It is all calculated to pile yet more pressure on council leaders to devise their own resourceful responses to the ministerial mantra: "working smarter", "doing more for less" and, of course, thinking creatively about tapping in to their revenue-generating potential.

BBC: Midlands councils go into business to offset grant cuts

And the grumbling about vehicle fuel economy is getting loud enough that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is coming under pressure to change the way the fuel economy numbers are calculated, something it hasn't done since 1984.

FORBES: Fuel Economy Sticker Shock