You read that correct folks… the “Let’s Refuel America” program by Chrysler is currently afoot, and you’ve already lost one weeks time that this program is set to run. From May 7^th to June 2^nd, 2008, Chrysler is offering a guarantee that for the next three years any customer who purchases or leases a qualifying vehicle will not, I repeat WILL NOT have to pay anything over $2.99 a gallon for gas.

As Chrysler puts it:

“These are some challenging times. Fortunately, the Let’s Refuel America Program is doing what it can to help you get through it.”

Kind of makes you proud to be an American, don’t it. I can already see the old red, white, and blue waving across the gas tank of a Chrysler 300.

The way it works, is upon the purchase or lease of a new Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicle, you tell them which credit card it is that you use to purchase your gas. They take that number and set it up so that whenever you use that card, regardless the price or location you are in, you will only be charged $2.99 per each gallon you pump in.

Unless Chrysler knows something that we don’t know, this would seem to be plain crazy. As it stands today, most regular fuel buyers are already paying at least $0.50 over this price. That’s around $8.00 discount per fill up of your average tank.

If you then consider the fact that fuel prices are predicted to reach the $5.00 range at some point in the future… you could expect as much as $5,000 back from Chrysler, depending on your driving needs and habits of course.

But that just seems to be too good to be true. What’s the catch?

• You need to have either a Master Card or Visa to even be enrolled in the program, and debit cards will not count.
• Once your card is activated for this program, it can only be used to buy gas.
• The program only works for regular (87 octane) gasoline, diesel, or E85.
• Mid grade gas (88 to 89 octane) will cost $3.14 per gallon.
• Premium fuel (90 to 94 octane) will cost $3.29 per gallon.
• For purchases beyond the 87 octane gasoline (meaning diesel or E85) the consumer will be charged a $2.00 service fee. (actually there are several scenarios where the consumer can be charged the $2.00 service fee)
• “All SRT models, Sprinter, Viper, Crossfire, Wrangler, Wrangler Unlimited, Ram Chassis Cab, and Challenger models (will be) ineligible to participate in this program.” (darn!)
• The purchaser will be given a yearly allotment of gas they are pre-approved to use each year. Once that allotment is full, the card will not allow anymore purchases until the new year turns over.
• Their yearly allotment is calculated based on the MPG of the vehicle and the expectation that the owner or leaser will be driving only 12,000 miles per year. So in other words, the more gas you guzzle, the more gas you get… obviously not a “Green” program.
  • Examples of yearly gallon allowances:

    Model/Gallons

    Chrysler 300 1,800

    Chrysler300C 2,118

    Chrysler Aspen 2,400

    Chrysler Pacifica 2,118

    Chrysler PT Cruiser 1,636

    Chrysler Sebring 1,714

    Chrysler Town & Country 1,895

    Dodge Avenger 1,714

    Dodge Caliber 1,500

    Dodge Charger 2,000

    Dodge Grand Caravan 1,895

    Dodge Journey 1,800

    Dodge Magnum 2,000

    Dodge Dakota 2,250

    Dodge Durango 2,400

    Dodge Nitro 2,000

    Dodge Ram 2,400

    Jeep Commander 2,400

    Jeep Compass 1,500

    Jeep Grand Cherokee 2,250

    Jeep Liberty 2,000

    Jeep Patriot 1,565

• This program will not be transferable upon selling the vehicle within the 3 year time frame.
• And most importantly, Chrysler has put a clause in the agreement that they may back out and/or change the rules at anytime during those three years. (Yeah, perhaps that aren’t as crazy as it first sounded!)

This is a great marketing idea. Instead of the typical one time cash back incentive… this could be a “gift that keeps on giving” throughout the next 3 Christmas seasons. So, if you’ve been mulling over getting a new Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep… now is the time!

From 1997 to 2001, over 10 years ago, we were introduced to a new kind of hot rod. The “mail order” hot rod. Well, maybe you couldn’t exactly order one through the mail, but you could take a stroll down to your local Plymouth dealership and pick one up. No bloody knuckles from turning countless wrenches, welding, hours of body straightening, paint booths, wet-sanding, and polishing. These baby’s came right off the lot ready to roll…

The Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler was like no other vehicle that has ever been mass produced commercially. Designed with the beautiful lines and features of the 1930’s roadster, the Prowler is souped up as a 1950’s custom project with the modern flare of a sleek Dodge Viper.

The custom hot rod theme didn’t stop at its looks, as the front wishbone suspension was modern, but also designed to resemble that of the old. Despite its old fashioned rear-wheel drive, the prowler still maintained the modern amenity of independent suspension.

While not designed for the most comfortable ride, the Prowler could hold its own on the road using its front 225/45VR17’s wheels in the front and 295/40VR20’s in the back. With the size of these tires, and the fact that the rear trunk was basically used to store the roadsters top, there was no room for a spare, which means that these tires came standard as “run flats”.

