Didn't realize the topic was going stale, I started with the most recently active thread and worked my way back, hit this thread pretty early. I just started reading the forum a couple days ago and registered today. Thought I had a couple factoids to toss on the fire. Sure, air gets thinner with altitude; thought that was obvious if not taught in HS science. Heat cuts engine performance just like altitude. Humidity too, in so far as it displaces O2. Water vapor also cuts air density -- an H2O molecule is lighter than either N2 or O2. (Funny, that.) All those affect engine performance.

Your body reacts the same way. The FAA sez pilots of unpressurized aircraft must use supplemental oxygen when above 10k feet for more than a half hour and at all times above 12k feet. You body is an engine...

Ah, so many firsts in a life well lived. Hey, make it one to remember!

Yeah, I debated whether to post that, or at least change the tone. I guess I didn't debate long enough. So, seriously, what did you feed Google? Picking keywords to get a best result can be an art, but to fail completely? (I Googled 'hybrid car forum' to find my way here, worked a charm -- first result!) I've apparently become too comfortable on the other forums and mail-lists I follow where we yank each other's chains regularly. I'm the new kid (heh!) here, and could have taken a little more time to gauge the tone.

I've a million questions and maybe a few answers. The block-heater thread was particularly interesting -- the hybrid in the family is the wife's daily driver. We've been a little disappointed that it's not making anything like book numbers through the cold season (if you can call the Willamette valley cold in the winter,) and had already attributed it to her short commute and the engine running a larger fraction of the drive than average. When I drive it, carefully and on longer runs, I think I can do somewhat better than the window-sheet numbers.

Benton 4may08