They extended the deadline to buy the vehicles out to July 7.
Dwight Pfeil couldn't decide whether to purchase a new Chrysler Sebring or Chevrolet Malibu sedan. Then Chrysler LLC said it would give new-car buyers fuel cards that lock in their gas purchases at $2.99 a gallon for the next three years.
"I just stopped looking," said Pfeil, a retired Detroit police lieutenant and full-time bailiff at St. Clair's District Court in Michigan. Last week, Pfeil drove home in his new Sebring sporting a "modern blue" hue.
Pfeil is just one of scores of people who have responded to Chrysler's "Let's Refuel America" program with a speed many dealers haven't seen in years for a new incentive strategy. The program - launched May 7 as an option to cash rebates or 0% financing - has been successful enough that Chrysler on Monday extended the deadline by a month to July 7.
"Customers are pleased to have peace of mind" on fuel prices, Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press said in a media briefing Monday. Press declined to provide specifics on the costs of the program, but other Chrysler officials have said the costs aren't more significant than other incentives. Chrysler is using futures contracts to hedge the price of gasoline, thereby locking in a lower price.
It doesn't really save people cash depending on what gas prices are, but it gives them piece of mind and that's a nice thing. More important to chrysler, it drives traffic to the dealers.
