Betty Sue and the Little Prius That Could

I did so and realized I was experiencing something poetic in the universe. This is the story.

On March 20th, 2026, I was scrolling Facebook Marketplace and came across a car for sale with a description that seemed too good to be true. It was a one-owner 2008 Prius with low mileage and all-new batteries, both high-voltage and starter. I received the Carfax report, a document that reveals any accidents and maintenance records, and I was shocked at what I saw. It was a mile-by-mile record of an automobile that had been maintained better than any vehicle I’ve ever witnessed, and I am a long-time mechanic. I have seen some cars well cared for, and they had nothing on this particular automobile.

I immediately called the car dealer, Eagle Auto Brokers, in Cartersville, Georgia. I told the salesman that if it drives the way it should, then they can consider it sold.

As many know, I am the Executive Director of a nonprofit known as Across Alabama, an organization dedicated to solving the countless issues faced in the rural south in our small towns, from food scarcity to job training to disaster preparedness. One of our projects involves retrofitting old hybrids, mainly 2007-2015 Priuses, to serve as communication stations in the immediate aftermath of disasters.

Because of that, I have been in the market for a Generation 2 Prius (2004 to 2009) for some time in order to build a prototype communication hub. More on all of that in a bit.

I left my home with my wife for the three-hour drive and spent the entire time telling myself there’s no way that there is an 18-year-old Prius in immaculate shape still in existence. I am the first to say that if something is too good to be true, it absolutely is.

A Unicorn of a Car

When I arrived, the salesman, Erich, was eager to show me the car, not for the typical reasons of a pushy salesman, though. It was because he knew he had something special.

”Look under the hood,” he said.

I’ve been working with cars for years. I know when one has been detailed to look more cared for than it had been, and I know when one is well maintained. As someone who has repaired hybrids—and is an enthusiast for the technology —I was stunned. It looked as if the car had never even been driven in the rain. The engine looked as if you could eat off of it. Honestly, it appeared to be more of a museum piece than a car someone had driven 100,000 miles.

Within 2 minutes of the test drive, I was sold.

Erich and I did the deal, and I drove home with my wife following me in our trusty old Corolla. I didn’t even haggle over the $ 7,900 price tag. It was that good. As I went along, I realized it had every bell and whistle and figured out the satellite radio still worked. When I was handed the car title earlier, I noticed the name of the owner Betty Starnes Strange and, as I drove along later, I said out loud, “Betty, I don’t know you, but thanks for what appears to be a lifetime satellite radio subscription.”

I figured it was the first time System of a Down on XM Turbo had been blasted in the car. The sound and ride were immaculate.

I took the time on the ride to plan out next steps for an inverter install and the stations to be built for the car. I spent just as much time thinking of what kind of person Betty had to be. The car had been loved more than any I can remember seeing.

Grace, Warmth, and LegacyLater that evening, I sat down at my computer to look for what I felt would likely be an obituary. The car ending up where it did told me she was in assisted living or had passed away. You don’t let something you’ve cared for like that just go away for no reason.

Within a minute, I found what had to be her obituary.

”Betty Sue Strange, aged 85, passed away peacefully on October 28, 2025. She was born on January 14, 1940, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Bertha and Parks Starnes.

Betty Sue was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and sister whose gentle spirit and kind heart touched everyone who knew her. She will be remembered for her deep love of family, her affection for all animals—including caring for her pets, rescuing birds, cats and kittens, and feeding the deer that visited her yard—her passion for reading, and her joy in simply being at home with the love of her life, Johnny Strange.

A lifelong educator, Betty Sue shared her love of literature and language as an English teacher and adjunct professor at various schools in Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia, as well as in Jacksonville, Florida. Her dedication to learning and service extended beyond the classroom through her many volunteer hours at The Carter Library, where she supported causes close to her heart.

Betty Sue’s departure leaves a profound void in the hearts of those who loved her, but her grace, warmth, and legacy will continue to inspire all who were fortunate to know her.”

The DRIVE ProjectI sat there for a moment, also thinking about Across Alabama’s DRIVE Project (Deploying Resilient Infrastructure and Vocational Education), and it occurred to me that Betty Sue Strange would have probably loved it, and the fact that her vehicle would soon become the centerpiece of the first phase of the project and serve as a disaster communications hub. I am certain she would appreciate that we are using the project to educate young men and women in areas where hybrid cars are few and far between.

