Yaris

We bought a 2010 Toyota Yaris in May. First time for a new car. We named her "Alba" because she is white.

I have been having a lot of fun with the car, mostly changing it, and on rare occasions, driving it.

Alba, the name

substantia alba the whitish tissue of the brain and spinal cord, consisting mainly of myelinated nerve fibres (World English Dictionary)

Alba replaces our beloved 1985 Chevy Sprint (aka Suzuki Swift) with 380,000 miles on it. If I could buy a 2010 Swift I would have. I loved the 992 cc 3 cyl engine and the 5 speed gearbox and the small size. This sounds like a lament!

"alba: in the music of the troubadours, the 11th- and 12th-century poet-musicians of southern France, a song of lament for lovers parting at dawn or of a watchman's warning to lovers at dawn. A song of the latter type sometimes takes the form of a dialogue between a watchman and a lover. Some sources consider the alba an early form of an aubade, though unlike the alba an aubade is usually a celebration of the dawn. Examples of albas for which music also survives include Reis glorios by Giraut de Bornelh (c. 1140-c. 1200) and the anonymous Gaite de la tor. The minnesingers, the German counterparts of the troubadours, also used the form, calling it Tagelied ("day song")." dictionary.reference.com

The story so far

I am making changes because it's fun but mostly my goal is higher MPG, just to see what is possible, not because it saves money. We are currently getting 39-41 mpg.

When I had no money, I had sports cars (MG, Fiat, Opel). Now I can afford a new car and I value reliability and comfort for longer trips. (We now ride bicycles for 95% of our road miles.) I still want a car that's fun to drive but I need a place to carry luggage and bicycles too. Alba is the best compromise we could find today.

• 19mm Ultraracing rear swaybar (yes, it's a great addition)
• UBlox AEK-4P GPS receiver with rooftop antenna
• Cabin air filter
• Cruise control using a momentary toggle switch + two buttons
• Removed rear seat and built a cargo deck.
• Micro Image belly pan installed, keeping the engine nice and clean and possibly adding 1 mpg?
• Pin stripes :-) I had some tape leftover from some other project so why not?
• USB power outlets (using a 7805 regulator for now, something better later)
• Rear power outlet (in back of console)
• Powerpole outlets (next to stock power outlet)
• LED interior lights
• LED park lights
• LED license plate light
• LED reverse lights
• Garmin 1390T + Ecoroute HD navigation system

The wish list

• OBD II interface (have one now but need a computer to hook it up to)
• Solar panel install, replaces stock hood. (Just an idea!)
• Intermittent wiper switch
• Underdrive pullies (Microimage NST)
• Put some pictures here
• USB charger cable for Motorola phones
• Paint (MC Escher pictures)
• Smoother wheel covers
• Skirts for rear wheels
• Delete passenger side mirror
• Brighter LED reverse lights
• K&N air filter?
• Sound dampening? Adds weight but makes for more comfortable long trips.

Sound Dampening

I moved this story to its own page, see Seeking a quieter Yaris.

GPS

Currently using a Garmin 1390T with the EcoRoute HD module. Mixed results. The 'T' stands for traffic and it turns out when you are in range, "offers" read "ads" pop up from time to time. Garmin needs to be more transparent about this. The only way to disable it is to disable the traffic feature.

The EcoRoute HD is an OBD to Bluetooth module, it plugs into the OBD II port so you can monitor things like coolant temperature and battery voltage and RPM. It's not worth $149. The display is pretty but I think a Scangauge is probably a better investment. I am saying this AND I own Garmin stock!

I also have an 855 and I think it's better than the 1390T, but does not have the support for the EcoRoute HD. Lots of little things, for example the voice stutters sometimes on the 1390T and is smooth and flawless on the 855.

On our recent vacation trip we had beau coup problems with the 1390T. Once it locked into traffic reports in SF, it downloaded 3 "offers" and thereafter it would show an offer every 20 minutes or so and then reboot itself. Since we rely on the speedo display, this was pretty ANNOYING.

Garmin's advice is to completely reload the firmware from scratch and then disable the traffic feature, whee! Sure am glad I paid extra for traffic.

At this point I might just sell the 1390T and ecoRoute HD on EBay and go back to using the 855...

I am also plotting out a Linux dashboard! So tired of closed boxes! FoxtrotGPS here we come. I just installed a UBlox GPS. The antenna is near the hatch, runs through the hatch opening under the weatherstripping, under the rear deck. Receiver is under the deck that used to be the back seat. It has a bit of velcro hooks so it sticks to the carpet. A USB cable then comes up between the front seats and is available for whatever computer I end up installing.

Onboard Computer

Aug 2010 - I ordered a tablet computer from Always Innovating. http://alwaysinnovating.com/ I am now on their waiting list...

Oct 2010 - I decided this was not the best way to go. Pricewise it looks like a good deal, but the screens (there are 2 now) are too big (9.4") and too small (3.5")

Today I ordered a 7" monitor, a Lilliput UM70 using DisplayLink (USB) technology from MP3Car. I like the DisplayLink idea, since it means only a skinny little USB cable has to go from the monitor to the computer, and it provides video, touch and power connections.

Eventually I'd like to replace the indash stereo with a dual din enclosure and a smaller mainboard. Every time I mention this idea to my wife she gets a worried look on her face and says how much she likes the (working) stereo. So it might be a while.

Some possible mainboards would be the BeagleBoard, the new PandaBoard, or a Marvell Plug computer like the GuruPlug. (I got this last idea from MP3car.)

For now I am going to use an old Via EPIA CN10000 system as a development platform. See 8track for the continuing story.