Hyundai Motor Co. announces its Assurance Gas Lock Program (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

It’s not really breaking news that summer is here again, and if there’s one thing that we can count on, it’s rising gas prices. I just checked the stats this morning, and the U.S. national average is up to $2.64 per gallon. But if you buy a new Hyundai you can pay just $1.49 per gallon for a full year or 12,000 miles regardless of how high the prices soar.

The program is called the Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock Program and according to Hyundai’s Web site, to be eligible you’ll need to “buy or lease a qualifying 2009/2010 Hyundai vehicle between July 3, 2009 and July 31, 2009, and choose the Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock Program Option (Powered by PriceLock).” It’s as easy as that. Of course, you’ll also need to enroll in the program, which can be accomplished on Hyundai’s enrollment Web site where you’ll need your new vehicle’s VIN and sales agreement information provided by the dealer. But once you’re enrolled, you’ll receive a fuel card and then for 12 months you’ll never pay more than $1.49 per gallon at nearly every gas station in the United States — until you reach your gallon allotment depending on the vehicle you chose to buy. For instance, if you select a 2009 Hyundai Accent, you’d be allowed 415 gallons at $1.49 per gallon. A new Elantra would get you 430 gallons. If you opted for a Veracruz, you’d get 670 gallons. Apparently, this is the amount of fuel that it will take you to reach 12,000 miles and that’s why the allowance varies from vehicle to vehicle. You can read about it in the fine print on Hyundai’s Offers page.

And yes, I said nearly every gas station. But don’t let that scare you. According to Hyundai, “You can use your fuel card at 93% of gas stations nationwide, including most major brands like Amoco, Shell, Chevron/Texaco, Exxon/Mobil, Valero, Marathon, Sunoco, Conoco, BP/Philips 76, CITGO and Gulf.” Other stations may accept your fuel card, too — just look for the Voyager logo.

One point that I feel I need to point out is that the program dates across the sites don’t seem to match up. For instance, the program enrollment Web site lists the qualifying vehicle purchase dates as July 1 through August 31 and it’s the same in the program FAQ section; however, as you read earlier in this post, the dates on the How It Works page are listed as July 3 through July 31. So, if you’re serious about cashing in on this opportunity, you might want to act sooner rather than later.

I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that gas will probably be up to $3 per gallon pretty soon and let’s just hope that it doesn’t push up to $4 (or more) like it did last summer. Ugh. Even though it’s relatively fuel-efficient, just the thought of paying $60 to fill up my compact car’s gas tank is more than I can handle right now.

More related stuff:
HowStuffWorks – Fuel Economy Library
How Gas Prices Work
HowStuffWorks Videos – Energy Policy: How Gas Stations Price Gas
New Hyundai Prices & Reviews – Consumer Guide Automotive