FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 24 MAY 2007
Contact: Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384

             Antidote to Memorial Day Sticker Shock at the Pump
         "I Want My MPG!" Website Shows How Higher CAFE Standards
            Can Take the Bite Out of Summertime Pain at the Pump

(Washington, DC) -- As the summer driving season begins this Memorial Day
weekend, families across America continue to feel the pinch of the
country's addiction to oil. Gas prices are topping their all-time record
highs.  In fact, Consumers Union testified before Congress last week that
the average American family is spending $1,000 more on gas every year now
than they were five years ago.  That's certainly enough to pay for the
average family's Memorial Day getaway, or perhaps enough to prevent them
from taking one in the first place.

With fuel economy on everyone's mind, the Sierra Club is launching its
updated "I Want My MPG!" fuel economy calculator (www.sierraclub.org/mpg/)
to help Americans understand how much they could benefit if automakers were
required to use existing, affordable technology to increase the fuel
economy of the cars, SUVs and other trucks that Americans drive each and
every day.

"Making our cars and trucks go farther on a gallon of gas is the biggest
single step we can take to save money at the gas pump, curb global warming,
and cut America's dangerous dependence on oil," said Dan Becker, Director
of Sierra Club's Global Warming Program.  "Americans need to know how much
they could be saving if automakers were required to use existing
fuel-saving technology."

The technology exists today to make all new vehicles--from sedans to pickup
trucks to SUVs--average 40 miles per gallon within ten years.  Raising
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards would save American
consumers billions of dollars.  Taking this step would also curb global
warming emissions and help make America more secure by reducing our oil
dependence by 4 million barrels per day - more oil than the United States
currently imports from the entire Persian Gulf and could ever take out of
the Arctic Refuge, combined.

The "I Want My MPG!" calculator allows consumers to find out just how much
their fuel bills and global warming emissions would be reduced if we
modernized CAFE standards. Consumer can enter their specific make and
model, local gas price, and the number of miles they drive each year.  For
instance, the following examples show consumer savings for a range of
vehicles paying today's average (AAA) of $3.22 per gallon and driving
12,500 miles per year.

|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|
| Make        | Model  | Annual Fuel  | Annual Cost with  |Lifetime Vehicle  
     |
|             |        | Cost         | Modern CAFE       |Savings           
     |
|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|
| Ford        | Focus  |        $1,610|             $1,025|                
$7,020|
|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|
|Nissan       | Maxima |        $1,750|              $1000|                
$9,000|
|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|
|Chrysler     | 300    |        $1,773|             $1,014|                
$9,108|
|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|
|Cadillac     | STS    |        $2,516|             $1,437|               
$12,948|
|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|
|Dodge        | Caravan|        $2,013|             $1,088|               
$11,100|
|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|
|Toyota       | 4Runner|        $2,368|             $1,259|               
$13,308|
|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|
|Ford         | F150   |        $2,683|             $1,667|               
$12,192|
|-------------+--------+--------------+-------------------+----------------------|



"In his State of the Union speech President Bush proposed a 4 percent
annual increase in fuel economy standards," said Becker.  "It's time for
our leaders in Washington to deliver on that promise so that our cars,
trucks, and SUVs are guaranteed to average at least 35 miles per gallon by
2020.  Unfortunately, the big auto companies and their friends in
Washington are fighting hard to prevent this from happening. It's time for
our leaders in Washington to do the people's business, not business as
usual."

                                    # # #





-----------------
Josh Dorner
Associate Press Secretary
Sierra Club
408 C Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
tel 202.675.2384
cel 202.679.7570
fax 202.547.6009

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp