Over the past several decades, the promise of the "car of tomorrow" has remained unfulfilled, while the problems it was supposed to solve have only intensified. The average price of a gallon of gas is higher than at any time since the early 1980s. The Middle East seems more volatile than ever. And even climate skeptics are starting to admit that the carbon we´re pumping into the atmosphere might have disastrous consequences. To these circumstances, automakers have responded with a fleet of cars that averages 21 miles per gallon, about four miles per gallon worse than the Model T.

What: A spacecraft that travels at faster-than-light speeds by distorting, or "warping," the fabric of spacetime. Instead of trying to move through space, the warp drive moves space itself. The ship sits inside a bubble of spacetime bound by a negative energy field that races across the cosmos.

Texas Star Party, May 1-8Those yearning for dark skies and the camaraderie of star enthusiasts might wish to make the trek to the 27th annual Texas Star Party. The event features a week of galaxy-gazing and plenary lectures. This year’s speakers include Robert T. Mitchell, the project manager of the Cassini mission, and Stephanie McLaughlin, a project coordinator for NASA’s Deep Impact mission. The Star Party has a strict “no lights” policy from sundown to sunup.