Suzuki asks what's better than $1.49 gas? How about free!

Anytime a manufacturer has to dress its car up with lightning bolt stickers and a cape in its advertisements, you know things are getting a bit desperate. Suzuki took it in the shorts last month with an industry-worst 78 percent decline in June sales. Now, Suzuki is including "free gas" as an incentive to buy its SX4.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. has announced a nationwide sales promotion offering car buyers three months of free gasoline on retail purchases of new 2009 Suzuki SX4 Sedan and 2009 SX4 Crossover models. In addition, Suzuki is offering $2,000 in customer cash on all 2009 SX4 models equipped with manual transmission. The Suzuki "Free Gas for Summer" sales program, which kicked off July 1 and runs through Aug. 31.

It's important to note that "free" does not mean "unlimited." The SX4 sedan buyer will get debit card for $270 worth of free gas, while the SX4 crossover receives a card worth $290 in free gas.

Suzuki has also taken to referring to the SX4 as being "Mightier than the MINI" however it's sales would suggest otherwise. I recommend they try including the lightning bolt stickers and cape with every sale, they might pick up a few extra buyers.

What is of interest to me is that the SX4 was co-developed with Fiat which sells its version as the Sedici. If Suzuki is being forced to offer such incentives to move its small car (which I actually like, by the way), it doesn't bode well for Fiat which plans on marketing many of its small cars in the United States under Chrysler and Dodge labels. In Fiat's defense, it will tailor its models to meet buyer expectations, but only so many changes can be made.

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Diesel Fans Rejoice: Fuel Price Parity!

It’s been a long time coming, but at least here in my home town of Redwood City, the price of diesel has finally fallen off of its lofty perch. However, rejoicing should probably be limited because fuel prices in general are ratcheting upwards, with the national average for regular unleaded jumping 17 cents to $2.25. AAA predicts that this summer's national average price should top out at $2.50. Of course, here in California we'll be paying more than that.

However, let's not lose sight of this post's purpose: ammunition to justify the purchase TDI Jetta SportWagen that you have been eyeing for months.

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Credit Card Limits At Gas Stations: Time To Raise the Roof?

Cost of fill-up: $72. Limit on transaction by credit card company: $50 Upsetting everyone else behind you while you re-swipe your card: Priceless.

It's understandable that credit card companies try to cover themselves when it comes to pay at the pump transactions. What better place to try out your freshly stolen or newly minted plastic then at some anonymous gas station where the worst that will likely happen is your transaction not getting approved?

However, times have changed. The once rarely seen $50 or $75 total at the pump is now an everyday occurrence. Personally I find it really annoying to have to go thru the whole credit card business twice just because the pump stopped at $50 and I need $72. It pisses off people waiting to fill up and the passengers in my car aren't much happier than the glowering hordes behind me. IT'S NOT MY FAULT, PEOPLE!!!

I do not believe that gasoline stations have to abide by the cap, but allowing consumers to pump above whatever Visa, MasterCard, etc. allow would then mean the station would be liable for that overage in the event of fraud. I think that credit card companies should raise the cap to $100. That should again make things invisible to most drivers and yet not cause too much damage to the bottom line.

The above photo is a nod to SNL's Kristen Wiig's "Target Lady" character. I always chuckle when she swipes a credit card, raises her fists and shouts "Approved!" I've tried this several times at my local Target store and no one has laughed yet. It's a pretty obscure credit card tie-in, so I thought I'd better explain it.

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Price of Death? $2.93/Gallon

Two Detroit area gas stations, a BP and a Marathon, had been getting into a bit of a price war. These kinds of penny a gallon price drops happen all the time when you get stations in close proximity, however after the Marathon station dropped its price to $2.93 it seemingly enraged the BP owner who was selling at $2.96 a gallon. There was a war of words, then punches, a baseball bat and finally a handgun. In the end, the BP owner was dead and the Marathon owner was arrested. The Marathon station was surrounded in a sea of yellow tape and the BP station had raised its price to $3.09.

The picture you see above is my best guess as to where this took place. I searched for BP and Marathon stations on Fort Street in Detroit and the 7900 block seems to be where a BP and Marathon co-exist. I took a Google Maps satellite shot of that block.

A very sad day when someone dies over a couple pennies per gallon.

Source: Detroit Free Press

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Hometown News: $3.99/Gallon Super

Not exactly how you want your hometown to make the news, but here it is. In all truthfulness, some of the Shell stations in Redwood City are on the pricey side. The gas station down the street is selling regular for $3.11, which is 48 cents less that this Shell. Still, I think its a sign of things to come.

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I Want My $4...A Gallon

The Brit's are headed home and oil is sliding back, but don't get any ideas about lower prices at the pump. According to this article, $4/gallon gas could be in our future. Of course, San Francisco has already seen $3.98 for regular, but we're not talking about the City by the Bay.

I just hope that this possibility causes manufacturers to bolster plans for smaller cars in the USA. Even with GM showing three fuel sipping concepts, Lutz was reportedly telling the press that there's little interest for such cars in the USA. Certainly it would have been a safe bet to say that in the '90's, but now that the USA is waking up from its fuelish hangover it's time GM and the like started thinking small. Not cheapo, looks like a cheap piece of crap, kind of cars but designs that catch the eye and still happen to sip gas. It can be done and GM is showing that it can in fact do it if it really wants to. But of course, with such small profit margins why would GM want to? Increasing fuel economy standards, environmental friendliness, and providing gateway vehicles to first time buyers are just some very simple reasons why GM should think twice before dismissing the triplets.

While were on the subject of gasoline, I'll just reiterate my argument for a reduced number of gasoline blends. Perhaps various regions enacting fuel formulation standards made sense at some point in history, but now these policies are creating fuel islands such as the entire state of California. We need to reduce the number of unique gasoline blends so that fuel can flow freely throughout the county, unimpeded by such silliness. Consumers are paying dearly for very little in return. I mean, heck, pick the most environmentally friendly formulations and sell them everywhere. We'll all pay less and more or less get the same benefit.

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