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I had a chance to ride in a “drive by wire” car today.\u00a0 Buzz<\/a> finally took possession of the Prius that he ordered in the spring.<\/p>\n This car is truly a technological marvel.\u00a0 The key doesn’t need to be inserted in the switch to start the car.\u00a0 The vehicle senses the key is inside the car and enables the “Power” switch (top left of picture).\u00a0 Pressing the Power button brings all the internal electronic readouts to life, but doesn’t start the engine.\u00a0 The car initially moves using electrical power and makes no noise.\u00a0 This takes a little getting used to.<\/p>\n Some notable differences in the normal driving interface include a gear shift with only three positions: forward, neutral, reverse.\u00a0 There is a “Park” button similar to the Power button.\u00a0<\/p>\n The navigation screen above the radio is so big it includes a warning displayed during start up.\u00a0 “Don’t read items on this screen while driving.”\u00a0 The touch screen includes mileage\/engine\u00a0information, turn-by-turn GPS information, reverse gear camera\u00a0and sound system controls.\u00a0 We managed to get an impressive 54 miles to the gallon on our five minute trip to lunch.<\/p>\n The stereo includes a six-disk changer that plays MP3 and WMA audio files.<\/p>\n This may be the first car I have seen that requires some professional development before purchase.\u00a0 I like it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had a chance to ride in a “drive by wire” car today.\u00a0 Buzz finally took possession of the Prius that he ordered in the spring. This car is truly a technological marvel.\u00a0 The key doesn’t need to be inserted … Continue reading