The price of oil and gasoline has never been so high. Logically, people are looking for alternatives. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) costs half as much as gasoline, so thousands of car owners are having their vehicles refitted to burn LPG. Germany’s fuel taxation policy drives part of the conversion-mania. Germany taxes gasoline at 95 cents a liter, but liquefied petroleum gas at only 10 cents a liter. Increasing numbers car owners are making the switch. The refitting company Solidwek is even working on a Rolls Royce. The Koziol company makes objects of daily use, like bowls and plates, from plastic. Plastic is made from oil, too, and costs to the company of this raw material have increased by 50 percent. But Koziol wouldn't be able to sell its products at higher prices. So it is instituting efficiency measures. A report by Kerstin Schweizer.