Econo Box Café

What's next?

2011-12-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last posted but I haven't forgotten about you! The econo-box on the list is the Dodge Colt. I'm gathering some info and will post shortly. Can you say twin stick transmission?

85 Dodge Colt

Inquiring minds want to know....

2011-11-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

How did we get all of us and all of our stuff in the Festiva!

We've been asked quite a few times how we managed to take our road trip without a trailer or roof top carrier. Our answer has been that we travelled very light! Sharon did an excellent job figuring out the packing... here's how it was done.

Rather than have each person pack a bag and bring five or more bags into the hotel each night Sharon set up one bag with swim gear for the hotels that had pools, another with toiletries and PJ's and a third with a pair of shorts for each of us. A couple of larger bags contained the rest of our clothing but these stayed in the back of the car. What Sharon did is pack one small grocery bag for each day with a change of clothes, except pants, for everyone. When we got to our hotel all we would have to grab is the toiletry bag, the swim bag if needed and the small bag with the next days clothes in it. That small bag would become the laundry bag for the clothes we were changing out of and that bag would go back in the car the following morning.

In addition to the bags we had a sleeping bag, a collapsible cot and a pillow. Why you ask? Well I'll tell you. Most of the hotel rooms had only two queen or double beds so we brought along the cot etc and B, E and I rotated turns on it each night. Some snack type food items, an umbrella or two and our jackets rounded out the stuff we stuffed in the car.

All packed up and ready to head out!

We didn't carry too much up front, just a couple of smaller bags for maps and snacks etc. Those in back seat where a little cozy but didn't have a lot of "stuff" in with them. We borrowed a DVD player with two screens which allowed them to pass some of the time away. We had decided who was sitting where before we left Calgary so there was no discussion each morning!


B, I, and E in the back seat on the morning of Day 3.

All of us in the car ready to head out from Raleigh NC on Day 9.

You asked and now you know... five in a Festiva for more than five thousand miles can be done!!

More on the Metro/Swift..

2011-11-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

Check out this link from one of my favorite small car blogs... Nostalgic Subcompact: 1989-1994 Suzuki Swift GT

We're not the only ones taking big trips in small cars!! While reading through some of the older posts on the same blog I came across this one asking "what's the smallest car you've taken on a long road trip"?

What other econoboxes are in the Café?

2011-10-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

Another popular econobox from the CAFE era is the Geo Metro. This car came in several guises such as the Pontiac Firefly, Chevrolet Sprint, Suzuki Swift and Forsa. First introduced to North America in 1988 it was available until the 2000 model year (2001 for the Metro). Here's an interesting discussion on the merits of the Metro compared to the Festiva.

We did notice at least one Metro on our Festiva Madness trip. It was a 3rd generation hatchback that we spotted in North Platte NE. Didn't get a chance to talk to the owner but did notice the car had Florida license plates. So assuming that he was from the Orlando area (just a wild guess) he was about 2670 km / 1660 miles from home. Was he perhaps on a Metro Madness trip? Who knows?

This is siimilar to the one we spotted in North Platte.
Photo is linked to source

The Metro and its kin came in several formats over the years. They included a four door sedan, four door hatch and a convertible. Engine options ranged from a 1.0l 3 cylinder up to a 1.6l 16 valve 4 cylinder. I still see lots of these cars around my area, even more so than the Festiva. That's probably due to the fact that they were produced for a lot longer.

Watch this space for more info and photos!

Festiva Madness trip... day 14. Homeward bound

2011-10-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

This is the last day of our road trip. In a way it's a bit sad but we are all looking forward to getting home.

Our drive took us from Billings Montana, through Great Falls, across the border at Sweetgrass and then home via Lethbridge and Fort Macleod. Billings was cold and and a bit overcast when we left and the weather got slowly worse as we headed north. Hit rain at Great Falls and it didn't stop until we got close to home. Thankfully it stopped just before we arrived at the house so we were able to unload in the dry.

