http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/23/news...reut/index.htm
GM offers $1.99 gas in Florida, California
In effort to capture buyers, automaker says it will cap prices for those who buy certain SUV or mid-size car models.
May 23, 2006: 7:14 PM EDT


DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it would subsidize gasoline purchases in Florida and California to boost sales in those key markets.

GM (Research) said it would cap the price of gas at $1.99 a gallon for new buyers of some of its 2006 and 2007 full-size sport utilities and mid-size cars in those states.

The gasoline credit would be based on a consumer's estimated monthly fuel usage.

Consumers would be credited for the difference between the average price per gallon of premium fuel and the $1.99 price, adjusted for the miles they drive, GM said.

The credit would be applied monthly to a pre-paid credit card and would be valid until the end of 2007, with no limits on mileage, GM said.

For example, GM said a California resident who buys a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and drives it 1,000 miles a month, would see an estimated $103.75 monthly credit. A Floridian who buys a 2006 Buick LaCrosse and drives the same distance would get a monthly credit of about $60, GM said.

The incentive program comes after GM vowed to avoid the sweeping discounts that boosted sales last year but cut into profitability and hurt resale values for its cars.

GM has lagged in some faster-growth U.S. markets such as Florida and California.

"This incentive is likely to get the attention of many consumers," said Jesse Toprak, director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com. "The actual dollar savings amounts to about $1,000 per vehicle."

GM's average incentive spending had averaged $3,050 per vehicle through April, below the level of spending by Ford Motor Co. (Research) and Chrysler Group, according to Autodata Corp.

Vehicles eligible for the fuel rebate include the 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and the HUMMER H2 and H3, the company said.
__________________________________________________ __________


Interesting plan...

 

fuel rebate on petrol thirsty SUV's... wow, there's GM taking responsibility for the US's gargantuan intake of gasoline...

with plans like this, GM needs to be run into the ground, this is truely irresponsible, do we not want soccer mums out of SUV's?? i sure as hell do

 

thats kinda sad

 

they sometimes do a $.20/liter for 2500k( ends up being $500) when you buy/lease. i got that when i bought my Z. this is nothing new.

 

i'd assume that the average buyer of brand new gas hungry SUV's don't really care about the price of gas.

this is dumb.

 

I agree 100%.

 

GM doesn't, not with SUVs being the cash cows that they are, and the GMT-900 is one of the few vehicles GM truly leads the class in right now....

Gotta hand it to them....at least they're getting more clever in their incentives.

 

I think it is a very creative marketing idea, and it just doesn't apply to SUVs. car buyers get it too.

 

Last time I checked GM never forced anyone to buy giant gas guzzling SUV's. people have choices and they choose the SUV.

 

I didn't realize it was still this high. I hope that drops when the GMT900's are fully ramped up and they're not trying to push GMT800s...

 

Quoted for truth.

It isn't GM's job to "get people out of SUVs". If people decide they want a more fuel efficient car (as they are starting to, gradually), they will have to pony up more money for them. It will shift the profit centers from the big SUVs to the smaller, more fuel efficient cars. Supply and demand, folks.

Besides, GM (and others) offer plenty of vehicles that get very good fuel economy.

I personally would love to have a new pickup or SUV, but a) I'm not spending that kind of dough; I lean toward used vehicles, and b) I personally don't want to use that much fuel as a daily driver. So I've made a personal choice (not forced by GM or the government) to forego the many conveniences of having a pickup. Instead, I daily drive my Ion or my Miata, both of which average around 30 mpg combined.

 

It's clever. But here in Canada it's only a 500$ savings.

 

People are gonna buy what they wanna drive, bottom line.
This is just another cash incentive.
A different creative, but the same really.

$3050 in incentives per car is down alot from where it was
IIRC, the figure was $4100+ a year ago.

 

Btw - I just found this...

"General Motors last month made strides toward reining in incentive outlays, spending $2,545 per vehicle, which was $192 less than it laid out in March."

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...oo&siteid=yhoo