Hervey Bay Gossip

The RACQ warns that further increases in the price of petrol could be on the way towards the middle of the coming week and one analyst quoted in the Sunday Mail suggests that the price of crude could rise to $US100 a barrel.

We early baby boomers tend to forget what it was like to go on a motoring holiday back in the 1950’s. There was no air-conditioning to keep everyone cool, there wasn’t much space in the boot for luggage and the old Morrie was never going to get us where we wanted to go in a hurry.

So seeing this old girl with the Globite bags on the roof was like a blast from the past

This early Morris Minor was part of the display of veteran cars during last Saturday’s street party.

Every time you check the price board as you pass a service station the bad news is plain to see. The cost of fuel is rising and this time there seems little chance of it dropping back to more reasonable levels.

At least one OPEC oil minister has admitted that demand is now outstripping supply and so the simple laws of supply and demand mean that prices will continue to rise. Some analysts here in Australia suggest that prices around $1.30 a litre for basic unleaded will be here by early next year.

Of course, if you’red running on a premium unleaded or diesel that price is already here.

For those who use diesel there is some hope though and it could even mean free fuel from a very unlikely source - your local Chinese restaurant.

Check out a very interesting development in fuel options for diesel vehicles in Russ Egan’s article Grease Cars - Filling Up at Your Local Chinese Restaurant

There are more photos from the 2006 Fraser Coast Ute Show now up on Aussie Motoring.

These links will get you there:

2006 Fraser Coast Ute Show - Mean Street Machines

2006 Fraser Coast Ute Show - Old Hotties

2006 Fraser Coast Ute Show - Veteran Utes

Proton has been out of the Australian market for several years now but they’re back with a whole new range of smart looking cars.

The smallest in the range is the Proton Savv. It’s powered by a 1.2 litre Renault motor and comes with a list of standard equipment that many other cars include as extras.

Click the link for a detailed look at the Proton Savvy

This year’s Fraser Coast Ute Show was held at the Torbanlea Race Track on Saturday. There was a good turnout of utes and spectators and if you missed it you missed some seriously impressive machinery.

Here are just a two examples:

and this beautifully restored 1938 Austin

It was interesting to see how many people were walking around the displays taking photos with their phone cameras but you have to wonder how many of those people actually DO anything with the pictures they take.

Well not quite but the latest Holden concept car does contain quite a bit of technology that is in the production pipeline.

You can see more of Holden’s Efijy here at Aussie Motoring

Sadly this car will never go into production and that is a real shame. I could just see myself cruising down The Esplanade rattling the shop windows with some appropriate music from the fifties

The Formula 1 season opened in Bahrain last weekend with a new set of rules and a new set of engines. Gone are 3 litre V10’s of last year replaced by 2.4 litre V8’s.

The new rules cover such things as tyres and qualifying laps and you can read more about them here

Racing in the first round was tight but Alonso in a Renault held of Michael Schumacher to take the flag. Kimi Raikkonen finished third after starting from last place and Australian Mark Webber, driving a Williams-Cosworth, finished in sixth place.

The Brisbane Motor Show is currently in full swing and if you’re thinking of going then you have until Sunday to get there.

The Hervey Bay Gossip crew were there on the opening day and certainly enjoyed the experience. You can read more of our impressions over on Aussie Motoring.

The show was a little light on real concept cars but the Holden concept car would have been hard to beat in any competition.

The photos were taken by us at the show and the montage was put together by one of our team in the US.

The Brisbane Motor Show will open it’s doors on Friday and this year the show promises to be bigger and better than 2005.

This year the show will feature vehicles from almost every manufacturer who has a presence in Australia as well as motorcycles, concept cars, exotic sports cars and some great classics.

The show will run from Friday March 3 through to Sunday March 12 and will be open to the public on weekdays from noon to 10pm and weekends from 10am to 10pm on Saturdays and 10am to 6pm on Sundays.

For more information check out Aussie Motoring or the official website