In A Streetcar Named Desire, Marlon Brando sent up that classic agonized cry: Stelllllaaa! According to a recent Yahoo article, seasoned citizen roadies may some day call out the same word just as emotionally. However, it will be in happy admiration as they roll along without ever again needing to fill up at a highway (robbery) gas station.

The Stella experimental prototype seats four, and last year won the World Solar Car challenge race across Australia. It was recently driven successfully the 400 miles along California’s scenic Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Solar Team Eindhoven, where Stella originated, currently operates from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. The solar-powered cars run on sunlight that is converted and stored in photovoltaic cells.

Unfortunately, you can’t start shopping for one yet. As yet, they’re not more economical than gasoline-powered vehicles. There’s no current info about when they can be mass-produced, pricing, maintenance and other development steps. However, we senior wanderers can all hope Stella will soon answer our mournful cries for economical road travel. www.solarteameindhoven.nl