The 2012 Colorado Green Car Convoy
Speak the words “road trip” to any car-obsessed individual and you’ll likely receive a wistful, thousand-mile stare in reply. What car buff wouldn’t want to cruise down Route 66 in a ’63 split-window Corvette Sting Ray, or drive to Vegas in a Jaguar XKR convertible? So when I was offered the chance to take a day-long drive through beautiful Colorado driving some brand-new vehicles, I couldn’t say no.
That day-long drive in question is for a leg of the 2012 Green Car Convoy, a 4-day-long excursion sponsored by the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association that will have convoy vehicles stopping in 13 Colorado cities. My leg of the trip is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday, March 14th), and I’ll be taking my turn at driving four different vehicles: a 2012 Honda Odyssey, a 2012 Ford Focus, a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, and a 2012 Volkswagen Touareg.
None of the cars in the convoy are known for having stratospheric horsepower figures or monroneys sporting six figures, but they are known for fuel efficiency. The 2012 Honda Odyssey features variable cylinder deactivation for improved fuel economy, and the 2012 Ford Focus boasts a highway EPA rating in the 40mpg range. The 2012 VW Jetta TDI sports a clean-burning diesel engine, while the 2012 VW Touareg pulls down a respectable 23 mpg highway rating. With gas now hovering near $4 a gallon in many areas, having a fuel-efficient vehicle suddenly becomes a much more attractive option.
I’ll be live-blogging my experiences during the convoy throughout the day, so please check back here on Drivelineblog (and on the @drivelineblog and @jeffjames3 Twitter accounts) for ongoing posts and photos. If you happen to be driving around in Boulder, Longmont, Loveland, Fort Collins, or Greeley sometime tomorrow, keep your eyes peeled for a car convoy consisting of the aforementioned makes and models–and send a honk or two our way.
Related:
