GM to Subsidize Gasoline Purchases

So if I buy a GM car I'm paying for someones Hummer in Beverly Hills???
That's enough to torque you off.

I agree whole heartedly! We really need to let commerce run itself. Those that choose to live in the "burbs" and/or drive gas hogs should pay according to the results of their choices. Perhaps when gas is $4 to $5 per gallon renewable sources of energy will be cost effective and promoted.

When conspicuous consumption is glamorous then $5 a gallon gas is a status symbol, not a burden. If you just dropped the money for an SUV an extra $80 a month in gas isn't going to phase you. Gas prices tend to hurt the people who can't afford cars the worse.(Heat, power, bus fare).

It's like GM is trying to go bankrupt.

You guys should really read the article first. No, GM is not trying to bankrupt itself. It's really clever marketing, a gimmick to get people into the showrooms and an incentive to, maybe, get someone to buy a GM product over the competition, all other factors being equal. See the following excerpt:

"GM said it would pay drivers the difference between the average price per gallon of premium fuel and the $1.99 for the miles they drove.

The company explained that a consumer in California who bought a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and drove it 1,000 miles a month would get a credit of approximately $103.75.

That compares with the $60 credit a earned by a driver from Florida who buys a 2006 Buick LaCrosse and drives the same distance, GM said."

The progrmam only runs through 2007, so GM exposure is limited to only a few thousand bucks per vehicle, unless someone can really run up the mileage, and I will bet there is some loophole in the deal that protects GM there. Not nearly the amount of the cash incentives GM was offering only a year or so ago. It is also better cash flow management than upfront incentives, as payments are spreadout. No doubt GM bean counters have done their homework and the risk has been assessed, just like in any insurance rate or bond interest rate calculation.

Businesses especially could benefit, since they usually put lots of miles on a vehicle. What's wrong with American companies helping each other? The Japanese do it all the time, in much less ethical ways, locking out "foreign" companies from participating in "sweetheart" deals.

Besides, why would it make you mad that GM, a private enterprise, is offering sales incentives? This is hardly a Government handout. Unless you are a GM stockholder, you really have no complaint, and if you are, take it up at the next shareholders meeting!