks have been the greyest/wettest by far!

Meet-up... Any time before the 9th or after the 19th works best for me.

I'm open to suggestions on a place to get together, but would be more than happy to have you guys over to the place I'm looking after (near Main & 29th). And if it's near a meal time, we could fire up the BBQ too!

MetroMPG 12-30-2012 09:47 PM

So assuming weekends work best (I'm actually flexible - I can meet during the week too), how about:

Jan 5 - Sat
Jan 6 - Sun
Jan 20 - Sun
Jan 26 - Sat
Jan 27 - Sun

2000neon 12-30-2012 10:11 PM

Good idea, we need one of these once you're back in Ontario.

MetroMPG 12-30-2012 10:22 PM

I've been thinking about that too. It'd be nice to host an economy run in the 1000 Islands some day. (The tough parts are the wet bits between the islands :D)

I was thinking I could host travelers at my place, but it's currently mostly gutted. And at the rate I'm working on it (hello! I'm in BC, not working on my house!) it's probably not going to be ready in 2013!

2000neon 12-30-2012 10:26 PM

I laughed at "the wet bits between the islands" :D

I would be willing to venture out there for an economy run or even just a meet/ greet.

mechman600 12-30-2012 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG (Post 347861)
So assuming weekends work best (I'm actually flexible - I can meet during the week too), how about:

Jan 5 - Sat
Jan 6 - Sun
Jan 20 - Sun
Jan 26 - Sat
Jan 27 - Sun

Jan 5 is no good for me.
The rest of the days are. Sundays I am busy mornings/early afternoons, but late afternoon onward is good.
Evenings in the following weeks are good as well (except Thursdays):
Jan 2-4, Jan 7-11, Jan 28-Feb 1.

MetroMPG 01-04-2013 05:36 PM

Bump!

I heard from War_Wagon via PM as well, then he disappeared.

----

More Vancouver eco-car sightings: saw my first Nissan Leaf in the wild a couple of days ago.

flying kurmaster 01-04-2013 07:27 PM

Hey Metrogp last time I was in vancouver I saw an electric postal van on Georgia street downtown. you should try and see one while you are there, very impressive and see if you can find out about there range.cheers

MetroMPG 01-05-2013 07:58 PM

flying k: haven't seen any electric vans yet, but I keep my eyes open.

Spotted another rare eco-beastie this morning though, Firefly Turbo. :D Started a new thread for people to post sightings:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ost-24527.html

ECOHondaOdyssey 01-07-2013 05:06 PM

Vancouver Meet-up
 
It would be great to meet up.
I just joined Ecomodder, and am trying to improve the fuel efficiency on my Honda Odyssey minivan. When in January will we do it?
:turtle::thumbup:

MetroMPG 01-07-2013 10:53 PM

More the merrier!

For a get-together we were looking at one of:

Jan 6 - Sun
Jan 20 - Sun
Jan 26 - Sat
Jan 27 - Sun

I'm still available for any of those.

I'd also be happy to meet with you on your own if you want to go out for an "ecodriving session" in your Odyssey. Guess what I've been driving while in Vancouver? :)

Does yours have cylinder deactivation?

mechman600 01-07-2013 11:00 PM

I'm still good for all of those days except the 6th because that was yesterday.:D
The VEVA meeting is this Wednesday. Their website (veva.bc.ca) says the location is TBA. I am not sure I can make it with my shift but I will let you know.

MetroMPG 01-07-2013 11:07 PM

eBooger extravaganza today
 
2 Attachment(s)
Today I went over to Surrey to meet James (mechman600), builder of the eBooger!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...zda-22478.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1357617780

(Note the carbon fibre hood upgrade.)

It was great to get a full tour of the car after watching it come together in his build thread. Got a ride too and some good conversation. Beats the snot out of the ForkenSwift!

In my travels today I even braved crossing the new Killer Bridge! (Port Mann):

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1357617754

Fortunately, no "ice bombs" smashed my car!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agD47VbEBYE

MetroMPG 01-07-2013 11:11 PM

Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association meetup anyone?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by mechman600 (Post 349610)
I'm still good for all of those days except the 6th because that was yesterday.:D

Ha! Right you are.

