There has been a bit of attrition in the roster of competitors, but those who are left are completely excited and enthusiastic. In addition to Dirigo, we have Jack McCornack with MAX, the multi fuel four wheeler based on his Lotus 7 replicas. He's built a new body for the event. In his own words:

"Oh no, I have so much completing to do that I never considered painting the car until it's on the road and rallying. I'm going to be patching rivet holes all the way across the country, and the only way it will get painted is if I can find white primer in rattle cans somewhere. Meanwhile you can call me...

Bondo. James Bondo

PS--I'm off to make headlight mounting rings.

PPS--I doubt I'll get my rear fenders mounted. That's going to cost some fuel.  Oh well, such is life, and I prefer to do development where spectators can see the process.

PPPS-- "Then I go and sign up for consecutive 400 mile days! That's nuts!" Yes, roger that. And your point is? Heck, we weeded out the sane guys months ago. Sane guys buy Hybrid Escalades so they can show how green they are."

And our other brave competitor Jay Perdue with the Tri Hybrid Stealth:

"I'm excited for "Stealth" to be seen all across America, however I'm a LOT apprehensive. The big car makers don't let a prototype out in public until it has been "shaken down" in a thousand ways. We're going to be out there just flying by the seat of our pants in a vehicle that we'll be working on right up until the starter pistol fires. A lot can go wrong but I think "Stealth" is ready! We'll be able to try two drive train configurations as well as other things in every kind of condition from the burning hot desert to the steep mountain grades to miles and miles of plains. "Stealth" was created to be a commuter vehicle "advertised" as a one hundred mile distance at a charge MAX. Then I go and sign up for consecutive 400 mile days! That's nuts! We'll do all we can each day and see how far it can go. Whatever it is it is. I know it's fast for a high millage vehicle...but can it go any over the claimed 100 miles? We'll see.. and then we'll all know together! It will be, at the very LEAST, an amazing adventure with three guys who aren't afraid to "put their cars where their mouth is!"

I've had time to give Dirigo a fresh coat of varnish, replace the carpeting, and add cruise control. We'll be meeting in Knoxville Iowa on Friday night and be in the 50th Anniversary of Sprint Car racing parade on Saturday. Do you think anyone will notice that we're not really race cars? I suppose we will stand out.

In spite of the fact that there were fourteen cars signed up at one point, this will be a tough event. There just aren't that many prototype high mileage cars that can do this sort of thing. Most tend toward the commuter model. No electric car has the daily range to make it. And that is one of the key philosophical elements behind our thinking: let's show that economy can happen on the open road. We won't be as comfortable as those in the Escalade Hybrids, but our message will be clear: we need to downsize our fleet to fuel sipping levels so petro based fuels will last long enough to allow time to develop viable alternatives. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but it is critical.

So, keep the conversation going until we reach a critical mass of progressive transportation action, and stand by this blog for daily on-the-road reports.