Fuming Glad

By Melissa August, Matthew Cooper, Ellin Martens, Lisa McLaughlin, Julie Rawe, Alain L. Sanders and Josh Tyrangiel

Every cloud has a silver lining, even a puff of exhaust. For some folks, there's a brighter side to the higher price of gasoline:

1 Archer Daniels Midland: In some Midwestern states, ethanol, pioneered by ADM, now costs 25% less than gasoline. Now about those ethanol subsidies...

2 Ed Begley Jr., actor-proponent of electric cars: "I'm not happy that a lot of poorer people have to pay exorbitant prices, but the point is, we shouldn't have to deal with OPEC nations. We have a lot of natural gas right here in the U.S.A., and most of our car trips are 40 miles or less. Let's use electric vehicles."

3 Amtrak: Greyhound upped fares 1.5%, and airlines added fuel surcharges, but good ol' trains are running full--and it's not because of the cafe car's tuna log.

4 Saturn Dealers: Sales had plummeted over the past few years as customers fell for sport-utility vehicles. But dealers now report increased interest in the fleet's fuel efficiency.

5 Lingerie Industry: Manufacturers report increases in orders from Arab countries. "They had a big problem with low oil prices last year," a supplier told Women's Wear Daily. "Now it's not only the wealthy, but...middle-class Arabs who are looking to buy more beautiful sleepwear."