The latest marketing technique to blaze the American landscape is the use of “free gasoline” to attract customers. Furniture stores, cafes, hotels—you name it—merchants in every sector are offering to give away gasoline to their customers in order to get them in the door. Even nonprofits are getting into the act. The Detroit News reported that the American Red Cross of Southeastern Michigan is offering to enter blood donors in a drawing in which winners will receive free gas cards. According to the Tacoma, WA News Tribune, Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers are offering $250 worth of gasoline to people who submit a tip leading to the arrest of one of fifty criminals. And this just in . . . the Shady Lady Ranch, a brothel in Nevada, is offering $50 gas cards for every customer who purchases one hour of service . . . no kidding.

Not surprisingly, Chrysler has mounted the largest gasoline giveaway promotion, offering to pay the cost of gasoline above $2.99 a gallon for three years on any vehicle purchased or leased from them. In a 2007 report, the Union of Concerned Scientists ranked DaimlerChrysler as the heaviest polluter among eight major automakers. A consistent opponent of federal regulations that would impose higher fuel efficiency standards on automakers, it is no wonder that Chysler would want to mitigate consumer concerns about the high price of gasoline.

This free-gas marketing craze is truly a triumph of . . . well, let’s be kind and call it uninformed impulsivity. Consider an analogy. A man has a problem. There are two large piles of sand on his living room floor, and he would like to get rid of them. One of the piles represents high gasoline prices. The other represents threats associated with pollution and climate change. His solution? . . . begin shoveling the sand from one pile into the other pile.

There is a silver lining to high gas prices. According to BusinessWeek, there are indications that high prices are finally beginning to change American driving behavior. Certainly we see the impact of price on increasing demand for fuel efficient vehicles. Gasoline giveaways chip away at this silver lining, giving people reason to forestall changing their behavior.