Thanks, everyone. I'll try some PnG on the flat area tomorrow. Problem is that I can't get going too fast--it's basically a one lane road with hairpins. The good thing is that the car isn't warmed up at that point, so it's not trying to charge the pack yet.

Good news on the VBR! I'll have to burn myself a commute CD tonight!

Here's my $1E6 idea regarding the big elevation change problem. Maybe it's already out there and patented or something. Anyway, the root cause of the issue is that our cars have only short term memory and look-ahead. IMA (or HSD) don't have any larger scale context (in time or space) in which to operate. So, what if the Nav system were to include topological data plus some basic AI which would allow the car to make more intelligent choices about battery state, Regen, ICE vs. Electric, etc.

For instance, imagine that over time my car learns my commute route and manages the tradeoffs for even better FE. It would allow the battery to discharge more on the way home because pretty much no matter where I go from there it will be flat or downhill where regen is available. There are plenty of other scenarios where such a system could improve FE.

Packrat