When McKinsey & Company asked that question surprisingly few people got it right.

51% thought they should recycle.
47% thought they should use energy efficient appliances.
41% thought they should drive less.

According to McKinsey what they should have said is:

1. Drive a more fuel-efficient car
2. Improve their home insulation
3. Eat less beef.

Does the car industry know it has the power to help people make the single biggest change to help fight climate change? When climate change is moving to the top of everyone's list (including the US since Barrack Obama was elected) they have the world's best marketing tool at their disposal.

McKinsey has some good advice to help them make the most of a marketers' dream opportunity.

Be honest, they say. Don't mislead the public with dodgy claims that won't stand up to scrutiny. Come clean about the true environmental impact of your product. People will trust you if you tell them the truth.

Offer more. If you're selling a green car, make it stylish as well functional (and green) and you'll be a cut above your competitors.

And bring your products to the people. To the carmakers, the message is that if they make more greener cars, people will buy them.

And finally a nice quote from the article that might help the car industry overcome its apparent fear of change:

"Going green while staying competitive can be challenging, and companies may rightly ask whether cultivating green consumers is worth all the trouble. We believe that it is more than just worthwhile—it is imperative for success. Once businesses remove the obstacles that now make it hard for consumers to act on their environmental beliefs, sales of green products could explode."