Magic Car?

I remember it very clearly, to this day.
It was sometime, around this time of year, when I was in third grade.
This was in 1989.
Stop laughing.
Anyway, my friend Bobby and I did everything together, and one day, we decided, between the two of us, that by the time we turned 20, in the year 2000, all cars would be able to not only drive themselves around, but they would probably be able to fly.
We figured the technology would get that far, that fast.
Too bad we were wrong, but there is no way we could have guessed that you could do all of your shopping, pay all of your bills, talk to people on the other side of the planet, watch a full-length movie on a disk with surround sound (and in high definition) and probably do a weeks' worth of paperwork, all without putting on real clothes, all by the year 2000.
But I digress.
The thought of a "magic car" left my brain for all these years, until I went home over this Thanksgiving weekend, and found out my mom had traded her bulky SUV for a brand new hybrid car.
I had seen hybrid cars before; in fact, I've done stories on WBTW and in college about hybrid cars.
I'd never driven one before.
I am here to tell you it is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
The car gets--easily--45 miles per gallon of gas, but more than that on most occasions.
The car is so smart--and it tells you how smart it is right there on the center console, where a monitor shows you when the gasoline engine is powering the car, when the battery alone is powering the car, or when they are both working together to power the car.
My brother, a real smart guy with an engineering degree from Virginia Tech, explained another cool feature. He said when the driver applies the brakes, the energy produced (friction?) helps re-charge the battery. This is shown clearly on the screen as well.
Basically, smart guy Blake says, when the driver puts the cruise control on while driving on the interstate, the battery kicks in. When you have to climb a hill or slight grade, while in cruise, the gasoline engine kicks in, but for the most part, the electric motor is working to power the car.
It was funny to ride around parking lots, just idling along, with the electric motor running, and watching people stare at the car, because it made hardly any sound at all.
I am--still--totally amazed.
My parents would only say that they hope to save some gas money.
But the car is probably the coolest thing I've seen in a long time, and if it saves my parents gas money, and in turn saves the planet, too, then that is magic enough for me.
Maybe cars will fly by 2020.
Maybe.

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