Middle East turmoil could lift petrol to $1.50 a litre in next fortnight

TURMOIL in the Middle East could cost families an extra $360 a year as the price of oil surges.

True cost of oil 'not reflected at the bowser'

HOW does more than $3 for a litre of petrol sound? Steep, especially for struggling families in car-dependent suburbs, but according to the man who introduced some of America's toughest environmental standards, it reflects the real cost of our dependence on oil.

Alcoholic brew is a top fuel

Ethanol has a number of advantages over unleaded petrol.

Small government does not mean cheap

If you ever want to feel generous, have a flick through the recent press releases of the Commonwealth's Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

INTO THE RED ZONE

Authorities hope blunt language and a new 'code red' warning will save lives this bushfire season, but nature offers no guarantees. Selma Milovanovic reports.

BATHURST 1000 . . . with a twist

On the eve of Australia's Great Race, TOBY HAGON aims to find the king of the fuel-efficiency mountain.

LEADING THE CHARGE

Which car makers are embracing electric technology? ANDREW HEASLEY compiles our A-V guide.

Camry flaunts its hybrid twin

Move over, Prius, your Australian-built big brother has finally arrived, writes JEZ SPINKS.

The stayers

ONE morning late last month, gentle sounds of a Beethoven piano sonata trickled out of a house on a hill high above Marysville, just in front of the forest that was ripped apart by February's fire.

A wild ride that may not be over

WHAT a year that was. We entered it with a minerals boom raging, interest rates rising, the dollar almost at $US1, petrol at $1.63 a litre and policymakers obsessed with the threat of inflation.