Anything to sell an SUV

[unixronin]

Heard any Chevy commercials lately?  "Nine out of ten cars Chevrolet sells today get an EPA highway rating of 30 miles per gallon or better."

Clever wording.  They're not talking about nine out of ten car models that they make, mind you.  They're talking about the ones that are actually selling.  Which is to say, the smaller, fuel-efficient ones.  Those big heavy gas-guzzling SUVs just aren't moving off the lot.

What's a poor automaker to do?  Why, subsidize SUV buyers' fuel costs, of course.  Buyers of "certain 2006 and 2007 SUVs and mid-size cars" in California and Florida, under a new plan, will have their gas costs capped by GM at $1.99 per gallon by the simple expedient of GM giving them a credit every month on a special GM credit card for the difference between what they actually spent on gas and the cost of that same gas at $1.99 a gallon.  The condition is that buyers must sign up for OnStar service.

Vehicles that qualify for the deal include the 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and the Hummer H2 and H3.

Welcome to America, where now, the auto companies will PAY YOU to drive a gas-guzzler.

Comments

[drdemure.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm just as happy to see the Hummer go away. Hummers disgust me.

But there are lots of reasons to own a powerful pickup or a big SUV, ala the Suburban or the Tahoe. I don't have that reason, but I know people who do.

If I had to buy such a vehicle (not a Hummer), I'd be grateful for the temporary gas price relief.

And I will say, as a car sales person, that you could do far worse than to buy a Chevy. I've owned one for six years, and I sold them year before I owned one. When my Blazer got wrecked in December, I bought a Cavalier. If you're going to buy an American car, buy a Chevy. As American cars go, they're the most reliable machine on the market. If you want to buy a good car, buy a Honda.

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

if ya want a good car, get a '75 or older chevy!

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

I am not sure that is really needed. The tax breaks for buying a SUV or truck are good enough that the gas price cap doesn't really help that much. (If you read between the lines, that means that your tax dollars are subsidizing SUV and truck sales.)

To be fair, I should point out that there are tax breaks for hybrids too, but they are about 20% of what a small business gets on a SUV.

[ilcylic.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty wide stretch to state that because Bob is having less money stolen by Steve, Jim (who is also being stolen from by Steve) is somehow subsidizing Bob.

-Ogre

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I am not following you. What I am saying is that any American that pays federal taxes is subsidizing SUV sales through tax deductions.

That is part of the reason a flat tax is not such a good idea. With a variable tax, you can encourage behavior that is deemed in the public's interest, and discourage behavior not in the public's interest. For instance a tax break for home ownership. Properly used, it can bring prices into line with costs.

Is the government robbing us? I thought King George was cutting taxes. We do provide minuscule tax breaks for fuel efficient cars. But we are very generous about Big cars.

[mrmeval.livejournal.com]

Cool

[appin.livejournal.com]

Actually, I've read that GM has worked out that if they charged about $300/mo for OnStar, they could afford to GIVE AWAY THE VEHICLE!
Much like they give away cell-phones when you sign up for a cell-plan.
They're just playing a shell game here to fool those who might be turned off GM's most profitable vehicles by the price at the pumps.

(oops, premature clickage)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Actually, I've read that GM has worked out that if they charged about $300/mo for OnStar, they could afford to GIVE AWAY THE VEHICLE!

Does that depend on how long you keep the vehicle? I can see that if you kept it long enough, yeah, they'd make more money off the OnStar service than the selling price of the car...

They're just playing a shell game here to fool those who might be turned off GM's most profitable vehicles by the price at the pumps.

And that's exactly my point. Gas prices are high, it's finally beginning to really sink into the consciousness of average Americans that there isn't an infinite supply of almost-free oil and that retaining access to what oil IS left is going to get, in many cases, very expensive, and people are buying smaller, more fuel-efficient cars in response .... and GM is basically bribing them to keep buying big, fuel-wasting vehicles that most of them honestly don't need.

Re: (oops, premature clickage)

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

http://www.suvcitythefilm.com/

Anything to sell an SUV

[fatcook.livejournal.com]

Out here in the west they "justify" selling the SUV and biggest trucks because "you need the horsepower to move the horses". That and brainwashing the public that you "need" to drive a vehicle that you can't park, can't see around and gets less that 17 mpg because its sexy and fun. *sigh*