Chrysler Draws Criticism for Gas Incentive

(AP photo via “Gas Prices Expected to Peak in June“)

Chrysler is following Hillary Clinton’s lead by trying to curry favor through a price cut on gasoline. Neither are getting much of a bump, and the car maker in particular is getting the mentions in the press, but paired with various criticism for what looks like a publicity stunt.

The Big Three automaker is offering to lock in your gas purchases at $2.99 per gallon if you buy a new car, for the first three years of ownership. MotorTrend and others kick the tires on this deal and conclude it’s nothing more than a modest incentive, while environmentalists point to Chrysler’s already poor CAFE rating and note it’s a better deal to find a car that gets about 3 mpg better in the first place.

Jalopnik makes the clever point that they “put all of these expenses on their books right away when it records the sale, which could be a PR boon for the automaker while it tries to buy time for the “New Day” that’s coming. But most importantly, the amount of money that a consumer can save is maybe less than most expected.”

This feels like a sort of reverse greenwash by betting on skyrocketing prices and still pushing the sale of inefficient vehicles.

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