Would you pay more for a car that uses less gas?

According to a statewide poll conducted by InTouch, 89 percent of people surveyed said they "support or strongly support the idea of paying $1,000 more for a new car at the time of purchase if they can recoup those costs in gas savings within two years."
Count me in, even though I wasn't polled.
The poll was done a few days before the Illinois House was supposed to vote on House Bill 3424 that would require clean car standards in Illinois. Instead, the bill was sent back to the rules committee. (These standards aren't new. Fourteen other states have such requirements, and that's too many states to only be the hippie-dippy ones. ... I'm looking at you, California.)
A lot of people probably think this is one of those things that saves the planet while costing us cash. But cars that emit less carbon dioxide, also use less gas. Ca-ching.
The Illinois Environmental Council says the Clean Car Standards will save Illinois drivers nearly $1.9 billion in fuel costs compared to the new federal CAFE standards by 2020.
"In this era of $4/gallon gas, people need long-term help," Howard A. Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, stated in a press release. "Adopting the Clean Car Standards is a true win-win-win: Good for our economy, good for our environment, and good for our respiratory health." (Remember that triple bottom line thing I mentioned here?)
And it's not just the two counties that vote Democrat swaying the poll results.
Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club's Illinois chapter, said in the release, "What's so encouraging about the poll results is that they're close to uniform statewide. ... Urban folks, rural folks--everyone wants more fuel efficient, cleaner cars, SUVs, and pick-ups."
The Illinois Environmental Council says,"The $1,000 incremental cost for a vehicle complying with the Clean Car Standards will not be reached until model year 2016. The additional costs will be lower in earlier years, meaning that drivers will recoup those dollars even more quickly through fuel savings."
And take pride, union families. The poll saw slightly more union respondents who were willing to pay more for greener cars now to have lower gas prices later.
Want more details? Visit the Illinois Climate Action Network.
The fine print: InTouch conducted the poll of 1,798 residents on May 22. Its margin of error is +-2.31%.
The poll was commissioned by the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Environment Illinois, Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The groups are members of the Illinois Climate Action Network.