General Motors Corp.'s research and development chief has been a voice in the wilderness, crying out to the auto industry that it must repent and turn away from its dependence on the gasoline engine.

The hydrogen fuel cell is the only true path to transportation salvation, Burns has preached to a congregation full of skeptics about the promise of a "hydrogen economy."

Some say there are too many technological roadblocks to overcome in a fuel-cell propulsion system. Others say producing hydrogen and setting up a retail fueling system is too costly.

And environmentalists accuse GM of promoting futuristic fuel cells when it could be selling more fuel-saving gasoline-electric hybrids like the Toyota Prius now.

But Burns has picked up a zealous apostle for the hydrogen economy. He's Metaldyne Co. Chairman Tim Leuliette, a plain-speaking, John-the-Baptist sort of guy, who says the whole country is headed for Hades unless we kick our oil habit.

Plymouth-based Metaldyne is a major auto industry supplier of chassis, engine, driveline and transmission components, basically metal parts that would still be needed in some form even in a hydrogen-based industry.

In a recent speech full of fire and brimstone, Leuliette said our thirst for oil makes us vulnerable to terrorists, unpredictable rulers of oil-producing nations and skyrocketing prices forced by increased demand for fossil fuel in China.

"We get up every day praying that Osama bin Laden doesn't figure out that a dirty bomb in a Saudi oil field will do significantly more damage to the U.S. and world economies than another attack on U.S. soil," Leuliette said in a Jan. 19 speech to the Automotive News World Congress in Dearborn.

Too many people who should know better, he said, are ignoring the threats of an unstable Middle East, a possible strike by oil workers in Nigeria and political extremism in Venezuela - all critical sources of oil for the United States.

Others, Leuliette said, "pray that oil is found in large deposits in shale rock in this country and believe that with conservation, prudence and luck, we can push this problem out until the next generation so our children can solve it, like they will have to solve Social Security."

To them, he has this advice: Get real.

National security, the future of the environment and the health of the economy all demand that Detroit convert its cars and trucks as quickly as possible to run on hydrogen, according to Leuliette. Hydrogen can come from a variety of sources, including oil, natural gas, solar, water and wind.

Yes, there are cost and technological problems to overcome. That's why Leuliette has proposed what he called the "Hydrogen Project," an ambitious government-industry partnership that would result in all - that's right, all - new vehicles sold in the United States being powered by hydrogen in 15 years.

Some automakers, such as GM, are focusing on fuel cells. Others, such as Ford Motor Co., think hydrogen-fueled internal-combustion engines will precede fuel cells.

Leuliette said switching to hydrogen vehicles could save Detroit, which can't seem to excite buyers about its products without putting four or five thousand dollars on the hood, in the form of rebates.

"This is a rebirth of our industry, a rebirth of a nation's infrastructure and the rebirth of Detroit to once again be where the action is," Leuliette said.

Will anyone give him an "amen?"