You knew it was coming, didn't you? Summer is here, and gas prices are going up, close to $3 a gallon in many areas. I pretty much knew it was going to happen, which is one reason I bought a flex-fuel Ford this spring, and have been running it on E-85 ethanol. Not only is E-85 selling at the pump in my town for $1.99 a gallon, it got me an unexpected perq over the weekend. My fiancee and I went shopping at a new grocery store in her neighborhood in Chicago, and were thrilled to pull into the parking ramp and see an open spot--right in front of the elevator--reserved for alternative fuel vehicles. I pulled in and parked, only to be stopped by the security guard the second we got out of the car. "You can't park there," he said. "It's for hybrids only." I replied that the sign said "for alternative fuel vehicles" and that my car is an alternative fuel vehicle. He wasn't buying it--to him, "alternative fuel" meant "hybrid"--but I insisted that I had a right to park there, and he let up on me. Once in the store, I told the manager what had happened, and we had a great talk. He explained that the guards were being very protective of the alternative fuel parking spot because a guy in a Ferrari had parked in that spot twice the week before--twice?? that's pretty cheeky, even for a Ferrari owner. The manager said he would talk to the security guards about letting biofuel-powered vehicles park in the reserved spot, and I went away feeling pretty good about my car. As for the guy with the Ferrari, well, he'll be getting his all summer, every time he fills up with $3 a gallon gas...