Montana scenery

Contrast of the times: a roadside cattle drive past a wind farm. Boy was it windy!

Rain up ahead!

The drivers' side wiper decided to succumb to the wind, go off the side of the windshield and get hung up on the antenna! Stopped just over the border and fixed it... sort of.

In line, in the rain, at the border.

Welcome back to Alberta.

You know you're back in Canada when...

Here's some info for the statistically minded:

5 people and their luggage
14 days

18 states, DC and 2 provinces
Distance travelled: 10167 km / 6317 miles
Lowest elevation: At first I thought it was sea level at Virginia Beach but my youngest reminded me that we went through a tunnel under a shipping channel to get to the beach. Checked it out and we were actually at 33 meters / 108 feet below sea level!
Highest elevation: 2946m / 9666 feet at Powder River Pass WY
Fuel consumed: 671.3 litres / 177.3 US gallons
Average fuel economy: 6.6 per 100km / 35.6 miles per US gallon
Lowest price paid for gas in the US: 79.2¢ per litre / $2.999 per US gallon in Troy Missouri
Highest price paid for gas in the US: 108.3¢ per litre / $4.099 per US gallon in Washington DC
Average price paid for gas in the US: 90.7¢ per litre / $3.433 per US gallon
Total fuel costs for the trip: $609.12
Total tolls paid: $1.00
Least expensive hotel per night: Travelodge in Williamsburg approx: $45.00
Most expensive hotel per night: Channel Inn in Washington DC approx. $142.00 (only hotel without an included breakfast). Surprisingly the next most expensive was in Bismarck ND at about $114.00
Average hotel per night: $81.00

So there you go... a nineteen year old well maintained econobox can make a big trip! I hope you have enjoyed following our journey as much as we enjoyed making it! We thank the Lord that we were able to make this trip and make it safely. Looking forward to our next adventure!

Festiva Madness trip... day 13

2011-10-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

After a hearty breakfast we headed out to Mount Rushmore. On our way out of Rapid City we spotted another Festiva! It was a white GL Sport and of course we waved.

Festiva spotting...

Had a very pleasant drive out to Mount Rushmore not knowing exactly what to expect. What an amazing accomplishment! The photos I'd seen before do not adequately convey the scale of the place... we were all just blown away. We took one of the "Ranger Walks" which took about 30 minutes and our Ranger, Charlie, was very knowledgable and injected a great sense of humor into his presentation. Took a look at the artist's studio and a very well done video presentation while we there too.

Not too far to go.

Modern verision of the wooden bridge. I just thought it was really cool.

Early sighting

We're here!!!

B, E, and I having a look from afar.

The presidents and us. Thanks to the lady who literally got on her knees to take this photo!

I, B and E enjoying a rest at the end of our visit.

After spending the morning with George, Thomas, Teddy and Abe we headed off on the next leg of our trip. Destination... Worland Wyoming to visit Jeff (gottafesty) and his daughter, C. Little did we know that this was going to be quite a drive! Headed out on Higway 16 to Moorcroft WY where we turned on to I-90. Headed west to Buffalo where we left the interstate and back on to Highway 16. This is where the real fun began. We hadn't noticed until this time that our route was to take us over the Powder River Pass which is up at 9666 feet! The Festiva performed admirably but we had to be a little cautious on the way down because of the warped brake rotor we had developed earlier in the trip. If I could summarize the drive across Wyoming in one word I would have to pick spectactular.

Follow the yellow brick road.... wait a minute... it's red!

Entering Buffalo Wyoming

On the uphill side of Powder River Pass

At the top....

... with all of us!

On the way down

Onto the flats and away to Worland.

We met Jeff in Worland then followed him out to his home. We had a great time and another awesome home cooked meal. Thanks for the hospitality.

C and B hadn't seen each other for a couple of years!

We left Worland just after 7:30pm and headed off to our hotel in Billings Montana. No photos on this stage as it was dark. There was quite a stretch where we couldn't see any lights off to either side, none behind us nor any in front! If felt quite literally that we were in the middle of nowhere. After two hours, forty five minutes and one deer sighting we made it safely to Billings and headed straight to the room and off to bed. Next stop... home!

