Preface During the last several years@ significant efforts have been directed toward the development of near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles in the automotive industry to meet increasingly stringent emissions legislation. Several vehicle manufacturers have already successfully launched these types of vehicles that are powered by conventional internal combustion engines and are certified in California to meet the most difficult emissions standard of partial zero emissions vehicle (PZEV) in the world. Accompanying this extensive development effort is the continuing generation of a large volume of technical information@ with a growing need for systematic organization@ description of fundamental processes@ sorting of insights on technical issues@ and identification of key trends and future research and development (RD) directions. This book was planned to serve this essential purpose. Subjects related to the development and certification of near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles are covered in this book. Experts in the field were invited to address a broad spectrum of key RD issues in the rapidly progressing area of near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles. The book presents nearly all topics that a reader in the field may wish to comprehend@ and future technology directions and RD needs are outlined. The purpose is to provide the reader with a concise@ brief introduction to the state of the art of technology developments in near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles. The material reflects the latest global technical initiatives that are being incorporated or investigated within the automotive and research communities. Engineers and researchers in this field will find the book invaluable in developing optimum systems for near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles and in understanding and interpreting test data. Corporate managers who are responsible for product decisions in this area will benefit significantly from the clear statements of the advantages and disadvantages of a spectrum of subsystems and from the discussions of current global best practices. This book is organized into 14 chapters. The complex processes associated with engine startup and shutdown@ mixture formation@ unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions formation@ and characterization of cold engine processes are presented in Chapters 1 through 4 in a clear and organized manner@ and are placed within a framework of current state-of-the-art hardware and processes. Chapters 5 through 7 describe in detail the key technologies for improving cold-start catalyst light-off performance@ such as spark retardation@ secondary air injection@ fuel properties@ and fuel reforming. Chapter 8 describes state-of-the-art catalyst developments in meeting the most stringent emissions regulations such as PZEV. Chapter 9 is dedicated to the development of HC traps for controlling cold-start HC emissions. Chapter 10 introduces approaches developed to systematically model three-way catalytic converters@ and Chapter 11 outlines the measures recently developed to control evaporative emissions. Issues related to the development of onboard diagnostics (OBD) for low emissions vehicles are addressed in Chapter 12@ and Chapter 13 thoroughly reviews the important considerations in certifying near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles. Finally@ Chapter 14 provides a comprehensive summary of the current best practices of near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicle systems in the field@ to give the reader a general understanding of all key elements in near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles. The compiled information in this book would constitute an excellent base for someone who recently started working in the field@ for someone who is already familiar with the area but wants opinions on certain issues from other experts in the field@ or for someone who simply wants a general idea about recent technology developments in near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles. Anyone in industry or academia can expect this book to provide a rapid learning curve@ and it will serve as a valuable desk reference on technologies related to the development of near-zero-emissions gasoline-powered vehicles. In closing@ I would like to extend my thanks to all the chapter authors for their professional contributions to the successful compilation of this book. I also would like to express my gratitude to Martha Swiss of SAE International for her excellent support in publishing this book. Finally@ I would like to sincerely acknowledge my wife Dannie and my son James@ for their understanding@ patience@ and encouragement throughout the lengthy process of preparing this book. They tolerated the time I spent writing and editing during weekends and holidays@ which was time I could have spent with them. Without my family's unflagging support@ it is difficult to conceive how this book project would have been carried out as an enjoyable and fruitful experience.