Fort Bend Owl Wrote:Chrysler announced today that they're starting up a program where new car buyers over the next month will be tied into a gas card program where their gas prices are capped at the next three years at $2.99 a gallon (if you're driving 12,000 miles or fewer a year).

I like imaginative ideas like this to both counter the rising gas prices and encouraging people to drive less. How about cities allowing people to work four day work weeks or do more working at home? Or government subsidies for carpooling - I think that's a better use of government money than a gas tax holiday.

The bottom line is people still drive too much and we're just all sitting stuck in traffic anyway. What are gas prices in Europe these days anyway? They used to be $3-4 a gallon several years ago. Are they now $5-6 a gallon?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24481436/from/ET/

I know a friend of mine participated in a program like that, but it didn't involve buying a car. He had a few thousand laying around, and bought thousands of gallons of fuel while it was still below $2.00 a gallon, and was given a card that allowed him to buy gas at a set price until the credit ran out. I wish I had a few thousand to do that.

It's easy... buy a call option on gasoline...

Bus companies, Fed Ex and airlines do it all the time.

The car purchase is a simple marketing ploy. They lock you in at $3, and eat the difference for 3 years for 12,000 miles or less. At $2/gal subsidy (if that is where the 3 yr option prices, and i suspect that is high) and 20 MPG, thats a $3600 (or less) "rebate"