Festiva Madness trip... day 12. Ian goes for a ride in a police car!

2011-10-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

When we were first planning the trip our intended route was straight north from St Joseph on I-29 to Sioux Falls Iowa and then straight west from there on I-90 across South Dakota to Rapid City. Earlier in the summer the Missouri River had flooded which resulted in some damage to I-29. Portions of that Interstate where still closed and others under repair so we decided to change our route.

We left St Joseph and headed directly west across to Belleville, Kansas then north to York, Nebraska. From York we heading west on I-80 to North Platte. We then headed north again to join I-90 at Murdo, South Dakota. From Murdo we made the run into Rapid City, arriving just before 10:00pm.

Kansas was pretty much as expected... flat. Stopped in Marysville which had some very nice old buildings and from there on to Belleville.

Entering Kansas

Kansas vista.

Into Nebraska

Our first stop in Nebraska was York where we had our lunch.

Colorful water tower

I think it's that way.


Still smiling after twelve days on the road.

The drive from York to North Platte took us on I-80 west across the state. This was by far the busiest stretch of highway we experienced with most of the extra traffic being semis. To make things even more "interesting" it was very hot, around 88°F (31°C), and there was a very strong cross wind coming from the south. Before reaching North Platte we stopped in Gothenburg to stretch our legs and visit one of the Pony Express stations that had been preserved.

E, B and I at the station

Visited a couple of spots in North Platte. The first was the Buffalo Bill Cody museum.


E and I joining in the conversation.

We had just enough time to head over to the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center. If you are a train enthusiast then this is a must see! It's the largest yard of it's kind with over 300 miles of track and over 15,000 train cars being move around.

The visitor center

Train cars everywhere

The Festiva in the Golden Spike parking lot.

We filled up the gas tank in North Platte and headed north. There was a very large grass fire burning west of the highway that made things a little interesting. We were fortunate in that our trip wasn't interupted at all. We did see a lot of fire fighters making their way to help.

The rest of the drive was relatively uneventful. Hit I-90 just after dark and made our way to Rapid City. Traffic on this stretch of Interstate was much lighter than on I-80 but we still had the cross wind though not as strong.

As mentioned earlier we filled up in North Platte... 10 US gallon tank getting about 34 miles per US gallon which gives us a range of 340 miles. However the distance to the gas station in Rapid City was 340.2 miles. Yes, we, or should I say I, ran out of gas on the off-ramp. Fortunately a State Trooper stopped behind us and offered me a ride to the gas station and back. He stayed with us and made sure we got started and on our way. A big thank you goes out to State Trooper Jake of the Rapid City SD detachment!

Off to Mount Rushmore and Wyoming tomorrow!!!

Festiva Madness trip... day eleven. Happy Birthday E!

2011-10-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Had a great breakfast at the Super 8 in Troy and then hit the road for our drive across the state of Missouri. Filled up with gas before we headed out and paid to lowest price so far... $2.999 per gallon, which works out to only 73.9 cents per liter!!! Our route took us west along I-70 and it turned out to be a very busy road. A lot more traffic that what we'd seen on most of the trip so far and the truck traffic seemed to be very heavy, no pun intended. Other than that the drive was uneventful. We stopped in at the Hallmark Visitor Center in Kansas City... yes the Hallmark that marks all those cards. Also went to "Kaleidoscope" next door to the visitor center. Here the you can make all kinds of cards and puzzles and other things. It's geared for younger kids but even I made a birthday card!

Arriving in Kansas City passing the home of the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

The visitor center was very informative and you could watch some of the work being done in the card making process. We watched a short video that was put together a couple of years ago on the 100th anniversary of the company. It is still owned and operated by the same family!!

Happy Birthday E!!!

Here's a couple of shots of in Kaleidoscope...

