A survey among US consumers shows that 78 per cent Americans want lawmakers in Washington to impose a 40 mile per gallon (MPG) fuel-efficiency standard for American vehicles.

The Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) poll for the non-profit Civil Society Institute also found that nine out of 10 Americans expect gas prices to go up "in the near future."

That would appear to explain the survey finding that the lower gasoline prices are not sending large numbers of Americans rushing back to gas-guzzling SUV and trucks.

Nearly half (45 per cent) of Americans are now more likely to buy a "hybrid or other fuel-efficient vehicle" than they were six months ago, compared to 30 per cent who are unchanged in their plans and fewer than one in four (24 per cent) who are less likely to make such a vehicle purchase

The survey also said that 90 per cent of Americans are expecting bad news soon about the return of sky-high gas prices.