Hyundai Freezes Gas Prices at $1.49 a Gallon

If you’re in the market for a car this summer, and if that market includes a Hyundai, you could get more than just a car — you could get a time machine. The Korean car maker began its Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock (catchy!) on July 1. The program guarantees a year’s worth of gas at $1.49 a gallon — a price that hasn’t been seen in the U.S. for more than five years, according to AutoWeek.

You may recall that GM tried a similar incentive during last summer’s record gas prices, offering three years’ worth of gas at $2.99 a gallon. The bottom fell out of that plan, though, when gas prices dropped off. As of July 7, AAA pegged the national average price for a gallon of gas at $2.77. The highest record price came almost exactly a year ago, when the average price of gas hit $4.11 on July 17, 2008.

Hyundai’s Gas Lock plan applies to cars purchased between July 1 and August 31, 2009. The only cars in the company’s lineup that don’t qualify are the base model of the Accent and the car-mag faves Genesis and Genesis coupe models.

Image of the Hyundai Accent courtesy of Hyundai Motor America.