What If War Survey - 65% Americans SAY they plan to change driving behavior

Additionally, Seventy-Eight Percent of Respondents to Survey
Say Increased Tax Breaks Would Make Hybrids a More Viable Option 

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - February 25, 2003- According to a Yahoo! Autos survey
conducted by Harris Interactive, almost two-thirds (65%) of adult American
consumers plan to change their driving habits as a result of rising gas
prices and a possible war with Iraq.  

Among the changes consumers plan to make to combat the rise in gas prices
and the possibility of war are to drive less often (43 percent), buy a more
fuel efficient vehicle (23 percent), carpool more frequently (10 percent),
and take public transportation more often  (9 percent).  When looking at
gender differences among the responses, more men (39 percent) claimed that
they would not change their behavior at all compared to 32 percent of women.
In terms of regional differences, more residents of Western states plan to
carpool (16 percent) and use public transportation (14 percent) than the
national averages. 

"With gas prices hitting more than two dollars a gallon in some parts of the
country, consumers feel compelled to change their behavior to cope," said
automotive industry expert John McElroy. "Fuel consumption is becoming even
more of an influencing factor in people's automotive purchasing decisions."

Hybrid Vehicles Gaining Popularity
More than three-quarters (78%) of consumers surveyed said that they would
either buy a hybrid or consider one within their top choices for their next
vehicle purchase or lease if the federal government were to extend tax
breaks and other incentives for hybrid owners.   

Overall, when asked which type of vehicle they planned to purchase or lease
next, hybrids were the fifth most popular choice out of 10 nationally,
surpassing 2-door coupes (#6), sports cars (#7), and wagons (#10).   In the
Western US, hybrids were even more popular, especially among men, coming in
as the fourth most popular choice behind four-door sedans (#1), SUVs (#2)
and trucks (#3).

"These survey results are also reflected in the hybrid interest we're seeing
among Yahoo! Autos consumers," said Ramy Mora, senior marketing manager. "In
fact, in recent months, we've seen a 51 percent increase in searches for
hybrid vehicles."  J.D. Power & Associates reports that sales of hybrids are
expected to reach 500,000 by 2006, said McElroy. "The new designs coming
from Ford and General Motors coupled with increased tax breaks will make
them a more attractive option for buyers.  As consumers are becoming more
conscious about fuel efficiency, I think what we're seeing here is a real
change in attitude toward these vehicles," McElroy added.

Methodology
The Yahoo! Autos survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive(r), is based
on responses from 2,556 U.S. adult consumers between February 13-17, 2003
and has a statistical precision of plus or minus three percentage points.