It isn t selling. The Prius looks and drives like any other compact car. Only by looking at a little dashboard computer screen can you tell it is special. The screen shows when the gasoline motor is powering the wheels, and when the battery is doing it. It shows when the gas engine is charging the battery.
Drivers never recharge the battery.
Just fill up on regular gas and you re off. Which means every driver s gasoline budget would be cut in half. The hybrid technology can be applied to standard sedans and even those gas guzzling sports utility vehicles. America s energy and environmental prospects might have been brighter today. Martin Schram writes political analysis for Scripps Howard News Service.