Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters think a foreign company will produce a car that uses alternative fuel before an American company does so.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 31% think an American company will be the first, while 14% are not sure.

Those numbers have changed little from this time last year, when 56% said a foreign company would develop one first and 30% said the U.S. would.

Regardless of who comes up with the first alternative fuel automobile, most Americans think it will happen in the next ten years. The plurality of voters (40%) say it is very likely the auto industry will develop a car that runs on alternative fuel in the next ten years, and another 31% think it is somewhat likely. Only 19% think it is not very likely and 5% say it is very unlikely.

Those results are down slightly from a year ago, when 75% expected alternative fuel vehicles in a decade and only 20% found it unlikely.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? Sign up now. If it's in the news, it's in our polls).

If given the choice, 49% of voters say they would opt for a car that runs on alternative fuel over one that runs on traditional gasoline. About one third (34%) say they would rather have the traditional gas powered car.

A survey conducted last October found that 37% of adults were more likely to buy a hybrid car than they were 12 months earlier.

Voters are divided when it comes to government subsidies for research. While 40% think the government should subsidize research to help the auto industry make an automobile that runs on alternative fuels, while 46% disagree. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided. The number who support government subsidies is down drastically from last year, when over half (52%) supported the idea and 28% were against it.

Americans are more supportive of providing tax credits to individuals who purchase alternative fuel cars, with 51% who think this is a good idea. Over a third (35%) do not like this proposal. Voters are slightly less supportive than they were last year, when 58% thought the government should provide tax credits to those individuals.

While over a third (35%) of men thinks America will develop the alternative fuel car first, only 27% of women agree. Fifty-four percent (54%) of men and 59% of women say a foreign company will reach that goal first.

Only 25% of Republicans and 36% of unaffiliated voters support the government subsidizing research for alternative fuel cars, while 54% of Democrats support it. Sixty-two percent (62%) of GOP voters and 56% of unaffiliateds oppose the idea, along with only 28% of Democrats.

The majority of Democrats (61%) and unaffiliated voters (53%) support the idea of giving tax credits to consumers who purchase alternative fuel cars, while only 38% of Republicans agree. Nearly half of Republicans (48%) oppose this idea, along with only 22% of Democrats and 36% of unaffiliated voters.

Another recent survey found that 44% of voters believe global warming is caused by planetary trends, rather than people.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free)… let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available to Premium Members only.