After we'd done our masterpieces here we headed into the Crown Centre to find a bite to eat and picked up some bagels at "Einstein Brothers"... very tasty. Stopped in at the Crayola store as well...

The birthday boy and a color wheel made of crayons.

Next stop was at Marcus and Dee's in Dearborn MO. Marcus is a fellow Festiva fanatic and it just happens to be his birthday today as well. He has had as many as twelve Festivas but currently has "only" seven, six of which are licensed and insured! The seventh is a parts car. E & I were eager to climb Marcus' tree house which reaches up about 30 feet in an oak tree. I can't get the photos rotated on this computer so I won't post them but will try at the next stop.

In the shop. There's four Festivas in here, two white ones and two red.

Happy Birthday boys!!!

Thanks to Marcus and Dee for their hospitality. We really appreciated the home cooked meal. Our only regret is that we didn't have enough time to explore the property. Maybe next time!

Now sitting in St Joseph MO and it's getting late. Off to bed and up and on the road again in the morning. Interstate 29 is closed north of here so we're going to head west first into Kansas and then up through Nebraska before getting to our next destination, Rapid City SD.

Festiva Madness trip... day ten

2011-10-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Todays drive took us from Dandridge TN into Kentucky for a few miles then into Illinois before arriving at our destination just outside St Louis, Missouri.

We Canadians have something to learn about highway traffic from our neighbours to the south. This is a photo inside the rest area/welcome center at the Tenessee border...

E & I at the Tenesse Welcome center.

The Interstates are in generally good condition well marked exits and markers at every mile. Even when going through or around a town or city there seems to be good flow. The only time we experienced any real congestion was a few days ago south of Washington DC and between Williamsburg and Virginia Beach.

Interstate through Tenessee.

We decided to bypass Nashville as we were looking forward to a relaxing evening at our next stop. We went through Kentucky without any troubles passing through Paducah on our way into Illinois. If any of you have listened to Veggie Tales "Boyz in the Sink" you should recognize that name!

Next stop was Metropolis Illinois, home of the 40 foot Superman statue. Thanks to the Hills for recommending this stop! Although it was short it was a lot of fun.

E & B posing...

Clark Kent and B must have the same glasses supplier!

A super car for Superman?

The drive from Metropolis to St Louis was fairly uneventful but we did notice a few more semi's on the road along with a bit more traffic. On our way through St Louis to our hotel we crossed the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The shots we took of the Gateway Arch didn't turn out too well as we weren't very close on our drive by.

Our hotel, the Super 8 in Troy MO turned out to be one of the top two on our trip so far! It's a fairly new building, has an indoor pool, free movies rentals, fairly quick computers and a fast internet connection. We headed over to Hardee's for supper. This was the last time that E could order off the children's menu as it was only for 12 and under!

E and his last "children's meal"!!!

After all going for a swim Sharon and I picked out a movie for B, E and I to watch and then headed out to the lobby to enjoy the complimentary coffee while I updated the blog and watched some HGTV on the lobby TV.

Festiva Madness trip... day nine

2011-10-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Well here we are in beautiful Raleigh NC. Except for the occasional breezy periods the weather was great!

We were the 12th Festiva to sign in and by noon the total was up to 73 Festivas and Aspires, beating last year's attendance by four. A group of five or six cars came up from Florida.

I would say that about a quarter of the cars there had engine swaps ranging from mild, like ours with a SOHC B6 to Chris's Mazda KL-ZE 2.5l V-6 shoe horned into the engine compartment. The most common swap appeared to be the Escort GT 1.8l DOHC engine.

We took the longest distance travelled (one way) with 2750 miles. Second went to Charlie from Arizona whose one way distance was 2200 miles. Third was from Sioux Falls SD with a distance of 1100 miles.

Lowest mileage went to the car with only 53100 original miles, highest went to a car with over 300,000 miles.

We had a great time meeting a lot of people who we've only met on the http://www.fordfestiva.com/ forum. Some of them have said that they are considering coming up for Westiva 2012, our upcoming Kananaskis Festiva meet in July!

