In the desperate pandering-to-customers-in-spite-of-the-inevitable-results move of the day, Chrysler, the other ailing American auto-maker, is offering a fuel card which ensures that drivers will never pay more than $2.99/gal for 3 years!

The obvious response is wow! How can they lock in the price of fuel when oil prices are sure to rise (perhaps double) over the next three years. How many billions of billions of dollars will they piss away on this scheme? Are they really going to sell that many cars as a result of this promotion? Methinks no.

I have two things to say about this:

First, this is a terrible move from a brand that is already slipping away into history. Al Ries remarked in a recent video, “What does a Chrysler stand for?”, and I honestly couldn’t answer that question. But now they stand for gimmicks — they are sending the signal that their products are so terrible, they have to pay customers to buy them. Bribery is never a desirable brand trait. This move reminds of Marlboro, when they made the dubious decision to knock down their brand from a luxury cigarette, to the everyman label. And of course Wall St. felt the shake on Marlboro Monday. In this case, no one seems to care because Chrysler has pretty much lost all credibility. As has Detroit in general.

Second, this is an eerie metaphor for the current state of Politics. Hillary Clinton and John McCain are begging for a relief on gas tax, but not quite thinking of the possible ramifications. Most economist say that they it’s a terrible idea, and there is no possible way the country can pay for a relief of that sort. Of course these candidates, like Chrysler, are trying to fool the same knucklehead American family who can only seem what’s three inches in front of their eyes.

Oh, and if this does go into effect, those gas cards are going to become some serious black market currency. If you thought the iPod was a target, wait until the underworld develops a taste for these.

// a tale of brands & branding, national identities
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