Pasadena, CA-September 27, 2006 - The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today endorsed the Automotive X PRIZE, a multi-million dollar global competition designed to inspire a new generation of super-efficient vehicles that dramatically reduce oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions.

Frances Beinecke, President of the NRDC, issued the following endorsement:

"NRDC believes that in order to solve global warming and cut our oil dependency, the auto industry must rapidly adopt the next generation of vehicle technologies - advance power trains, lightweight materials, and renewable fuels. NRDC supports the Automotive X PRIZE as an innovative method to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of America's technological prowess, and accelerate the introduction of climate-friendly cars. The real winners of the Automotive X PRIZE will be the health of our planet and of our children."

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los
Angeles and San Francisco.

The Automotive X PRIZE is a project of the X PRIZE Foundation, an educational nonprofit organization. Its mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. Based on the success of the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE, the foundation is widely regarded as the leading prize management institute in the world.

ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION
The X PRIZE foundation is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. On October 4, 2004, the X PRIZE foundation captured world headlines when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world's first private vehicle in space twice in two weeks to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize. The Foundation has since expanded its mission beyond space exploration to offer new prizes for breakthroughs in the areas of life improvement, equity of opportunity and sustainability. In October of 2006, the X PRIZE Foundation announced the $10 million Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, which will reward the first private effort to map 100 human genomes in 10 days, ushering in a new era of personalized preventative medicine. For more information please visit www.xprize.org or email us.