ShareThisSurprisingly, some people are longing for the bad old days of last summer when gasoline prices shot up above $4 a gallon.
Remember Chrysler's "Let's Refuel America!" Program over the summer? Car buyers had the choice of taking a rebate on their vehicle purchase or picking up a gas card entitling them to three years of gasoline at the low, low price of $2.99 a gallon.
Now, that's not looking like such a great deal. Nationally, the current average price for a gallon of regular is $1.78 per gallon.
The program initially stirred up quite a bit of excitement. The offer was a direct response to customer concerns over high fuel prices and fears the trend would continue. Chrysler officials described the program as an "insurance policy" against exorbitant gas prices that would give drivers enough fuel at $2.99 per gallon to travel up to 12,000 miles per year for three years.
The customer's best choice -- the gas deal or a cash rebate -- for potential savings depended upon the kind of vehicle bought and the amount of the rebate compared with the price of gasoline at the time.
So far, the people who decided to stick with the rebates are looking like the winners.
And there were lots of them. Chrysler reports that, nationally, only 7.3 percent of the buyers of the eligible cars and trucks took the gasoline option. Everyone else sprang for the rebates.
With gasoline prices slipping below $2 nationally, those who chose the fuel option will come up short if they use the card now.
"What consumers got in the program was 12,000 miles' worth of gas at $2.99 a gallon, so it's best for now not to use the card until the prices hit $2.99 cents or more again," said Yvonne Malmgren, manager of global sales and incentive communications for Chrysler.
"Although they can purchase the gas whenever it benefits them most and they can use the cards now, it's not in their best interest to do that."
Chrysler officials did not say what would happen if the company, which is seeking government assistance, goes out of business.
Perhaps there's a bright side to all of this: Consumers may be getting smarter about gasoline prices, which is why the rebates were more popular. Many people figured gas prices that went up surely would come back down in due time -- at least for a while.
Still, those who got the gas cards could get the last laugh -- or at least some more use out of those pieces of plastic. Many industry observers expect gasoline prices to rise again before too long.
(Don Hammonds can be reached at dhammonds(at)post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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