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I'll be posting one next week... 700 miles looks very achievable, but it takes forever to drive that far! Frank

This is backwards. Hills are your friend, flat roads need more fuel. Why? Because ICE are only efficient (most kW/gram of fuel) under high load for a given RPM, while EV really can't climb hills, but it really stretches out the coastint distance downhill. ICE at >2 bars uphill, so you charge the whole way, EV over the top and down. It's one reason I get such poor MPG on the NYS Thruway, and do far better in PA and Ohio, all interstates driven at the same low-70's speed. Once you get your hybrid, you'll see what we mean, salsa... Have fun, Frank

We must be driving different cars, or more likely, different cars in our past. - visors are fine, my problem is all the chrome on the dash... - no lack of storage; the center console is caverous! - no squeaks or rattles - nothing's fallen off in the interior - the upper and lower AC vents cover everything I need vented - dash reflection in the windshield is like most cars - its cup holders didn't come from K-mart - the center AC vent is adjustable for flow, at least - heat/AC is dual zone (makes wife happy) - cruise works fine, but on/off is in a bad spot - Nav has worked fine for me, once I understood the "GPS off" issue - MFT does what I ask I will agree that the paint's not so great on the drivers' rear door, but that's from my Father-in-law wacking the door frame putting his walker in, before he passed away last year - no complaints there, either. Perception is a funny thing; you're spot-on regarding the chassis and drive train! Frank

One reason I use a consistent procedure... - foot on brake, press start - buckle seat belt - shift into D, and I never see the orange engine light... HAve fun, Frank

Air dam size and placement is a tradeoff. Per the above, closer to the front has added benefits, while depth has a definite optimum. In my case, location was determined by mounting points, and depth by available materials, but with the goal of not going deeper than the existing underbody - no need to punch a bigger hole in the air, but rather a smoother one. I wanted a front lip spoiler, but found what I did far more practical, and likely more robust. Let us know what your find! Have fun, Frank

I considered a pointy air dam, or at least one with some curve to it. Practicalities overruled that option. I picked a shape that was flat on the plastic cover so I didn't need compound bends to avoid gaps. I also don't see pointy air dams in practice, so I suspect there's something else going on that's not intuitive. HAve fun, Frank

It's all about air flow. The seminal work on automotive aerodynamics is Hucho, and be prepared to spend $75 for a lot of math. Here's a link to a synopsis, containing about 5% of the book. The story on wings/rear spoilers is they rarely reduce drag, and in some cases (Porsche) intentionally increase drag. If it keeps your (vertical) window clean, you pay for it at the pump. If it looks too small to do anything worthwhile, it's likely beneficial. C-Max has a good one; tufts are aligned to a spreading flow down the rear glass, and don't bounce around a lot until you get to the sheet metal. My back window stays a lot cleaner than the tailgate below it. To my eye, an HHR's body profile has very little in common with C-Max. Compare the profile with the aero template (Hucho link, Fig. 4). The C-Max is highest above the drivers' head, and drops back down, following the aero template perfectly from the front axel to the tailgate. Extending that profile far enough is the essence of a Kamm's work. But as Hucho notes, there are other requirements, like stability in cross-winds. Very low drag shapes are typically highly unstable shapes. That's why Porsche has a speed-activated spoiler on all their 911-shape cars; they're very sensitive to cross winds without it! No fun driving a car that aims you off the road in cross winds. Add in trailing throttle oversteer and one can see why 911's are hard to drive fast. HAve fun, Frank

Mine would have nicely bridged across the two stock dams had they been farther forward. With your upgrade, you'll just want to mind the overlap. I'm still thinking of ways to integrate the ends with the wheel air dams... Frank

Some good suggestions. Here's another. You got the PCM update (13B07) but it was done improperly. That's a good reason for the trade-in you purchased, and a correctable one. Look for posts by JohnnOhio regardiing his update. They end with this one, where he finally got it updated correctly. Have fun, Frank

Yep! The wide notch on the side frame should straddles the grill border and sheet metal (plastic?) below the grill, and the top three functional slots should not be blocked (at least not by the license plate holder). Note this pic is after blacking out the chrome on the grill... and blocking the grill opening (inner tube). HAve fun, Frank

