On September 13, 2004, Oprah Winfrey famously gave away 276 Pontiac G6 sedans to everybody in her studio audience. “You get a car, you get a car, you get a car,” Winfrey declared while pointing out random people in the crowd. The former talk show host called it one of her “all-time favorite happiest moments ever.”
You can check out the clip for yourself right here:
Winfrey reportedly asked her producers to fill the studio with people who desperately needed cars for the stunt, and as you just saw, the recipients were overjoyed with the generous gift—at the time, at least. Before long, those proud new Pontiac owners realized their free cars weren’t quite as free as they’d been led to believe. Because the new G6 was valued at $28,500, the folks who received them were now being forced to fork over as much as $7,000 in taxes. That was after Pontiac agreed to pay the state sales tax and licensing fees for them.
Oprah’s ‘Free’ Cars Came With a $7,000 Tax Bill
As a result, some opted to pay their bills by taking out loans, while others traded in their Pontiacs for less expensive cars. “It’s not really a free car,” one lucky winner said. “It’s more of a 75% off car,” they joked. A spokesperson for Winfrey’s Harpo Productions later explained—rather coldly—that beneficiaries had three options: keep the car and pay the tax, sell the car and pay it from the profits, or forfeit the vehicle altogether.
Winfrey and her producers seemed to learn their lesson from the scandal, and for their next giveaway, they gave each attendee a $2,500 check, hoping it would cover their tax bill—keyword: “hoped.” Unfortunately, most people still owed the IRS between $4,500 and $6,000. However, the promotional gimmicks apparently worked out for Winfrey in the long run. In fact, her 2004 giveaway earned the show its highest ratings in eight years.
The post The Truth about Oprah Winfrey’s Famous Free Car Giveaway: ‘It’s Not Really a Free Car’ appeared first on VICE.