I developed the early stages of the DRIVE Project after I realized that hybrids are little more than rolling generators, specifically Priuses. My initial effort, however, wasn’t to take on communication gaps and breakdowns after a disaster. It was to have a climate-controlled option for camping. I’m no longer interested in roughing it, so I converted a 2012 Generation 3 Prius into a small camper for one or two people.

The air conditioning in a Prius works more like your household HVAC. The car will run on the battery for a long time, then the engine will start briefly to recharge the battery. With the parking brake engaged, you can hardly tell the shift from electric to internal combustion. Because of that, you can put a bed setup in the back that allows anyone 6’0” or shorter to sleep in the vehicle fairly comfortably.

And the car uses a minuscule amount of fuel when left on overnight.

I installed a 1000-watt inverter for long-term use beside the high-voltage hybrid battery. Basically, the car can deliver 1000 watts for days on a tank of fuel using the electric/internal-combustion cycle I described. At the time, a company known as Habitent produced tents to mount on the open rear hatch, so I purchased one and set out for my first trial run. My friends found it hilarious that I was sleeping in air conditioning. They found it even funnier that I had a microwave, a coffee pot, and a record player.

I travelled all over the United States, using it as a base while visiting people out of state. My son and I camped at concerts and spent time at places like Carter Caves State Park in Kentucky. After 80,000 miles of driving and with 200,000 miles on the car, I found the fatal flaw in 2010 to 2015 Priuses: the head gasket failure. It is one of the rare issues with Priuses—some of the most dependable cars on the road—and is almost exclusive to that generation. As a mechanic, I decided I would repair the car. However, with life doing what life does, it went to the back burner.

In addition to my history of working in auto repair shops, I have extensive experience in disaster recovery. This led me to plan our organization, Across Alabama, around taking on the many issues facing rural places that are exacerbated by disasters and the grind of long-term recovery.

As we built the organization, I secured a building with two garage bays and space for our office. With that asset in hand, I devised a plan to use it to build communication hubs from old Priuses for disasters. Using the cars’ available wattage, I built a station to charge 20 cell phones and power the satellite internet, providing local first responders with a wifi network. With the RV Refrigerator I purchased for camping, I built a station to serve as a cold-chain logistics system for items like insulin. The DRIVE Project was born.

Our team has designed three levels of vehicles, from the basic ones that would do the things I’ve just described to ones that actually lift the vehicles an inch and a half for ground clearance, along with solar arrays that charge batteries for power tools.

With the 2010-2015 generation, we are rebuilding the internal combustion engines when they fail and installing high-voltage battery replacements. This saves them from being crushed in junk yards.

We are also developing a curriculum on retrofits to provide a solid knowledge base for local people to learn about hybrid technology. We just don’t have near the infrastructure needed for electric cars in the rural United States, so hybrids are the next best option for us. We also don’t have a lot of love for the vehicles in rural places, it seems. One of the best parts of this project is that it addresses the stigma around alternative energy options to purely internal combustion engine cars while showing people just how versatile and useful the technology can be.

I’m pretty sure Betty Sue Strange would be happy to know her car will now play a major hand in that.

Ripple Effects into The FutureSoon, we will begin the initial stages of converting the latest Prius in our fleet, and our plan is to have it completed by July 2026, in time for hurricane season.

The vehicle will serve as The DRIVE Project’s Prototype 001. For our purposes, however, that is far too technical a name. So, we decided a much more appropriate one is in order. Prius Generation 2 Prototype 001 will be known as Betty Sue, named after the woman who loved a car far more than most people ever do.

I know this love is a fact because I am a car guy. Most people let the newness of a car wear off, and then car washes become fewer and farther between. A car where people aren’t allowed to eat ends up with crumbs in the seats, and a kid’s empty chocolate milk cartons are left in the floorboards until a parent finally says enough and cleans the car.

Most people try to keep a maintenance schedule, but it ends up being little more than remembering to change the oil regularly. As I said, I wanted to repair my other car, but life is gonna life. All that being said, Betty Sue Strange didn’t slip up on keeping her car completely maintained.

I will always have a special place in my heart for a woman from Roswell, Georgia, whom I never knew. As a car guy, I find her dedication to keeping the little car in tip-top shape admirable. I find the description of her life even more so, and I am extremely grateful we ended up with the perfect vehicle to kick off this project.

To those of you who knew and loved her, you have my condolences. I hope you find it comforting that she has a direct connection to an innovative project, one that will not only educate young people but will also help create communication options for disaster recovery.

And Betty, if you’re out there somewhere, thank you for being a positive force in your little corner of the world in your time with us, and thank you for such a fine automobile.

I hope we make you proud.

Thanks for reading Fire by Friction! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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