Incentives to Burn
Finally, someone is doing something about high gas prices. General Motors, that is; the world's largest automaker (though apparently not for long), has announced that it will subsidize gasoline for customers (well, people in California and Florida, anyway) who buy one of its champion gas guzzlers. According to Edmunds.com:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the company that lost $10.6 billion last year?
Hat tip: Think Progress and an anonymous reader
The GM Fuel Price Protection Program gives GM car buyers a credit on any amount over $1.99 per gallon they pay to fill up their vehicles for the first full year. The deal is only being offered in Florida and California on select cars and trucks.GM even has an online calculator (hey, cool idea!) to show you how much money you'll save on all the fuel you're wasting. So, doing a quick calculation, ... let's see, ... if I drive my Hummer H2 15,000 miles, ... at current prices, ... GM will credit me $2,275 and 45 cents. No matter what the pump says, I pay $1.99 and GM pays the rest. Huh. Ain't that something.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the company that lost $10.6 billion last year?
Hat tip: Think Progress and an anonymous reader
3 Comments:
Speaking of cars and gas mileage; The SF Chronicle recently ran an article on Hybrid vehicles and how the Auto Industry is using the gas/eletric engine to increase power instead of fuel effiency. A couple of examples are the Honda Accord and Lexus RX400(I believe that's correct), each of which sell for thousands of dollars more then their traditional counter parts but only gain 3-5 MPG more. This is not the first time I've read about this and I believe cars.com or another auto website has a calculater online to see how much you would save by buying a hybrid or a traditonal car. I don't think 3 MPG more justifies buying a Hybrid Accord over a traditional Accord that can be bought for much less but I have yet to hear the arguement that when stuck in traffic or waiting at red lights a hybrid's gas engine generally shuts off saving a seemingly immearsurable amount of gas. Is there any credence to this argument and any way to calculate this type of saving to a commuter, say in NYC, LA, or SF which generally have heavy traffic? - I've never seen this brought up by any enviro orgs, car dealers, or newspapers.
This is probably the only way they can get rid of these gas guzzlers without taking a total bath
I live in California and saw the ads on tv last night. It's pretty incredible. I have to imagine they make it hard to actually collect your money.
What does this say about GM's business model? And can anyone tell me why the offer is only good in Florida and California?
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