I agree, with some exceptions. If the line of cars extends a whole block then moving forward can ease the jam at the previous light. If there is a left turn lane next to you, not moving may prevent someone from getting into that lane and cause them to miss the green light. In such cases it's courteous to inch forward.

 

that happened to me the other day.

what i don't understand is why people creep in the first place. why not just pull up as far as possible to begin with?

 

What he said. ;-)

If I'm approaching a read light, I just cruise up to it slowly, and let the line settle down, and most of the initial "inching" has been done. And I pull up very close to the car I'm behind, so that if they inch up a car length or so, I'm still close enough that the people behind me don't really care.

 

I'm not a HCH driver (yet), but is it possible to not fully take your foot off the brake? Is there a compromise foot position that will allow Auto Stop to continue but let the car drift forward slightly? Seems to be possible with conventional vehicles.

 

That's a strategy I use when going downhill. Doesn't work on level or uphill surfaces though.

Well, I drive a lot in Los Angeles and use auto stop extensively even there... the trick is to wait a split second to start moving after the car in front of you starts. Apply brisk acceleration and then stop quickly.. this will engage the auto-stop.

Idle *kills* your mpg.... I am guessing the next iteration of the HCH will be able to run on elec only under 10 mph. Think about it, it would save a lot of gas.

 

That bit of "brisk acceleration" may *kill* your mpg more than idling for a bit.

 

Hi All:

___I see a number of explanations but Kenny’s is the closest to the right answer for maximum FE in my experience as well. With that, if you have a down hill section, start crawling well before you get there. I mean crawling so as to keep gliding into the slack as those ahead keep bunching up while you are ICE-Off (FAS or AS). Keep watching for that yellow on the side and if you see it, judge the distance, your current and needed speed to still be moving as the car(s) in front are just clearing the intersection just as you pull onto the bumper of the car in front of you while still moving. On the downhill intersections, I usually FAS at least 3 + cars behind and slowly take up the slack in a very slow glide on the decline hoping to catch the light while still moving. If you have an uphill or flat stop light, sign, whatever, crawl into the stop and get right on the stopped automobiles bumper. Hopefully the slack will have been taken up by the time you arrive and you can sit in AS or FAS waiting for the light and cars to continue on their/your merry way. The very few times these techniques do not work, just inch forward with a quick Pulse and either FAS to a stop or glide slowly hoping to see that light change or traffic get moving again. You can use the same techniques in stop and go traffic jams as well. The Prius II and FEH are absolutely masters of that environment unless it’s really cold. The Honda and non-hybrid drivers have to resort to a bit more aggressive means of FAS’ing when and where applicable if necessary.

___Hopefully that will get some of you thinking about these scenario’s even more? Just another case study for us to examine, dissect, and solve.

___Good Luck w/ tomorrows commute

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

I thought the HCH II was capable of this feature? up to 35 mph? I may be wrong, but I could have swore I read that somewhere. I would assume a decent amount of charge would be necessary. Please correct me if I am wrong, I don't want to have my hopes up and be (slightly) disappointed. I also don't believe it would be able to do it on much of an incline, not expecting that much! Sure would be nice, if not yet, then definately the next generation! The future is bright (green).

 

I really should wait for a HCH-II pilot to answer this, but I'm fairly certain that the electric-only mode (EV) is available only in a slowly decelerating cruise down from 35 mph or so. In fact, I think some of the HCH-II drivers have reported being able to obtain EV mode at much higher speeds, but the bottom line is, there is no EV mode as you would recognize it in the Prius or FEH. You can't begin from a stop in EV mode - it's really more of a fuel-saving coasting mode, where it's nearly impossible to accelerate at all (unless you're heading down a hill). Prepare to be disappointed if you're expecting it to be a purely electric vehicle some of the time. You won't need to be disappointed if you're expecting fuel economy every bit as good as the Prius.

 

(Assuming the car already has a little momentum going and not working from a full stop......)

Accord = Yes
Civic = No

(But the Accord also lets you "creep" from a stop like that: take your foot off the brake and the car turns on. Put on the brake again and the autostop kicks back in. I found that INTENSELY irritating for the first week I drove the car (after spending time touching and gliding in a civic) but then you sort of don't notice it any more.)