Back to the transportation issue. My 25 year old daughter finally bought her new car. She compared all the Japanese compacts and selected a Honda Fit. Despite my urging she refused to look at any American car because "They are not reliable". Its going to take Detroit a long time to overcome this prejudice that is probably undeserved at this time. I, besides the Moped, am still driving my 1990 4 cylinder Dodge Caravan because it never breaks and gets 28 mpg as long as I baby it. Several Chrysler dealers are closing in our area and giving huge discounts, way below their costs. I thought maybe its finally time to upgrade so I callerd one of them to see what kind of a deal I could get. I asked for a 4 cylinder Caravan. The unbelievable answer I got is that they stopped making the 4 cylinder available in the Caravan years ago! They deserve to go under. Their smallest 6 cylinder is rated at 18mpg city and 22 mpg highway. I told them 'Thank you but no thank you, talk to you in a few years if you get up to speed with what people really want.' Nick

The latest is of the journal Science is devoted to hydrogen as a fuel and to other aspects of the energy equation. I've appended the titles; for access to full articles, you must be a subscriber. In the meantime, I'll post the series' editors introduction. ------------------------------------------------------------ Not So Simple Robert Coontz and Brooks Hanson Seen up close, hydrogen looks like a recipe for success. Small and simple--one proton and one electron in its most common atomic form--hydrogen was the first element to assemble as the universe cooled off after the big bang, and it is still the most widespread. It accounts for 90% of the atoms in the universe, two-thirds of the atoms in water, and a fair proportion of the atoms in living organisms and their geologic legacy, fossil fuels. To scientists and engineers, those atoms offer both promise and frustration. Highly electronegative, they are eager to bond, and they release energy generously when they do. That makes them potentially useful, if you can find them. On Earth, however, unattached hydrogen is vanishingly rare. It must be liberated by breaking chemical bonds, which requires energy. Once released, the atoms pair up into two-atom molecules, whose dumbbell-shaped electron clouds are so well balanced that fleeting charge differences can pull them into a liquid only at a frigid -252.89 Celsius, 20 kelvin above absolute zero. The result, at normal human-scale temperatures, is an invisible gas: light, jittery, and slippery; hard to store, transport, liquefy, and handle safely; and capable of releasing only as much energy as human beings first pump into it. All of which indicates that using hydrogen as a common currency for an energy economy will be far from simple. The papers and News stories in this special section explore some of its many facets. Consider hydrogen's green image. As a manufactured product, hydrogen is only as clean or dirty as the processes that produce it in the first place. Turner (p. 972) describes various options for large-scale hydrogen production in his Viewpoint. Furthermore, as News writer Service points out (p. 958), production is just one of many technologies that must mature and mesh for hydrogen power to become a reality, a fact that leads many experts to urge policymakers to cast as wide a net as possible. In some places, the transition to hydrogen may be relatively straightforward. For her News story (p. 966), Vogel visited Iceland, whose abundant natural energy resources have given it a clear head start. Elsewhere, though, various technological detours and bridges may lie ahead. The Viewpoint by Demirdöven and Deutch (p. 974) and Cho's News story (p. 964) describe different intermediate technologies that may shape the next generation of automobiles. Meanwhile, the fires of the fossil fuel-based "carbon economy" seem sure to burn intensely for at least another half-century or so [see the Editorial by Kennedy (p. 917)]. Service's News story on carbon sequestration (p. 962) and Pacala and Socolow's Review (p. 968) explore strategies--including using hydrogen--for mitigating their effects. Two generations down the line, the world may end up with a hydrogen economy completely different from the one it expected to develop. Perhaps the intermediate steps on the road to hydrogen will turn out to be the destination. The title we chose for this issue--Toward a Hydrogen Economy-- reflects that basic uncertainty and the complexity of what is sure to be a long, scientifically engaging journey. ============================================================ SPECIAL ISSUE: Toward a Hydrogen Economy --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Toward a Hydrogen Economy: Introduction to special issue -------------------- Not So Simple Robert Coontz and Brooks Hanson http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5686/957?etoc p. 957 Toward a Hydrogen Economy: News -------------------- The Hydrogen Backlash Robert F. Service http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5686/958?etoc p. 958 The Carbon Conundrum Robert F. Service http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5686/962?etoc p. 962 Choosing a CO2 Separation Technology Robert F. Service http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5686/963?etoc p. 963 Fire and ICE: Revving Up for H2 Adrian Cho http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5686/964?etoc p. 964 Will the Future Dawn in the North? Gretchen Vogel http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5686/966?etoc p. 966 Can the Developing World Skip Petroleum? Gretchen Vogel http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5686/967?etoc p. 967 Toward a Hydrogen Economy: Viewpoint -------------------- Sustainable Hydrogen Production John A. Turner http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5686/972?etoc p. 972 Hybrid Cars Now, Fuel Cell Cars Later Nurettin Demirdoven and John Deutch http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5686/974?etoc p. 974 Toward a Hydrogen Economy: Review -------------------- Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies S. Pacala and R. Socolow http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5686/968?etoc p. 968 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Malibu really does get great mileage. The 3.5 liter V6 is, as others have said, nearly as efficient as the 4-cylinder, and it has lots of power, too. This is proof that "high-tech" engines are not necessarily better. This 3.5 in the Malibu is a fairly old tech engine, it's an OHV design, doesn't have 4-valves per cylinder. But it performs very well and gets excellent mileage. Compare the mileage of the Malibu with this engine that the car magazines say is "old fashioned" to some of the newer design engines with overhead camshafts and more valves per cylinder. What do you see? The "high tech" engines produce comparable power out of small displacements than the Malibu's V6, so they have more horsepower per liter. Okay, but then look at performance and fuel economy, and you see that the bigger engine is no less efficient than the high-revving little one. Plus the bigger one will probably last longer because it doesn't have to be run so hard to produce its power, and as a side bonus there's no timing belt to break and strand you in the middle of nowhere.

Just a note. The 2005 Odyssey will be a long awaited redesign so you may want to wait until Sept. (I think) to see what it is all about. There is an Odyssey forum at the link below, and everyone there is guessing what new features it will have. Rear windows that actually go up and down, power gate, stow and go third row seating, better fuel economy, power antenna????? I bought the 2004 Odyssey, despite that the Sienna was slightly larger and slightly better equipped, because it came in the color I wanted (yeah, cuz that will make me "cool"). Anyway, I love the Odyssey but wish it had a power rear-gate. I'm a little short and it's a little heavy for me to get it down easily. I have the seven-seat configuration with the access row on the side because I have three car-seats and that was the best configuration. People go on and on about the seats that fold flat in the floor. My third row does, but you really need to think about how often you would need a completely flat long bed, before going with a van with second row fold flat. Here is a link that might be useful: 2005 Odyssey Forum