[MacosNerd]

I'm not sure if everyone has heard about this (msnbc) but Dodge is now offering to cap the cost of gas if you buy one of their new vehicle for three years. While this is probably an act of desperation on Chrysler part. It is an Intriguing marketing ploy. I own a Honda Ridgeline. Great truck, but the car payments and gas cost is killing me. This is tempting for me, because I'd get a cheaper car to lower my payments, its mileage will be less then the truck and my gas cost will be capped at 2.99 a gallon for the next three years.

There's lots of rules and such as they only allot a certain amount of gallons per year but still...

thoughts, opinions on this.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Sounds like a great way to kill corporate profits.

[sek929]

The only downside is that you'd have to actually buy a Dodge.

[Dakar the Fourth]

*pow*

[Luca Rescigno]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Sounds like a great way to kill corporate profits.

Not at all. This is a great way to lure people into buying a car. High gas prices are an ever-present topic, and according to the article, it only saves you $414 a year if you get a Durango (which has very poor mileage) and drive 12,000 miles a year at $3.61/gal. Even though the price of gas will go up over the next three years, I can't imagine this saving anyone more than $600-$800 a year, which is not that much over the three years the deal is good for.

I don't think most people will actually take the time to figure out how much they save through this deal compared with how much they'd save by going for other incentives or by getting a pre-owned car instead.

[klb5090]

Chrysler criticized for $2.99 gas, Suzuki jumps on bandwagon - Autoblog

Automotive News reports that The Union of Concerned Scientists has called Chrysler's program a "cynical deal", noting that at today's current average price of $3.61/gallon, a customer would save about $400 a year under Chrysler's program. Being the smart folk they are, the scientists also pointed out that customers could save the same amount from a 3 mpg bump in fuel economy over 15,000 miles or a year of driving, and that better fuel economy also continues saving the customer money after three years.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by klb5090 

Chrysler criticized for $2.99 gas, Suzuki jumps on bandwagon - Autoblog

yes but touting better gas mileage does not hit home as well as promising to cap the cost at 2.99. People feel the pain at the pump, so knowing that that they'd only be on hook for 2.99 is much more appealing then seeing a car's mpg get increase by 3 miles.

[klb5090]

Originally Posted by MacosNerd 

yes but touting better gas mileage does not hit home as well as promising to cap the cost at 2.99. People feel the pain at the pump, so knowing that that they'd only be on hook for 2.99 is much more appealing then seeing a car's mpg get increase by 3 miles.

It very well may be true but that just proves how completely idiotic people are when they buy into marketing ploys.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

How bout they just make their cars that much more fuel efficient?

[Dakar the Fourth]

That'd be like dieting to lose weight -- not gonna happen

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by klb5090 

It very well may be true but that just proves how completely idiotic people are when they buy into marketing ploys.

I disagree. Its not idiotic, that I have an opportunity to spend less money on gas because Dodge decided to market a gas capping program.

[peeb]

OK Macosnerd - show us the numbers - you may save money on gas for a while (or you may not, depending on the mpg) but you'll spend more to do it.

[klb5090]

Originally Posted by MacosNerd 

I disagree. Its not idiotic, that I have an opportunity to spend less money on gas because Dodge decided to market a gas capping program.

Thats true to a point, although you could just purchase a car with a very small increase in MPG for the same price or less and save money not only for 3 years but for 5 or more years depending on how long you own it and sek said it best...

you'd have to actually buy a Dodge.

[OldManMac]

IIRC, didn't you just buy the Ridgeline not that long ago, or was that another member here? Anyway, as has already clearly been posted, you're not saving much money. You'd be better off to get a couple of thousand in rebates, but Chrysler knows that, so they're appealing to your emotions (which are apparently working overtime), and not to your logic. The question that needs to be addressed is why they aren't giving rebates instead; the answer is because this works out for them, and they con somebody into buying their product without thinking of the ramifications.

[Luca Rescigno]

I will make some really broad generalizations here just to simplify the math.

