And so we come to the end of my Olympic Journey. This was the trip that saw the Flex become our first car to break through the confines of the United States, but it also saw it become the first to go from 0 miles to 50,000 in our "care." Other cars have seen higher odometers, but they were all used cars.
Given the Flex's odometer that oddly goes to a decimal point, it's rather difficult to stop right on 50,000.0, but darn it, I did it. It gave us something to do as we counted down the miles to 50 grand. When we finally struck the big 5-0-0-0-0-point-0, here's where we were ...
I was expecting us to hit the milestone next to some sheep pasture or some non-descript mountain curve where I could take an ironic picture of where we were when this momentous occasion happened. Instead, we were at the picturesque foot of Mt. Shasta and right back in Weed, or rather, 4 miles north of it. How about that.
Day 8: Portland, Oregon, to West Sacramento, California
Total Distance: 582 miles
Day 9: West Sacramento, California to Los Angeles
Total Distance: 381 miles
The rest of our journey back went without a hitch, traveling from Portland to Sacramento, and then from Sacramento to Los Angeles. On Day 9, it seemed that in the week we were gone, all of California's cherry trees had blossomed. They just kept going for seemingly hundreds of miles along I-5. I would've turned off the recirc to see if we could enjoy a pleasing whiff, but I just knew there would be a 1,000-acre expanse of farting cow around any given corner.
So what did I learn from this journey? That I need to make it again, mainly, though obviously when the Olympics haven't turned Vancouver into Canadian Mardi Gras. The drive is easy and you get to pass over beautiful terrain and through three of the finest cities in North America -- Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. If you live on the west coast, it really is a must-do, and I'd love to take the coastal 101 route at some point as well.
As for the Flex, truth be told, I was yearning for something different by Day 8. I was getting bored (my left leg was pawing to use a clutch) and tired (my arms grew weary of no telescoping wheel). One problem no longer exists for 2010, and the other could only be corrected by not bringing along girlfriends and 1.3 metric tonnes of stuff.
Having said that, though, my passengers couldn't have been happier. It was reported to me that the entertainment system couldn't be easier to use, and I was happy that it didn't restrict sound quality too badly given that only the front speakers are working. I still think the refrigerator is grossly expensive, but I certainly enjoyed having a chilled Red Bull delivered to me from the back seat without having to refill an ice-filled cooler every day.
Here are some facts and figures from the trip.
Grand Total Distance: 2624.8 miles or 4,224.2 km
Total Fuel Consumed: 122.836 (do your own liter conversion)
Final Fuel Economy: 21.37 mpg
Flex-Reported Fuel Economy: 22.1 mpg (damned lying Flex)
Total Fuel Stops: 8
Total Pee-Related-Only Stops: 0 (well done Team Flex!)
Total Lady GaGa Alerts: 6 (Surprisingly low. I guess we didn't listen to Sirius that much)
Total Voodoo Doughnuts Eaten: 11.5 (we just couldn't do it Captain! We don't have the power)
Approximate Number of Cars Passed (aka Getting Flexed): 1,004
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 50,630 miles
7driver says:
10:22 AM, 02/26/10
Heh, I wouldn't exactly call a 3% difference between calculated vs. reported MPG "lying". :-)
1487 says:
10:42 AM, 02/26/10
21mpg isnt bad considering the weight of this thing.
this vehicle has been very reliable over the course of 50k miles.
dldave says:
10:47 AM, 02/26/10
Having made the trip from Sacramento to Eugene, Oregon several times, I would have to say that without satellite radio the drive is painfully boring. I just fly now.
chavis10 says:
10:56 AM, 02/26/10
Sounds like a good road trip vehicle. I really it.
charlesb says:
11:20 AM, 02/26/10
That plastic wood looks so damned sexy!
felonious says:
11:42 AM, 02/26/10
"The drive is easy..." in a Flex! I can't wait to get mine. I'm going to Vegas this weekend, wish it had come in before now. Oh well. :) Keeping Red Bulls cool on road trips is exactly what my fridge is going to be used for as well.
hybris says:
11:52 AM, 02/26/10
We see in the mid ground the mountain that is 50,000 miles and in the distance the mountain that represents 100,000 miles lies ahead and looking so easy to reach.
I beginning to think more and more that the Flex is the symbol of Ford getting its crap together in the face of a bad market.
bc1960 says:
12:00 PM, 02/26/10
"odometer that oddly goes to a decimal point"
I guess I'm showing my advanced age, but this doesn't seem that odd to me--it used to be a feature of all odometers. Now that trip odometers are no longer confined to luxury cars or rare, extra-cost options, it appears the decimal point has migrated there, but that seems lazy to me, and with electronic displays instead of mechanical wheels, not even much of a cost savings.
joliveira says:
12:41 PM, 02/26/10
That wood in the cluster looks absolute crap
tjpark01 says:
02:36 PM, 02/26/10
Enough Flex posts, please. We get it, you like the car, but you guys are reporting on this car disproportionately more than the other cars in your fleet.
audisport says:
03:09 PM, 02/26/10
Reminds me again about just how bad all fake wood looks in today's vehicles. All of it. Love the Flex though.
carguy622 says:
04:55 PM, 02/26/10
@tjpark01:
I'm sorry you don't like the Flex posts, but the car was taken on a road trip and James' entries have been worthwhile. I like the Flex and enjoy the posts regarding it. While I could care less about the recently departed FX50, I didn't click on the posts and complain about them either, I just skipped them.
zsh says:
05:12 PM, 02/26/10
@Hybris: I agree. We bought our Flex almost unwittingly admitting it was a Ford. But, so far we have been very impressed and absolutely LOVE ours. It is very comfortable and has treated us well. Though, we've been falling behind the IL crew since we only have 37000 miles on ours (significant reduction in trips lately).
majin_ssj_eric says:
09:23 PM, 02/26/10
I bet Dan put 45k of those miles on the Flex...
tjpark01 says:
10:51 PM, 02/26/10
@carguy622 says
It's not that I don't like the posts, you're missing the whole point. This car gets a disproportionate amount of posts, more than any other car, the next closest is some 30 posts behind. It's suspicious.
cr_driver says:
10:37 AM, 02/27/10
Usually round trips deliver many posts, thats the way it is.
Especially this very long trip, which so many beautiful scenarios and the several "first ever" features.
Mission accomplished riswick, well done boy. Congrats.
arumage says:
07:02 AM, 03/ 1/10
@tjpark01:
I wouldn't say it's disproportionate considering how many miles they've put on this thing.
50,000 miles is twice as many miles as they've put on some of their long term vehicles, and as cr_driver said, they take alot of long trips in the Flex which tend to get more press than the short everyday stuff.