Here are a few photos that we took. Here's a link to more. If you're interested I'm pretty sure that there will be a link or two to even more on http://www.festivamadness.com/.

Welcome desk!

An overview

One of the two Festiva truck conversions.

Charlies car after a 2200 mile drive! He won the "fan favorite" award.

Sharon, E, I, B and me with the Festiva.

Another overview

We left Raleigh at about three-thirty and headed off to Dandridge, Tenessee. Arrived at the hotel at around 9:45 after a drive through some pretty twisty roads. Unfortunately it was dark when we went through the mountains and weren't able to enjoy the scenery. Tomorrow's drive takes us to St. Louis passing through four states.

Festiva Madness trip Day 8

2011-10-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Day 8 of the trip found us in Colonial Williamsburg for most of the day and then on to Virginian Beach.

Colonial Williamsburg is an amazing place! The thing that really struck me is that this is part of the modern town. There are private residences right next to some of the display buildings and after hours you can drive your car down the streets as you would any where else. You don't actually have to pay to wander around but if you want to look in any of the buildings or take any of the tours a ticket is required.

We toured the Governor's Palace and the Capitol among others and Sharon, B and Ian took part in a hearing in the courthouse. We'll have lots of stories to tell when we get home as well as lots of recommendations and suggestions for your own visit!

Next stop on the day was Virginian Beach. The drive there and back was eye opening as we traveled both directions in rush hour traffic. HOV lanes helped a bit but traffic bottlenecked at each of the tunnels we had to go through. Had a short but really enjoyable time splashing about in the salt water. I suggested to B, E and I that they taste the water. B and I just licked their wet hands but E actually drank some... spit it our rather quickly too!

Had another rainy night drive into Raleigh but arrived safe and sound around 10:00pm.

Arriving at Colonial Williamsburg

Eye popping colour in the Dining Room of the Governor's Palace

Too many choices in the Magazine...

Taking stock of our day!

The Courthouse

A little bit of Scotland

A"maze" ing...

Traffic on the way to the beach... we're in the HOV lanes.

E & I enjoying the surf of the Atlantic Ocean.

Festiva Madness trip Day 7 photos

2011-10-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

As mentioned earlier we were really thankful for the HOV lanes and you'll see why in these photos...

First stop... Library of Congress.

Inside...

Outside...

On the steps of the Supreme court.

Inside the Building Museum

I and E with the Burj Khalif... over 400,000 Lego bricks!!!

Exterior of the building museum

Last stop in DC.... the Lincoln Memorial.

Sharon, I, B, E and Abe.

Speed limit 65... 2 HOV lanes going at least that. Four "regular" lanes on the right almost at a standstill!!

Festiva Madness trip Day 6 photos

2011-10-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

From our first day in Washington DC....

First stop... the Smithsonian Information Center

On to the Air and Space

So many choices

Sharon, E, B and I... and the Capitol!

Just amazing!

Very funny....

Arrival at the Museum of American History.

Festiva Madness trip Day 5 photos

2011-10-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from day 5 of our trip... enjoy!

Enroute to Fort Boonesborough. Love the Kentucky back roads.

Foggy arrival at the fort.

At the fort

Getting ready to head out.

The road up to Carter Caves State Park.

At the Carter Caves visitor center.

Inside the X Cave.

Another one inside!

Arriving in West Virginia.

View from the Maryland welcome center.

Festiva Madness trip Days 5, 6 & 7 overview.

2011-10-01T04:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delayed postings... haven't been able to get to a computer for a few days. This post will be short and sweet with photos to follow in the next day or two.

Day 5 was an awesome day. Started with a beautiful Kentucky backroad drive from the hotel to the Fort Boonesborough Museum. Well worth the visit.

Next stop was Carter Caves State Park. Took a tour through the X Cave. Our guide, Kenny, obviously had a passion and enthusiasm for caves and what's in them. Very informative.

