I was driving up the hill to my apartment yesterday when I saw this little kid "racing" the cars going up the hill.  I decided I should slow down, rev my engine and let him "win."  But, I couldn't, there was a car behind me.  I didn't want to make the driver mad.  You never want to anger drivers in my neighborhood.  It's a little too shady for that. Anyway, I started thinking, "Is it even possible to rev the engine on this car?"  I've had this car for three years and I've never tried to rev the engine.

Before I got this Prius I drove a 1985 Nissan Z.  It had a big engine and a manual transmission.  That car sounded like it was going fast just sitting in the driveway.  I revved the engine regularly, just to hear how cool it sounded.

When I pulled into my parking spot at home I put the car in park and stepped on the gas petal.  The engine turned off.  It was as though my car were saying, "Uh- no I'm not going to do that.  I'm not that kind of car."  So I put it in drive and put one foot on the break and one foot on the gas.  My car turned back on, (obligingly) and purred.  "mmmmmmm"  "mmmmmmmm"  I had to turn off the radio and roll down the windows to hear it.

That Z is laughing at my Prius from the junk yard.

So, now I know, the answer to "Can I rev my car?"  is "No."