A comedian once asked why hybrid cars look like gay space ships. I wonder this too. Last night, I took my first ever ride in a Toyota Prius Hybrid. Here's a superficial breakdown of the experience:
1. Rather than cranking a key, the Prius features a power button.
2. The Prius has a little knob that your finger nudges to activate drive and reverse.
3. To park, you push another button, also on the dash.
4. A screen on the dashboard shows consumption and other electronic messages. This was just too much information for me!
5. Priuses have rear view cameras to prevent you from running over your neighbor's kids and your recycling cans.
The idea of shifting my car with my finger seems a bit crazy to me, but it's hard to argue with good gas mileage. All in all I enjoyed my close encounter of the third kind.