The drive from the caves to Washington DC was harrowing to say the least. We had heavy rains, unfamiliar roads, poor lane markings, darkness and headlights aimed a little high due to extra loads in the car. We were eventually able to tuck in behind someone who seemed to know the road which helped a lot. Made it to our hotel safely.

Thanks again to the Hills for the use of the Tom Tom! Highly recommended for finding your way around in unfamiliar places.

Day 6 started out a bit rainy. Debated taking umbrellas and jackets for our day in DC but decided to leave them behind which turned out to be the right choice. Managed to make it to four museums... I'll regale you with details in a future post. Our hotel was literally a fifteen minute walk from the Air and Space Museum. Went to see Oklahoma, the musical, in the evening. Very well done... a little different than the movie. Sharon's ankle had really swollen up by the end of the day so we adjusted the plans for Day 7.

Day 7 started with driving Sharon, B, E, and I to the Library of Congress and then parking the car at Union Station. I walked back to meet them and went through the strictest security experienced during our stay in DC. Had to empty my pockets and even take off my belt! After a stop at Union Station for lunch we were able to walk to the Building Museum. This is the building in which the Presidential Inaugural Ball in held. We left DC around three-thirty which means rush hour! Thanks to Tom Tom and HOV lanes we were able to avoid the bulk of the congestion... probably saved at least half an hour so five in a Festiva paid off big time! Made it to Williamsburg in good time. Our hotel was,shall we say, disappointing but we essentially got what we paid for. If it had a redeeming feature it was only a five minute drive to our morning's destination.

Well I have to get off the lobby computer. I'll update again in a couple of days when we get to St. Louis.

A quick update... in DC. Off to Williamsburg later today. More to come when we get there!

2011-09-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

Festiva Madness trip: Day 4

2011-09-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

Another great day! Only a couple of hours in the car.
Spent most of the day touring the Creation Museum in Petersburg KY. The closest major center is Cincinatti and if you are anywhere close to there I would highly recommend a visit. We spent almost 6 hours at the museum and could probably have spent longer. Lots to see and the overall quality matches or exceeds the Royal Tyrell in Drumheller AB.

After our time there we drove down to Paris, the one in Kentucky not France! Drove about 20 miles off the interstate and it was worth it just for the drive! Beautiful two lane road with gorgeous homes and ranches on either side. We were expecting lots of white fence but most were either black or dark brown. Several older low stone fences too.

Bought gas for the lowest price so far on the trip... $3.229 a gallon ( 85.4 cents per litre!).

Fossil of a hungry fish.

Get ready to run!

Calgary Stampede here I come!

The men on a floating bridge.

This fossil is called the Burning Tree Mastodon... no not the guy on the right... the skeleton.

Sharon and me.... still smiling!

That is a banana tree... growing outside!

The camera timer works.

Ready for the next leg of the journey.

Rush hour traffic... just like Deerfoot Trail except that it moves!

Beautiful Kentucky from the Interstate.

Even more beautiful Kentucky back road.

Welcome to Paris KY.

Doing the dishes.... hotel style.

Thank you to Gran and Grandad for the ice cream money! We hope it's OK that some of it didn't buy ice cream! Tomorrow brings a fort, a cave, three states, a district and another 800km (500 miles).

Festiva Madness trip Day 3

2011-09-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

Arrived safely in Erlanger, Kentucky just after 5:00 pm local time today. We left Madison WI at about 7:30 this morning, local time, which means we were on the road eight and a half hours. It felt as though we were driving down hill for most of the day!

The day started out pretty wet but cleared up as we went along. Nice, sunny and warm here in northern Kentucky.

Some "trip so far" stats for you:

- travelled just over 3300km / just under 2000 miles
- total travel time so far is about 32 hours
- travelled through two provinces and six states, four of those today
- cheapest gas so far has been $3.299 per gallon in Speedway Indiana. That works out to only 87.3 cents per liter

Looking forward to tomorrow as we'll only be driving for a couple of hours... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Here are a few photos from todays leg...