+1 Some would say I wasted Fathers' Day and $20+ making an air dam from scratch yesterday... I think I spent $4/hour on entertainment, and got something worthwhile out of the bargain. That's one reason it's taken me until June to get this made... it's a hobby so lots of other things come first. As Randy Quaid once said, "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" so I include the cost up-front. That way, any actual benefit is pure profit, even if the benefit is so small there's no winnings to count! But the car sure seemed to roll nice this morning... same 55mpg, but I'd swear I was going faster whole time! HAve fun, Frank

+1

Since I commented on your front spoiler, you should get a chance to comment on mine! http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/3129-tuft-testing-a-c-max/?p=44398 Have fun, Frank

My Fathers Day gift was a new spoiler, or should I say getting to fabricate one.... The idea was to use aluminum angle bar stock and find a flat spot where it would mount. When I finally crawled underneath, and realized I could use the front panel as a template, I knew I was onto something. I started with 2" x 1/16" x 8' aluminum bar stock from Home Depot, a jigsaw with metal blade, and a pair of pliers. And a 5/16" Allen bit in place of the right Torx bit. First, remove the plastic panel between front lip and crossmember- there are 7 screws (4 long from the tire spoiler, 3 short from the crossmember)- there are 6 plastic plugs (pull center out to release the plug) Then, cut out the bits on the bar stock - cut a "V" in each side of the angle stock 36" apart, so you can bend it.- use the plastic panel as a template for several featuresrelief for the panel under the engine (cut outs in plastic piece)tangs that you will bend back into the two slots in the plastic piecetangs with slots that will go under the three screws- the tangs under the screws need a compound bend to follow the contour, up as little, then back down - the tangs in the slots are very helpful aligning things, so you can locate attachment features - the relief areas I just cut a slot and bent the section until it broke. - watch length at the ends, and be sure to curve the top to match the contour of the plastic cover at the ends. No idea if it works, but give me a few weeks. I've been running ~55mpg on the way to work lately, and this should show better at high speed, but we'll see. HAve fun, Frank

Wasn't me... I'm one of the two Ice Storms in Bushnell's Basin, and the two at Xerox in Webster... but not at the same time.

The main reason is that I don't always park within feet of my tent, and am loathe to pull the mattress out of the tent to fill it. Other reasons are fast and foolproof. It's a Coleman air mattress, so this pump mates with an oversize port you can't access with the cheapys. It inflates really fastm batteries last years and there's zero chance of overinflating. Have fun, Frank

I figured I'd report when it arrived, but since others are shopping, here's a link to one I ordered. It says it's made in Europe, and it offers a 2007-2010 model year and Grand C-max options, so I'm expecting the same piece as from the TravAll or other UK sites. Ironically, the seller's PayPal ID (only payment method) is Korean Auto Imports, although their web site says they're based in Phoenix. I figured it was easier buying from AZ than UK. I specifically need one with the overhang show in Marc's last pic. My bumper cover is already marred from all the furniture we've moved, including two ~10mm gouges at the edge that are still attached. They were the impetus for this purchase. HAve fun, Frank

It's not obvious, but those left and right dash displays are driven by two independent computer systems - the right display shows leaves, or climate, entertainment, nav or phone data, like the big center screen, because it's part of the user interface computer. - the left display shows engine and drivetrain daa because it's part of the car's drivetrain control computer. Once I got past the desire for lots of gauges (look into OBDII scanners, Scangauge, etc.) I realized the displays are complementary; I've started looking for radio and phone info on the dash instead of the center display. Have fun, Frank

Bottom line is we early buyers now get a $1,025 total goodwill payment, $550 for 47>43mpg due to incorrect use of a common weight class, now another $475 for 43>40mpg due to an incorrect estimate of parasitic losses... To me, the resulting ratings look like what you get if you let the car do all the hypermiling... CU must be happy. Have fun, Frank

How about a cargo tray, with the front lip removed so it's flush with the deck? Tether it to the hold down loops so you can pull it out a bit? A piece of masonite would do as well... It all depends how tall you are; I'd planned to sleep the other way, and sitck my feet around the seats. HAve fun, Frank