Survey: 3 of 4 Americans Want 40 MPG Fuel-Efficiency Standard

78 percent of Americans want Washington to impose a 40 mile per gallon (MPG) fuel-efficiency standard for American vehicles, according to a new Opinion Research Corporation national opinion survey commissioned by the nonprofit Civil Society Institute. Interestingly, considering Americans buying habits over the years of the SUV craze, the survey finds that most Americans think Detroit is to blame for its current woes. Respondents were asked: “Do you agree or disagree that U.S. automakers have generally been blind to U.S. consumer needs and tastes by focusing so heavily on fuel-inefficient SUVs and trucks while European and Japanese automakers have focused their efforts on vehicle design and/or improved fuel efficiency?” More than three out of four (76 percent) agreed with the statement, compared to just 22 percent who disagreed. * Nearly all Americans want President Bush to pressure U.S. automakers to focus more on the latest in fuel-efficiency technology. White House pressure for Detroit to take up such innovations reducing “energy consumption and related global-warming pollution” is backed by 85 percent of Americans, including 58 percent who would strongly support such pressure by President Bush. Political support for White House action on this front is strongly bipartisan: Republicans (82 percent); Independents […]

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