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"  Paris Auto Salons of the 1930s must have been spectacular. They displayed exquisite craftsmanship combined with fascinating automotive technology. And, should you happen to travel to Oxnard, California (about 60 miles west of downtown Los Angeles), there&amp;#039;s a time machine to experience this. The Mullin Automotive Museum is spot-on with its Art Deco exhibition of cars from the period, among them, Bugattis, Delahayes, and my own personal favorites, Voisins.   Entering the museum, one is immediately immersed in the era by encountering the bizarre furniture designs of Carlo Bugatti, father of auto specialist Ettore and his sculptor brother Rembrandt. Carlo&amp;#039;s furnishings are heavy in Moorish influence, fabulously intricate in their execution, using exotic materials as well as common ones in unexpected ways. Ettore was the engineer of the family, but no less artistic. His aesthetics were clearly blended with\u2014in fact, sometimes overshadowed\u2014engineering practice.   A neat aspect of the Mullin is its open layout, with only a few showpieces in elevated display: One occupying a special niche is the Type 22 Brescia resurrected in 2009 after residing more than 75 years in Lago Maggiore. Abandoned in the Swiss side of this lake through a customs hassle, the car was retrieved from a depth of 173 ft. by a local dive club and sold to establish a charitable foundation combating youth violence.   Another car honored with special prominence is a Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, one of only three extant, bought anonymously in 2010 for an estimated $30\u2013$40 million and on loan to the Mullin.   Peter Mullin&amp;#039;s own 1939 Delahaye Type 165 Figoni et Falaschi Cabriolet earns a special place as well. This car&amp;#039;s New York World&amp;#039;s Fair debut, its subsequent highs and low during and after World War II and its ultimate restoration made a wonderful Salon article in R&amp;amp;amp;T, March 1993.   Other cars are arranged artfully with complete, all-around, close-up and trusting access to viewing. By the way, photography is permitted, sans tripods. For details of my own tour, see my photo gallery at .   Prior to your visit, check for days the museum is open, 10 a.m.\u20133 p.m.; mullinautomotivemuseum.com; (805) 385-5400; 1421 Emerson Avenue, Oxnard, California 93033; tickets: adults $10, seniors (62-plus) $7, children (5\u201312) $5, those younger, free.   That&amp;#039;s why they&amp;#039;re called &amp;quot;rare&amp;quot; Now that we&amp;#039;ve learned electric cars have enough lithium to go around (see &amp;quot;Tech Tidbits,&amp;quot; June 2010), there was a headline in Science, Vol. 329, 23 July 2010, claiming that &amp;quot;Chinese Policies Could Pinch U.S. Efforts to Make Electric Cars.&amp;quot; More recently, China has erected a similar barrier against the Japanese, this latter hassle associated with territorial and other disagreements. This doesn&amp;#039;t involve lithium, but rather the rare earth elements\u2014yttrium, scandium and 15 lanthanides (the ones usually set off in an asterisked portion of the Periodic Table).   China produces more than 97 percent of these rare earths, elements that are important in lots of electronics (hence, the Japanese scare) and green-energy technologies. A typical hybrid car battery contains more than 10 kg (i.e., more than 22 lb.) of lanthanum. It&amp;#039;s one of the more abundant of rare earths (though I realize this sounds like an oxymoron) and thus also one of the least costly.   Last year, China cut its rare-earth exports by 40 percent, thus leaving demand elsewhere exceeding supply for the first time. U.S. suppliers have geared up, but it&amp;#039;s figured we have nowhere near enough resources to fill the gap.   At the moment, the rare-earth ball appears to be in our court. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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