Chrysler promises SUV buyers $2.99 gas, world rolls its eyes

Chrysler promises that it is working on green cars and advanced technology vehicles, but I don't see it.

GM is promising a gas-electric car with a 40-mile EV range. Toyota is planning on launching an even-more-efficient Prius. And VW seems to have a 200 MPG two-seater in the works.

But Chrysler is addressing its customers' fuel-cost concerns by trying to help them ignore the problem.

Chrysler has just announced that, instead of making its vehicles more efficient (thus saving customers money) it's simply going to charge more for large trucks, and use the money to artificially deflate customers' gas prices to $2.99 per gallon for three years after purchase.

And then the well suddenly runs dry and vehicle owners are stuck with a car that neither they, nor anyone else, wants, in a world where gas costs, at best, more than $4 per gallon.

Of course, Chrysler should be worried. A great deal of its business in its Dodge and Jeep brands are SUVs and large trucks, and SUV sales are not doing well. SUV sales for the month of April are down 33% from last year. That's a HUGE drop, especially when so much of Chrysler's profit comes from these high-markup vehicles.

Not only is this a bad deal for the environment, it turns out its a bad deal for consumers too. The $2.99 offer comes at the expense of giving up other incentives. While the program will only ever save consumers about $1,200, straight-cash incentives on the RAM and Durango are currently worth about $5,000.

Of course, this is all ignoring how extremely short-sighted this policy is. A measly 3 MPG gain would save consumers far more money than the $2.99 deal, while also decreasing demand for oil and emissions of CO2.

But Chrysler, apparently, would rather remain technologically stagnant. Should we let people pretend oil prices will never rise again? Or should we actually do something about the increased demand for gasoline and skyrocketing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. You know where my vote lies.

The good news is that a similar program from GM a few years back (promising everlasting $1.99 gas) was a complete flop. Not only did GM catch a nationwide PR backlash, as Chrysler now seems to be experiencing, but it also saw no increase in sales of large trucks and SUVs.

Via AutoBlogGreen and AutoObserver