The largest complaint from consumers during the Prowlers existence was its V-6 engine which was introduced with only 214 horsepower. Considering the standard for the American Hot Rod Association is a 300 horsepower V-8, the Prowler got off on a bit of a rocky start. Listening to such criticisms, the Prowler was eventually boosted to 253 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque, which was actually enough to lay a thick bead of smoking rubber upon stomping on the accelerator.

Even with its newfound horsepower, the Prowlers dual exhaust was never quite able to successfully mimic the low rumble of a classic hot rod roadster, which is why a popular conversion for some enthusiasts was a V-8 transplant. While not easy, this offered quite the surprise at a red light for the traditional hot rodder’s who thought the standard Prowler slow!

But actually slow, the prowler was not. In 1997 the original 3.5 liter (214 horsepower) was only able to roll from 0-60 in over 7 seconds, which is a snails pace to todays standards. The new 253 horse version unveiled in 1999 however, was a full second quicker at a 6.3 second 0-60, which is definitely respectable.

Other complaints were that purple was your only color choice back in 1997, which was later opened up to other colors, such as yellow and red. Also on the complaint list was its practicality of storage space. With its bucket two-seater interior, you had room for two average sized people and maybe a duffel bag at best, but this could be said about many sports cars. If you want to take the family on a road trip, take a station wagon…

Well, actually that is not completely true, as a popular addition for the Prowler was the “tow behind”, which was color matching trailer that could be attached to the prowler for grocery shopping, road trips, etc. While not the most convenient alternative, it actually was a nifty looking solution that solved yet another one of the Prowlers downfalls…

There were only 400 Prowlers produced in 1997 and 12,000 total over its five years in existence, which means that they are a bit of a collectors item. But what makes this collectors item truly unique is that fact that you can get one anywhere from $16,000 to $30,000 in brand new condition. Since these are predominantly weekend cars, you’ll rarely find one with much over 30,000 miles, and many of these “babies” are closer to the 5,000 to 15,000 mile range.

While they have their share of flaws in design and conception, these cars are an American classic (even though they’re not V-8’s) and rarely receive a bad review from the actual owners. The critics can slam these cars all they want, but the owners like them, so they must know something that others don’t!

Ford…

With Chrysler and Toyota as the runners up.

Ford Motor Company (Recall 07V336, 07V553, and 07V156)

• Recall 07V336 (August 13, 2007) involved 3.6 million Ford vehicles, including the Bronco, Crown Victoria, E-150, E-250, E-350, E-450, Explorer (Sport and Sport Trac), F-150 Lightning, Ranger, and Taurus SHO.

• Problem- The speed control deactivation switch was found defective through 1,472 complaints and 65 full-on accidents and/or fires. Whether engine is running or turned off a short circuit develops that in turn causes a fire in the engine compartment.

• Recall 07V553 (January 2008) involved 1.2 million Ford vehicles, including the F-series Super Duty, E-series, and Excursion with 7.3-liter diesel engines.

• Problem- The camshaft position sensor was found defective through 1,595 complaints and 14 full-on accidents and/or fires. The most significant danger occurs if the switch malfunctions and stalls the vehicles engine, the driver will be left with the potential of an accident.

• Recall 07V156 (April 23, 2007) involved 446,460 Ford vehicles, including the Escape Sport Utility equipped with anti-lock brakes.

• Problem- The anti-lock braking module connector was found defective through 120 complaints that all resulted in either a accident and/or fire. The electrical short first causes the warning light to illuminate, and then as heat builds in the unit it can begin to smoke and then actually lead to an eventual fire.

Chrysler Corporation (Recall 07V555 and 07V092)

• Recall 07V555 (December 2007) involved 576,418 vehicles, including the Dakota, Durango, Ram Van, and Ram Pickup Truck with automatic transmission.

• Problem- The ignition/park shifter interlock system can malfunction, allowing the shifter to move out of the park position, which ultimately could lead to the vehicle taking its own trip down the road without owner consent. Chrysler has not allowed the data to be publicly released as to exactly how many cases have been documented.

• Recall 07V092 (April 2007) involved 328,424 vehicles, including the Durango.

• Problem- A circuit in the instrument cluster controlling the interior lights was found to overheat through 213 complaints and 78 occurrences of accident and/or fire. The overheating in some cases led to an instrument panel fire that was within range of the front passengers.

Toyota (Recall 07V013)

• Recall 07V013 (February 2, 2007) involved 533,124 vehicles, including the Tundra and Sequoia

• Problem- The front suspension ball joints were found to wear prematurely through the complaint of 120 consumers (14 confirmed failures and 6 injuries). As the ball joints wear overtime, they can eventually malfunction completely, leaving the driver with little control of the vehicles steering.

There were also a few cases of serious recalls by Volkswagen and Nissan, but none of them had any public confirmations to actual incidents. So, either they were caught in time, or the danger associated with the recall had a low possibility of actually occurring.

Nobody likes to hear or see the word “Recall”, but those manufacturers that admit to the problem quickly and take swift public action should be commended. There have been many injuries and deaths throughout the United States history that could have been avoided if only the maker would have taken care of the situation immediately, rather than covering it up until being forced by the government to make the changes.