We’re sure most members of the nonprofit ‘Union of Concerned Scientists’ have had to tackle more complex issues than simple fuel economy calculations, but the organization nonetheless released some numbers Tuesday evening casting doubt on Chrysler ’s “Let’s Refuel America” promotion.
According to David Friedman, research director for UCS’s Clean Vehicles Program, Chrysler ’s promise to offer new car buyers a gas card with a price lock of $2.99 per gallon for three years is an attempt to “fool consumers into overlooking its vehicles’ poor fuel economy and environmental performance.”
Using some simple math, Friedman points out that, at current gas prices, the potential savings per year is around $400. He says the same savings could be realized by improving milage by just 3 mpg.
“Chrysler is trying to pull a fast one on potential car buyers. It’s using this cynical deal to distract consumers from the fact that its cars get poor gas mileage. Rather than sticking customers with gas guzzlers, Chrysler should focus on delivering more miles per gallon,” Friedman wrote in a statement to the press, on behalf of the UCS. “That would not only save their customers money at the pump, it would help cut America’s oil addiction and reduce global warming pollution at the same time.”
“At the current price of $3.61 a gallon, the buyer of an average Chrysler vehicle would save $400 a year under Chrysler’s deal. But a mere 3-mpg boost would yield the same savings over the 15,000 miles per year typically driven in the first three years of ownership,” continues Friedman. “Over the lifetime of a vehicle, such a fuel economy increase would save drivers more than $3,000. It wouldn’t stop saving drivers money after just three years.”
“Instead of gambling with Chrysler on the price of gas over the next three years, car buyers should go with the certainty of a fuel-efficient vehicle,” he concludes.
Chrysler finished at the bottom of UCS’s most recent ranking of auto company environmental performance. Granted, the report looks at the pre-breakup DaimlerChrysler as a whole, but much of the focus was on the Chrysler half of the now-defunct auto giant. Calling the company “Public Polluter Number One,” UCS said the company had “the worst global warming performance” in half the classes in which it sells vehicles. “Its small pickup trucks produce more smog than any class of vehicles from any other automaker.”
