Survey: Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Purchase Seen as 'Patriotic,' Gas Price Sticker Shock Causing Millions to Look at Gas-Saving Cars, Trucks

New www.40mpg.org Campaign to Promote Use of Fuel-Efficient Vehicles; Unique

  Calculator Shows Potential Consumer Savings at Pump, Also in Terms of
       Reduced Middle Eastern Oil Dependency, and Cuts in Pollution

DETROIT -- Most Americans now see buying a fuel-efficient vehicle as a patriotic gesture, and that is exactly what tens of millions in the U.S. are considering doing in the face of worsening gasoline price sticker shock, according to a new Opinion Research Corporation survey to be released on March 17, 2005 by Results For America (RFA), a project of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (CSI).

RFA also will launch a new calculator at http://www.40mpg.org/ showing how much Americans could save at the gas pumps -- in terms of dollars, reduced Middle Eastern oil dependency and lowered pollution -- by driving vehicles equipped with the best-available technology to achieve 40 mpg fuel efficiency. The new http://www.40mpg.org/ campaign by Results For America is designed to help Americans understand and then act on the benefits of driving more fuel- efficient vehicles.

  News event speakers will be:

  * Civil Society Institute President Pam Solo;

  * Environmental Defense Senior Fellow in Automotive Strategies Dr. John
    DeCicco;

  * Opinion Research Corporation Senior Research Associate Graham Hueber;

  * Ailis Aaron, co-author of "The Ultimate Car Book" and "The Used Car
    Book."

Results For America is a project of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (CSI).

TO PARTICIPATE: You can join the live, telephone-based news conference (with FULL Q&A) by dialing 1-(800) 860-2442 by 12:30 p.m. EST on March 17, 2005. Ask for the "40mpg car" news event.

CAN'T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio recording of the news event will be available on the Web as of 5 p.m. EST on March 17, 2005 at http://www.resultsforamerica.org/.

Results For America is a project of the Civil Society Institute (CSI), which is based in Newton, Massachusetts. The mission of CSI is to serve as a catalyst for change by creating problem-solving interactions among people, and between communities, government and business, that can help to improve society.

RFA seeks to shape and tap the tremendous amount of community-level knowledge, experience and innovative action that could solve America's problems in four key areas, including: energy policy. In this context, Results For America states: "Our national energy policy poses a growing threat to our health, to our economy and even to our national security ... Our oil imports make us more vulnerable to terrorists and give us less room to maneuver in our foreign policy. Our failure to develop the next generation of energy technology costs our nation well-paying jobs. The Results for America environmental initiative is designed to focus attention on the dangers of current US energy and environmental policies and to put real solutions front and center."