Quote:

The VEVA meeting is this Wednesday. Their website (veva.bc.ca) says the location is TBA. I am not sure I can make it with my shift but I will let you know.
My Internet says it's on the 16th. :P A week this Weds. I think I'll cross-post in the Fossil Fuel Free section, since we might have some EV-only local members reading there.

mechman600 01-07-2013 11:12 PM

Oops. That's what I meant.:o

ECOHondaOdyssey 01-08-2013 01:54 AM

Hi Metro mpg,
It would be awesome to meet up and do some eco-driving. I am trying to turn myself into a eco-tiger here with this i-VTEC cylinder deactivated beast.
Right now I am getting 20mpg (US gallons) city and 28.2 on the highway with my new scanguage.
For the previous 6 months & 5800miles, prior to the scangauge, it was 17mpg mostly city driving. I am eager to learn some 'tried and true' ways to tame this beast.
regards,
EcoHondaOdyssey

MetroMPG 01-08-2013 11:09 AM

20 city/28 hwy is pretty good. Sounds to me like you're sorting it out pretty well - already above EPA for both figures. Send me a private message if you'd like to set up a day/time to go for a drive. I'd be interested in seeing how the cyl-deactivation works in your van.

I see you put "Kammback" on your list of potential mods. I bet you've noticed the rear of the latest version of the van has a short OEM aero spoiler... baby Kammback:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....sey-review.jpg

MetroMPG 01-08-2013 11:28 PM

Met with War_Wagon today. He took me to see his secret eco-car stash! Full of 1st gen. Insights, and Metros, and Tercels, and Civics VX's, and 1st gen. Priuses, and minivans (and family sedans) with holy grail 5-speed manual transmissions.

Someone... OK, Frank Lee... once told me that the amount of junk (OK, vehicles in my case) a person collects will always expand to fill the available space. This he prophesied about my workshop. And lo, the prophesy came to pass: I filled the available space with Suzuki-clones.

War_Wagon has a most difficult conundrum: his storage space appears to be kind of unlimited! He sometimes makes half-joking gestures of wearing blinders when we go past vehicles that catch his eye, but which he doesn't yet own.

The vexing part of the story is that these eco-cars represent the bottom of the automotive food chain. Because despite there being many ecomodder types who would otherwise snap up a rust-free example of their favourite 15 or 20 year-old fuel-sipper, geography is cruel: it doesn't really make financial sense to come half-way across the continent for a $1000 car. (Or ship one that far.)

What to do, what to do...

War_Wagon 01-09-2013 04:16 PM

I'd love to find homes for most of these little cars, if only because then I could keep looking for new ones ha ha ha. It's hard for me to see a seviceable eco-car go to the scrap yard, it just seems like such a waste when in the right hands it could advance interest in what we all like to do, give someone an economical way to get around, and keep someone from having to have monthly car payments on a new car (I did that once in the early '90s and it still makes me cry lol). But around here there just isn't any interest in these cars it seems. If there was, I wouldn't have to rescue them. People around here don't want anything old or anything that is a project for the most part it seems, even if it's something interesting.

mechman600 01-09-2013 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by War_Wagon (Post 350047)
I'd love to find homes for most of these little cars, if only because then I could keep looking for new ones ha ha ha. It's hard for me to see a seviceable eco-car go to the scrap yard, it just seems like such a waste when in the right hands it could advance interest in what we all like to do, give someone an economical way to get around, and keep someone from having to have monthly car payments on a new car (I did that once in the early '90s and it still makes me cry lol). But around here there just isn't any interest in these cars it seems. If there was, I wouldn't have to rescue them. People around here don't want anything old or anything that is a project for the most part it seems, even if it's something interesting.

Man. If I ever [for some reason or another] get a longer commute than I have now and the Electric Booger won't do, I will be sure to buy a car off of you.

