TAMPA, Fla. -- For the past few weeks, the "Gas Phantom" has handed out cash to grateful motorists at dozens of gas stations across the Tampa Bay area in Florida, reported The Tampa Bay Tribune. After "shelling" out more than $14,000 to motorists, a man in a dark business suit appeared today at an area Shell station and revealed his identity.
Standing in front of a crowd of reporters, Dave Legarreta swept aside his tie and opened his dress shirt to reveal a T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the M.J. Morning Show on 93.3 FLZ-FM. Legarreta works in the maintenance department of Clear Channel [image-nocss] Radio and said he was asked to undertake this unusual philanthropic gesture precisely because of his anonymity.
"Nobody knows me," Legarreta told the newspaper. "I'm older and I've been with the company for years, so they can trust me. They've given me thousands in cash to hand out."
Reactions from puzzled drivers have been mostly positive, he said. Some people refused the cash, but most didn't and expressed a lot of gratitude.
"It was nice," Legarreta said. "It's kind of like a Santa Claus effect. Some people, I could tell, really needed the money. For others, it was like a found gift."
With only about three minutes per visit to a gas station, Legarreta said he didn't have time to seek out people driving less expensive cars. He offered the cash to whoever was at a pump.
Other companies are seizing on the same idea and are having similar giveaways. Just one example: Verizon Yellow Pages and Superpages.com hosted a nationwide gasoline giveaway yesterday, the said in a press statement. The one-day event took place in 24 locations, and the first 200 cars at each location received a $40 prepaid gasoline card.
The locations included Huntington Beach, Oxnard, Long Beach, Redlands, Ontario and Manteca, Calif.; Denver; Washington, D.C.; Wilmington, Del.; Tampa, Fla.; Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Timonium, Md.; Durham, N.C.; Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Bethlehem, Pa.; Dallas and Grand Prairie, Texas; Ashburn, Glen Allen and Virginia Beach, Va.; and Everett and Kirkland, Wash.
Meanwhile, Chrysler LLC has extended its "Let's Refuel America" $2.99 gasoline guarantee program—which offers customers the opportunity to lock in their gasoline purchases at $2.99 a gallon for three years, up to 36,000 miles—into June. The program was launched on May 7 and was originally going to last just through the end of the month.
The offer is available on most Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge compact vehicles, SUVs, sedans, minivans and pickup trucks. Not included in the program are the company's high-performance vehicles such as the Dodge Viper, Dodge Challenger, Chrysler Crossfire and the entire SRT lineup as well as the Dodge Sprinter, Dodge Ram Chassis Cab and Jeep Wrangler.
Participating customers receive a gasoline card (linked back to their own Visa or MasterCard) that is valid at 97% of gas stations in the United States, the company said. Purchases at the stations will be for the full price being charged that day, but only $2.99 per gallon will be billed back to the customers' credit card.
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