When Hyundai rolled out its Hyundai Assurance plan on January 3 of this year, it was a little surprising that more automakers didn't follow suit.

And now it's clear that the program, which recognized the economic plight of consumers by promising to set them free of financial obligations if they became jobless, did a lot for the company and its image.

According to Hyundai spokesman Chris Hosford, less than ten people nationwide have returned new vehicles so

Final details about the federal government's new Cash-for-Clunkers program--clunkily and officially titled the "Car Allowance Rebate System"--won't be released until July 23, but that hasn't stopped Hyundai from getting a jump on the competition. Hoping to ride the wave of great publicity it's received for its Car of the Year award, its successful Assurance Program, and its recent gas-price guarantee, Hyundai has backed its dealers with short-term cash advances so they can begin issuing the $3,500

In case you've been trapped in a cubicle for the past few months, it's summer again, and that means gas prices are making their march back up toward their peak. While fears of $4 per gallon gas aren't prominent - yet - Hyundai is pre-empting the rise with a promise of $1.49 gas for a full year, or 12,000 miles, for buyers that take home a new Hyundai before August 31.

The savings from the program, called Gas Lock, could be substantial, at least from a percentage perspective - average

Way back in December, at the beginning of the Chrysler/GM bailout, back when everyone was afraid to utter the word "bankruptcy", the third member of Detroit's Big Three saw opportunity--specifically, the opportunity to make itself shiny and new. In much of Ford's PR, the company expressed sympathy for its failing rivals while simultaneously refusing bailout dough. We saw that for what it was: a not-too-subtle re-branding campaign, and it's proven awfully successful.

To illustrate, here's some data

Hyundai has been on a roll in recent months, and it looks like the Korean automaker is gearing up to capitalize on all that good publicity by launching a new luxury brand. Well, sort of. Eventually.

Speaking in New York last Friday, Hyundai Motor America President/CEO John Krafcik said that he's hoping to help Hyundai bring out a luxury sub-brand--ideally one centered on the well-received Hyundai Genesis and Genesis Coupe. (Presumably, the new Equus would fit in there,

The Hyundai Assurance program may well go down as the most innovative and perhaps successful marketing campaign of 2009. The program was so perfect for our economic times that General Motors and Ford eventually followed suit with very similar offers. But according to The New York Times, Hyundai's marketing magic may have worn out with the South Korean automaker's newest offer - an incentive that sounds great until you dig just beneath the surface.