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Why We Keep On Truckin'

The Tango T600 prototype, an electric car by Commuter Cars Corporation. (Courtesy Of Commuter Cars Corporation - Courtesy Of Commuter Cars Corporation)

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At some point, you have to reconcile your own tensions. I drive a six-cylinder Honda Accord. The two extra cylinders are what makes the car, and me, so dang sexy. But it's overpowered for my commute on city streets. So I decided to take a Toyota Prius for a test drive.

The Prius does not make the driver feel particularly young, heroic or pheromonally attractive. The gear selector is just this little knob, the size of a shot glass. You start the car by hitting a button. It's all a little cute, but it's also spiffy, and you can be environmentally conscious with each passing second as you monitor a screen that tells you your gas mileage.

Maybe that's the future. Maybe it's the right thing to do, even if it doesn't scream Stand Back and Let the Big Dawg Eat.

Oh, by the way: If you see a guy sticking to the speed limit as he tools along the freeway on his way to Berkeley, that might be Yau-Man Chan. He says he usually gets 51 or 52 miles per gallon, but if he's fanatical about the speed limit and can endure the honks from other motorists, he can get 53.

Of course he drives a Prius.

achenbachj@washpost.com

Joel Achenbach is a Washington Post staff writer and blogs at washingtonpost.com/achenblog.

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