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This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of Oprah's now infamous "Pontiac G6 Giveaway", where all 276 members of her studio audience won a Pontiac G6. Greg Migliore of Autoblog took a look back at the event, and even managed to track down a few recipients of Oprah's generosity to find out what happened to the cars.
One of the most interesting parts of the story focuses on the tax liability foisted upon studio guests. Even though the cars were "free", some guests faced a 5 figure tax bill merely for winning the car.
"William Toebe attended the show with his wife, Jillaine, and he immediately thought of the tax implications, which stretched to $6,000 or more for some audience members. It was a tough reality for many in the audience that day, some of which had been selected based on their need for a new car.
"That responsible part of me stepped forward and wondered 'where am I going to get the money to pay the taxes?'" he recalled. Two people meant two cars – and taxes to the tune of more than $12,000. The couple took the cars, then turned around and sold them immediately, paying the required taxes and using the rest to pay off bills.
From an automotive perspective, the G6 was supposed to herald a resurgent Pontiac, being followed by the Solstice, the G8 and eventually, an all-new G6 that was to be based on the same Alpha platform that underpinned the Cadillac ATS. Alas, it was not to be. A mere 5 years later, Pontiac was sent to the gallows as part of GM's post-bankruptcy restructuring.
The post "You Get A Car! You Get A Car! You Get A Car!" appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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