War_Wagon 01-11-2013 03:51 AM

Well I appreciate that. But this isn't about selling cars to me. Don't get me wrong, I have used that to fund buying new cars in the past, but when it comes to eco cars trust me, no one around here is breaking out their wallet to buy one. I had a mint 92 Tercel, 5 speed, 165k KMs (102k miles), zero rust with original paint and a mint black interior. Took 6 weeks to sell it for a whopping $1200. I didn't care about what it sold for, it was more the fact that it took a month and a half to sell it - if a strong little car that is capable of 35 mpg+ is that unwanted around here, then I should probably stop saving them from the scrap heap.

mechman600 01-11-2013 08:50 PM

Funny Story
 
Here's a good one. When Darin (MetroMPG) visited the other day, we were cruising in the Electric Booger and he noticed a penny jammed into my cigarette lighter. "Yeah....my 3 year old daughter always played in my car when I was working on it."

Hmmm........

Thinking about it, after converting the car to electric, the stereo and digital clock stopped working, and whenever I put a new 10A fuse in, it instantly blew.

Fast forward to today when finally took a pair of needle nose pliers and pulled the penny out. New fuse: good. Digital clock: good. Stereo: good.

Thanks Darin for your expert diagnostic help!

MetroMPG 01-14-2013 06:42 PM

You are welcome, sir! (I'm always on the lookout for potential electrical shorts when riding around in other people's DIY EV's :D :D)

---

I probably won't be going to this week's VEVA meeting (going to visit relatives on Van Island Wed., not sure what time I'll be back). So not sure about the prospects for a "group" meet there.

Though I will be going out for a spin with EcoHondaOdyssey this week to see if we can find ways to squeeze out a few more km with driving techniques.

mechman600 01-14-2013 07:58 PM

When are you departing from this fine province of ours, Darin?

MetroMPG 01-14-2013 08:13 PM

Heading back sometime in the first week of Feb.

I have an invitation to stay longer, but my project list back home beckons!

MetroMPG 01-24-2013 11:20 PM

Wanna see a Leaf?
 
http://reviews.cnet.com/i/bto/200910...11_610x406.jpg

OK! Who's interested in getting a close-up look at a Nissan Leaf this weekend? VEVA's president has one (or has temporary use of one - I'm not 100% sure).

We just have to sort out meeting times:

EG: VEVA is having an informal "EV chat" at Calhouns restaurant 3035 West Broadway @ noon on Saturday.

That works for me. There may be other EV folks there too.

But he implied other times may work. I plan to get in touch with him shortly to see about the other options.

War_Wagon 01-25-2013 12:46 AM

Sure, I'm in. Later in the afternoon would be better but I can do noon if that's what everyone settles on. I'll bring the Prius if someone wants to help me figure out how to get it started after sitting since last April lol

MetroMPG 01-25-2013 02:01 AM

Hey - that would be cool too. First hybrid I ever drove was a gen 1. Prius.

War_Wagon 01-25-2013 03:10 AM

I just seem to remember reading something about if the early ones had a flat 12 volt battery and you jumped started them, they wouldn't shut off. That sounds like about my luck lol :snail:

mechman600 01-25-2013 04:27 AM

I think noon on Saturday may work for me. Maybe the best chance for me to get out into the "big city". I'd love to shoot poo with the VEVA people, since the last time I was at a meeting was...well...years ago, and I have an eBooger to show off now.

MetroMPG 01-25-2013 11:38 AM

Saturday (tomorrow) @ noon sounds like a plan. I'll be there.

(I haven't heard back from him again anyway - though I only emailed back last night.)

mechman600 01-25-2013 05:38 PM

I will be there too, with my 3 year old daughter/EV enthusiast in tow.

MetroMPG 01-25-2013 08:16 PM

I met Bruce (VEVA pres. with the Leaf) this afternoon. Neat vehicle! Change of time/venue for showing the Leaf. Hope this doesn't mess you up:

He'd be happy to show it at 11 AM, meeting at the Real Canadian Superstore parking lot -- near the gas station -- exit 22 from the 2nd Narrows bridge (north side). (Closer for you, closer for him.)

We could grab a bite afterward as well.

How does that work? Let me know!

mechman600 01-25-2013 09:15 PM

Sounds good!


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