Scenario 1: Buy a Dodge, get 22 mpg overall, pay $2.99 a gallon for three years, drive 12,000 miles a year.

You drive 36,000 miles at 22 mpg, so that's 1636 gallons of gas at $2.99 a gallon, so you spend $4892 on gas.

Scenario 2: Buy a more fuel efficient car that gets 25 mpg overall, pay $4.50 a gallon for three years (I'm going to just take this as a wild guess of how much gas will cost on average over the next three years), drive 12,000 miles a year.

You'll consume 1440 gallons, which is $6480 at $4.50 a gallon. Even at current prices of, what, $3.61 a gallon? Even at those prices it's still $5200 for that much gas, about $300 more than if you drive a less fuel-efficient car with the Dodge fuel credit thing.

If we assume that $4.50 will be the average price of gas over the next three years, you'll have to average 33 mpg to spend the same amount of money on gas as you would with the Dodge deal. This varies based on what you think the average price of gas will be. If you're optimistic and think it'll average only $4/gal, you'll only need to get 29 mpg, but if you think it'll average $5/gal, you'll have to get a very high 37 mpg average for the same cost. Remember, these mpgs are all to spend the same amount you'd spend if you drove a Dodge that gets 22 mpg overall, which is probably about what you could expect if you're an average Dodge Charger owner (a bit too aggressive, balanced between city and highway driving, drives 10 over the limit on the highway, etc.).

So as you can see, a simple 3 mpg jump is not enough to offset the benefit of the Dodge deal. It does in fact save you a fair amount of money. But it's still not as good as many big cash incentives, nor does it move things in the right direction of improving fuel economy and encouraging more responsible and fuel efficient driving habits.

[klb5090]

this is all very true and actually a very good representation of how this program is helpful, ALTHOUGH you must realize that the 2.99 gas kinda...ends. With a more fuel efficient car lets say 27mpgs or even your 25mpg, you would continue to save for the length of time you own the vehicle. Also your few thousand difference in gas costs over the 3 years could be offset by many things, if you come into a dealer and he uses this 2.99 gas ploy to lure you in and charge you full sticker than you could of saved 1000-1500 of sticker (still above invoice). So purchasing a car with a little bit better fuel economy and for a cheaper price or even the same price (with rebates) could be better. The moral of the story seems to be this, gas is expensive and no matter which way you do it its going to cost you thousands of dollars a year. You could drive a Mini Cooper or a Dodge Ram, make your choice. The 2.99$ gas marketing idea works well because it plays straight to your everyday experience at the pump so i give them credit for that but just like any car purchase you need research and numbers to know what is the best option for you.

[peeb]

Yep - the real issue is how long will you own the car - the first three years one thing, but after that affects the economics more.

[mindwaves]

You have to understand that this in addition to whatever rebates/incentives that they do have. It is most definitely worth it if you were leaning towards a gas guzzling vehicle like a Dodge Ram. If so, then just go for it. Sure, you can possibly save more money driving a smaller more economical vehicle, but if a Dodge is what you want, then all the more power to you. And saving money is saving money. If I could get a couple thousand in rebates in addition to saving $500 a year in gas and if I wanted a Dodge, then I would buy one right now.

[peeb]

Well yes, if you were set on a Dodge (for some perverted reason), then this is better than nothing.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by MacosNerd 

I disagree. Its not idiotic, that I have an opportunity to spend less money on gas because Dodge decided to market a gas capping program.

It's idiotic that one should choose that option over a better-mileage vehicle, since that would save you a lot more money in the long run, AND you'd be less of a wasteful asshole to the rest of the world.

[peeb]

At least Dodge is recognizing that people don't like how much it costs to run these monsters, even if their solution is the wrong one. Perhaps this will lead them down the path to making cars that people want?

[klb5090]

hopefully good ol GM will jump on this wagon and give me a darn gas lock card for 2.99 so i can get me one of them Hummer's...
SARCASM