free gas for a year? what’s the catch?
December 3rd, 2005You might have heard that Mitsubishi (and more recently DaimlerChrysler) is offering free gasoline with the purchase of a new car.
Executive Vice President of Mitsubishi’s Sales and Marketing Dave Schembri points out, “There are a lot of confusing incentive offers out there whose true value is extremely hard for customers to determine” but the true value of the Mitsubishi offer is – well – confusing and extrememely hard to determine…
Here’s the fine print:
Each customer after purchasing a new 2005-model-year Mitsubishi vehicle will receive in the mail pre-paid debit cards, totaling from $1,500 to $2,500. The amount varies by vehicle depending on two factors: 1) The estimated amount of gas required to drive the new vehicle for 12,000 miles (at the EPA combined rating for the vehicle). 2)Whether the recommended fuel for the vehicle is regular (computed at $2.80 per gallon) or premium (computed at $3.10 per gallon). These rounded prices were fixed at the average price per gallon as reported in the AAA daily fuel report of Monday, September 19, 2005. Customers can select from a variety of major motor oil companies for each debit card. source: Motor Trend
(If Mitsubishi spent as much effort on all their cars as they do the Evo, they wouldn’t need any incentives).