In the 20s, Germany developed a system for extracting oil from coal. In the war, (which we won, by the way) it was used to propel tanks and trucks. In Brazil, they run cars on oil from chrysanthemums. And I used to power my old Land Cruiser on chip fat.

But all this is by the by because, with a barrel of conventional oil costing $35, it is now economically viable to go after unconventional oil. The black gold that's held in sand, for instance, under Canada. How long will this last? Well, according to scientists, centuries.

Even if half of China decides that it wants to go to work every day in a Jet Ranger, and India becomes the biggest market in the world for Lamborghini Diablos, Neil Young and Donald Sutherland will provide the juice to keep them going.

Oh, and don't worry about the carbon dioxide either because, apparently, this can now be extracted from coal gasification plants and then pumped deep into the earth, where it increases pressure forcing more oil and gas to the surface. Brilliant. The eco-mentalists will have to go and worry about something else. Horses, perhaps.

In fact, don't worry about anything because, when the chips are down, man always finds a way. With no power tools at all, we survived the last Ice Age. Without the benefit of aspirin, we came through the great plague. And since then we've conquered space and developed the Rice Krispie.

You think bird flu's going to wipe us out? Well, I wouldn't count on it because somewhere, right now, a nerd with a white coat and pipette is figuring out how it can be beaten. And it'll be another nerd, a few centuries from now, who finds a way to power cars using the sun's ultraviolet light.

And when the sun runs out, we'll get on a space ship and go somewhere else. Or build another one.

The message, then, really is clear. If you want a 911 turbo, and I must say it does look rather good, buy one. In fact, you can buy whatever car you want. Not an Audi Q7, though. I drove one in Norway recently and it seemed to be rubbish. And a rubbish car, I'm afraid, is a waste of petrol.