Good oil: Classic Monaro

The HK GTS Monaro.

An original one-owner HK GTS Monarohas Holden fans buzzing on both sides of the Tasman. The battered, blue two-door with its replacement HK Premier twin-headlight grille was found in a barn in Victoria and goes up for auction in Melbourne on June 5. The 307 HK GTS was the first Monaro, built in 1968 and powered by a 307 cubic-inch (5-litre) V8 engine mated to an automatic transmission. It is not as rare as the later Monaro 327 (5.3-litre) GTS, but is still highly collectable. Auction house Shannons expects the Monaro to fetch between $A14,000-$A20,000 ($16,800-$24,000). Another original Holden that has been sitting on blocks in a shed in Victoria since 1988 is also on offer. The two-owner 1951 FX sedan is expected to fetch between $A3000-$A5000.

PR spin on GM man

Straight-shooting General Motors product chief Bob Lutz read out a memo sent by the company's PR staff before a press conference. It said: "GM is accelerating investment in a broad range of technologies to improve the performance, efficiency and emissions of its products on a global basis. It is doing this to maintain flexibility in meeting customer expectations while addressing potential societal and geopolitical changes posed by the energy markets. Do not take on the oil industry, avoid speculation on global oil reserves, avoid debating the subject of, and the science of, global climate change, and avoid dismissing concerns over the environment and/or making deprecating remarks about environmentalists." Lutz roared with laughter. "The staff put that together," he said. "They obviously know me!"

Formula for cash

The future of Formula One is secure through to the 2012 season. The member teams of the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association - Toyota, Honda, BMW, Renault, and Mercedes-Benz - have signed an agreement with Formula One Administration and CVC Capital Partners, the new commercial rights holder for the series. The teams will get 50 per cent of the commercial revenue generated by the sport. Under the previous 1997 agreement, teams shared around 23 per cent. "This will allow us to move forward to focus on the future of Formula One," said McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

We are the world

A 10-year-old boy in Torquay, England, was awarded almost $4500 following his expulsion from school for selling marijuana. The local government agreed that his school had acted too slowly in fulfilling its duty to find the expelled boy alternate schooling, reported the BBC.