Survey, Report to Show Washington and Detroit are Moving Much Too Slowly on Higher Fuel Efficiency Vehicle Standards

Survey: Voters Want 40 MPG Now, Not 10 Years Away ... Will Support "40 MPG

Candidates" in 2008; Report: America Loses Big if White House, Congress and

Even More Reluctant Detroit Succeed in Killing a Big MPG Boost Now

A bipartisan majority of American voters want Congress to act quickly to hike federal fuel-efficiency standards to 40 miles per gallon (MPG) by 2010 instead of moving much slower to reach a lower MPG level a decade later, according to a new Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) survey conducted for the nonprofit Civil Society Institute (CSI) think tank and its 40MPG.org project. A related 40MPG.org research report will detail the pocketbook cost to consumers, increased global warming pollution and continued reliance on foreign oil that will result if federal fuel-efficiency standards are raised only modestly on the go-ahead-slow basis favored by Detroit, the White House and some in Congress.

The CSI/40MPG.org survey findings and related report will be released at 1:30 p.m. EDT on June 6, 2007 during a live, phone-based national news conference.

Even as Detroit, the White House and some in Congress argue for riding the brakes on federal fuel-efficiency standards, the CSI/40MPG.org report will spell out the case for moving as quickly as possible to a 40 mpg standard. The difference between 40 mpg in 2010 versus a 35 mpg standard by as late as 2018 (under one major Capitol Hill proposal) would mean saving consumers tens of billions of dollars, sharply reducing vehicle emissions linked to global warming and offsetting all of the current U.S. reliance on oil from the volatile Middle East. Further, the new 40 mpg report will show that (1) Americans want the more fuel-efficient vehicles already on the road in other parts of the world, but not in the U.S.; and (2) that the 40 mpg technology already exists and is being put in place under much tougher standards in Europe, Asia and China.

  News event speakers will be:

  -- Civil Society Institute President and 40MPG.org founder Pam Solo;

  -- Opinion Research Corporation Senior Research Associate Graham Hueber;
     and

  -- 40MPG.org Spokesperson Ailis Aaron Wolf.

TO JOIN THE EVENT: You can participate in this live, phone-based news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 1:30 p.m. EDT on June 6, 2007 by dialing 1 (800) 860-2442. Ask for the "CSI/40mpg survey/report" news event.

CAN'T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio recording of the news event will be available on the Web as of 7 p.m. EDT on June 6, 2007 at http://www.40mpg.org/ and http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/

The nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/) is a think tank that serves as a catalyst for change by creating problem-solving interactions among people, and between communities, government and business that can help to improve society. CSI has conducted more than 15 major surveys and reports since 2003 on energy and auto issues, including vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, consumer demand for hybrids/other highly-fuel efficient vehicles, global warming and renewable energy. CSI is the parent organization of 40MPG.org (http://www.40mpg.org/) and the Hybrid Owners of America (http://www.hybridownersofamerica.org/).