Three grown men, a global positioning system satellite navigation screen, and a map with directions. Seems like shooting fish in a barrel, right? Wrong. These fish apparently are wearing kevlar vests, you have a slingshot, and do I see a chain gun in the flippers of that sturgeon homing in on me?

That's what it seemed like while attempting the MPG Challenge, the residential/rural course in Madison, WI where hypermilers tested their skills against one another. Except, it wasn't the full course - we were, for the sake of time, only doing 9 of the 22 miles laid out on the route.

Our vessel for the treacherous voyage was the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, equipped with the same Hybrid Synergy Drive as the Prius, but instead of combusting the more planet-friendly amounts of fossil-fuels with an electric-assisted, asthmatic, chain-smoker-on-the-patch 1.6 liter four-cylinder, there is a 3.3 liter V6 aided by two electric motors.

Thankfully, in spite of numerous failed attempts at navigation, once the actual course was located and followed, we achieved an average of 44.5 mpg over those 9 miles. Tell that to the EPA.

Glad to be back in the blogosphere. Two more Hybrid Fest videos coming up, so stay tuned!

Randall Burkhalter is the proud owner of a Honda Insight - the first exclusive hybrid model to the United States. It is not an ordinary Insight, however. Randall has fitted it with the MIMA system - a favorite tool of the hypermiler. It basically slaps an M in front of the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) Honda hybrid system, standing for 'Manual.' This gives the driver total manual control over how much motor assist or regeneration you are using at any given time with the use of a joystick. There is a small joystick in the cupholder in the center console, some control buttons on the stick shift, an LED display in the rear viewed through the rearview mirror, and the rest is all you. The system is actually quite reasonable at about $600 and consists of a few wiring harnesses that work around the factory system, a couple custom control boards, and that's basically it. The result, with practice and a change in "driver attitude" as Randall calls it, is an average of around 95 mpg. Remember, no mechanical modifications are being made, just some electronic add-ons.

Randall commutes 80 miles round trip each day, and goes to the gas station once a month. I'll just let that sink in for a second.... So that one-time $600 investment, for you lucky Insight owners, you can make back in savings probably in about six months. If your feet tend to go towards the "hot-rod performance" (which would likely mean you don't own an Insight anyway), make sure you adjust that driver attitude first - and quit complaining about not getting those EPA estimates - take a page from the books of these hypermilers.

More videos on the way. Keep watching ABG!

From the onset of the MPG Challenge on Friday to the conversion of Wisconsin Power's stock Toyota Prius to a plug-in hybrid on Sunday, HybridFest 2007 was the most rockin' party for treehuggers, hypermilers and other greenfolk this side of the Atlantic. If you feel bad that you didn't make it, you should. But to take the edge off, I'm here to tell you about it – as long as you promise to make it next year.

First of all, keep your eyes peeled here at AutoblogGreen, because we'll have interviews from happy hybrid owners, hypermilers (including those that competed in the MPG Challenge), and other attendees of various shades of green. You'll also find out how to get much better fuel economy that the EPA estimates, as long as you're okay with being tailgated. We'll also have a video of my sample attempt of the MPG Challenge in a Toyota Highlander Hybrid – it wasn't pretty.

Last year, HybridFest visitors endured the heat outside, but this year the event was in the air-conditioned comfort of the Exhibition Hall of the Dane County Fairgrounds, and was reportedly bigger and better than last year. Count on that being the theme of next year's Fest as well. Attendees were able to view exhibits from major automakers and their green offerings, alternative fuel promoters, green product manufacturers, and even a vintage Aston Martin V8 Vantage running on E85 (see gallery). I don't agree with the fuzzy seat covers, but to each their own. I'll see you there again next year!