Heavy rain with the wipers going full speed!

Welcome to Illinois

Our first toll booth... cost us a dollar.

Entering Indiana

At the Indiana welcome center.

You can't go through Indianapolis and not stop at THE speedway!

Corn and soy... we saw an awful lot of corn.

For the enviromentally concious.. lots of windmills along the way

Across the mighty Ohio River

Almost missed the sign...

Heading for a dip in the pool now. Tomorrow brings a day at the museum and only 2 hours of driving. Forgot to mention last night a big thank you to the Hills for the use of their TomTom... wouldn't have found last nights hotel without it!

I hope you're enjoying the blog!

"Festivas where art thou?"

2011-09-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

Or... Festiva Madness Day 2

Posting from our hotel just north of Madison Wisconsin. Another 1000km (600 miles) and 10 hours driving today. We've been blessed with great weather and no delays or surprises on the road.

Thanks to the Gerkes for the loan of the DVD player... those riding in the back seat really appreciate it!

A couple of things we are very thankful for on the car are the air conditioning and the sound deadener I installed in the past couple of weeks. I think it was well over 30ºC heading through Saskatchewan yesterday and we didn't really notice it until we stepped out of the car. The sound deadener has taken a lot of the "buzziness" out of the car... yes it still has its rattles but nowhere near as many as before.

You may be wondering what this post's title is getting at... even if you aren't I'm going to tell you. In over 2400km, two provinces and three states we haven't seen one other Festiva!!! Maybe they're on their way to Raleigh!

Here's a couple of photos from the first couple of days....

Entering Saskatchewan!

Another border to cross!

Chicken Man.... Minnesota visitor center

Beautiful Wisconsin

Festiva Madness trip Day 1

2011-09-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it safely to Bismarck ND! 1300 km (780 miles) in a total of 14 hours travel time. I don't have the fuel consumption figured out yet but can tell you the the most we paid for gas was $1.26.9 per liter (works out to $4.80 per US gallon) and the cheapest was $3.78 per US gallon just north of Minot ND> That works out to about 99.9cents per liter.

We left Calgary about an hour later than we wanted but still got to our hotel in time for E & I to go for a swim. The car ran great too in spite of discovering the new shock I installed to replace the one that was leaking was itself leaking. Ended up having to "adjust" the lip of the fender to stop the tire from rubbing.

Crossing the border was pretty straightforward but we all felt a little intimidated by the border guards! Funniest thing was the border guard asked me what I did for a living then he asked "Are you not good at your job or are you just saving money?"

Ended up doing all the driving today because Sharon turned her ankle while we were packing the car last night. She's doing much better today and shoudl be fine by the time we get to Petersburg KY and teh Creation Museum.

Tomorrow we head from Bismarck through Fargo ND, Minneapolis MN and end the day just north of Madison WI. Not quite as long as today and it will be all Interstate.

Festiva Madness

2011-09-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

My favorite car from the C.A.F.E. era is the Ford Festiva. This car was engineered by Mazda, manufactured by Kia and sold in North America as a Ford. In other markets it was known as the Mazda 121 or the Kia Pride. I've owned my 1992 Festiva for almost ten years and have put well over 200,000km in that time. I've done numerous upgrades and improvements over the years.

On October 1st 2011 a large number of Festiva enthusiasts will be gathering in Raleigh, North Carolina for the fifth edition of Festiva Madness. We are heading there ourselves, hitting the road early on the morning of September 23rd.

Keep checking back as I hope to update every day or two of the trip there and back.

Introduction

2011-09-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

What's this Econo Box Café all about?

Quite a number of smaller vehicles were introduced in the mid eighties to help meet the auto manufacturers Corporate Average Fuel Economy stats. Most of these were small, cheap and got 40+ miles per gallon. There are a surprising number of these cars still on the road today, still getting excellent gas mileage and some with almost a cult following. My hope is that over the next few months I can introduce these cars to you.