Tony Markel drives a plug-in hybrid that runs 50 miles per charge, goes 100 miles per gallon and gets power from the sun. If he has his way, you'll drive one too before long.
His 2006 Prius has a lithium-ion battery six times more powerful than the nickel-metal hydride pack Toyota put in it. But what makes the car really cool is the solar panel on the roof. It generates enough juice to go 5 miles.
Markel is a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Markel says the car will go 50 miles on a charge, which is more than adequate because 78 percent of Americans drive 40 miles or less each day.Befitting the lab's name, the car is charged at a solar charging station. Ask Markel when he last filled the tank and he needs a second to remember. "A couple of weeks ago," he says. "It's a pretty rare event."
Read the full story at Wired.com's Autotopia, part of the Wired.com blog network.
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