Using your garage to improve MPG

Now that the temps are dropping in the northeast U.S. it has occurred to me that actually my garage can help me improve my MPG. Here's why. In the suburban style driving that I most often do, there is now a much longer warm up cycle whenever I start the FFH because of the colder air temps. This can be easily seen in the MPG figures which are reduced because of the longer engine warm up time. Simply put, it takes longer to warm up the car at 29 degrees in December then at 75 degrees in July. How reduced? I don't have a figure on that, and it definitely depends on the length of your trip. Once the FFH is warmed up, it's basically summertime in the car. It's just getting to that point takes more time. And more gas.

One thing that is making a difference is that I now bring the car into the garage. My garage is not heated, but it is actually warmer then the outside air temps simply because it is enclosed and picks up heat from the house.

I've noticed that the warm up times have been significantly reduced by utilizing this simple technique. Improving your mileage by using the garage, sounds crazy, but it seems to work.

Still, I'd like to do better. Warm up is still alot longer then July!

If anyone has any other ideas along these lines, feel free to let us know about them!

Wait. . .there's more

My gosh there are even more fun Sync commands. Here is the rest of the list. Thanks again to teapczynski!

My favorite: "I need Coffee"


Misc
Where am I
I Am Hungry
Gas: I need Gas or Find me some gas
Coffee: I need Coffee
Brew: I need a Brew

Personal & Emergency Services
Pharmacy: I need a Pharmacy or Find a Pharmacy
Veterinarian: I need a Veterinarian or Find a Veterinarian
Urgent Care Center: I need an Urgent Care Center or Find an Urgent Care Center
Hospital: I need a Hospital or Find the Hospital
Police: I need the Police or Find the Police
Post Office: I need a Post Office or Find a Post Office
Airport: I need an Airport or Find an Airport

Food
Grocery: I need Grocery or Find a Grocery Store
Fast Food: Find a Fast Food Restaurant
Mexican: Find a Mexican Restaurant
Chinese: Find a Chinese Restaurant
Pizza: Find a Pizza Parlor
American: Find an American Restaurant
Bistro: Find a Bistro Restaurant
Grill: Find a Grill Restaurant
Greek: Find a Greek Restaurant
Indian: Find a Indian Restaurant
Italian: Find a Italian Restaurant
Seafood: Find a Seafood Restaurant
Soul Food: Find a Soul Food Restaurant
Spanish: Find a Spanish Restaurant
Steak House: Find a Steak House Restaurant
Thai: Find a Thai Restaurant
Japanese: Find a Japanese Restaurant
Korean: Find a Korean Restaurant
Polish: Find a Polish Restaurant
Russian: Find a Russian Restaurant
Vietnamese: Find a Vietnamese Restaurant
Vegetarian: Find a Vegetarian Restaurant

Sync fun commands

Teapczynski pointed out in a recent post that the Ford dealer indicated that there were a series of unique fun commands that one can use with Sync, if your FFH is equipped with the full navigation system. This is surprising and rather cool stuff!

Here is the list (thanks to Teapczynski for this list) of commands:

Personal Services

Barber Shop: Find a Barber Shop  
Spa: Find me a Spa  
Beauty Salon: Find a Beauty Salon  
Nail Salon: Find a Nail Salon  
Fitness Center: Find a Fitness Center

Sports & Entertainment
 
Race Track: Find a Race Track  
RV Park: Find a RV Park  
Campground: Find a Campground  
Zoo: Find a Zoo  
Museum: Find a Museum  
Amusement Park: Find a Amusement Park  
Sports Complex: Find a Sports Complex  
Ski Resort: Find a Ski Resort  
Ice Rink: Find an Ice Rink  
Bowling: Find a Bowling Ally  
Golf Course: Find a Golf Course  
Marina: I need a Marina or Find a Marina  
 
Stores & Shops
 
Book Store: I need a Book Store or Find a Book Store  
Atm: I need an Atm or Find an Atm  
Bank: I need a Bank or Find a Bank  
Parking: I need Parking or Find a Parking Lot  
Video Rental: Find a Video Rental Store  
Movie Rental: Find a Movie Rental Store  
Movie Theater: Find a Movie Theater  
Wine & Liquor: I need a Wine & Liquor Store or Find a Wine & Liquor Store  
Cleaners: I need a Cleaners or Find a Cleaners  
Florist: I need a Florist or Find a Florist  
Tailor: I need a Tailor or Find a Tailor  
Night Club: I need a Night Club or Find a Night Club  
Casino: I need a Casino or Find a Casino  
Rest Area: I need a Rest Area or Find a Rest Area  
Accommodations: I need Accommodations or Find me Accommodations  
Motel: I need a Motel or Find a Motel  
Hotel: I need a Hotel or Find a Hotel  
Electronics: I need Electronics or Find a Electronics Store  
Hardware: I need a Hardware Store or Find a Hardware Store  
Home And Garden Center: I need a Home And Garden Center or Find a Home And Garden Center  
Office Supplies: I need a Office Supplies or Find a Office Supplies  
Shoes: I need Shoes or Find a Shoes Store  
Computer: I need a Computer Store or Find a Computer Store  
Convienience: I need a Convienience Store or Find a Convienience Store  
Wholesale Club: I need a Wholesale Club or Find a Wholesale Club  
Shopping Center: I need a Shopping Center or Find a Shopping Center  
Department: I need a Department Store or Find a Department Store  
Discount: I need a Discount Store or Find a Discount Store

Automotive
 
Towing: I need Towing or Find a Towing Service 
Auto Parts: I need Auto Parts or Find an Auto Parts Store 
Car Wash: I need a Car Wash or Find a Car Wash  
Oil Change: I need an Oil Change or Find an Oil Change Shop 
Rental Car: I need a Rental Car or Find a Rental Car  
Auto Dealer: I need an Auto Dealer or Find an Auto Dealer  
Auto Repair: I need an Auto Repair or Find an Auto Repair Shop  

Fusion Hybrid problem solved. . .by rebooting car?

Interesting post in the last week from Steve in which he described an odd problem that occurred with gauges. Basically the needles on the PWR, ACC, and MPG readouts were bouncing around sporadically and at the same time the numerical readout for MPG just stayed at 0.00. Thought I'd elevate this to a post to see if anyone else has had a similar problem.

Ford dealership didn't really know what to make of it. But, the good news is that the problem corrected itself after the Fusion Hybrid was turned off and back on several times.

Which leads one to think: sounds a hell of alot like the problem was solved by "rebooting the Fusion" so to speak. Which would make sense because, as Steve points out, the car is basically like one big computer.

If anyone else has had similar behavior please give us a post with details of what happened and how it was solved.