Where's the plug?(a test-drive of an electric Ford Ecostar)

That was the first question I asked Ford engineer Louis Paspal when he dropped off a handmade Ford Ecostar minivan, a $250,000 prototype electric vehicle with a $46,000 sodium-sulfur battery, for a week-long test drive.

I meant it as a joke, but he responded with a straight face. "Oh, it's in the back," he said. "Let me get it."

No, you don't have an extension cord that stretches for miles and miles when you drive an electric car, but you do need to keep it plugged in and recharging when it's not in use. There's a handy grille-mounted recharging plug and you'd better have access to a three-pronged outlet or you'll be in trouble.

And you do need a re-education because driving something that's not powered by …