The hope is that car buyers should stop worrying about fuel bills

Car buyers will get a $2,400 (�1,400) debit card which they can use to buy fuel - or anything else - along with an extended warranty and free maintenance.

But the offer does not cover Chrysler's elite models, such as the Dodge Viper, the SRT8 or the Chrysler 300.

All US car makers offer incentives as they hit back against foreign marques.

In October, GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler suffered a 17% fall in sales when compared with the same period last year.

But DaimlerChrysler, which offered the most generous incentives in the US that month, saw Chrysler Group sales soar 37%.

Marketing tool

Stiff competition from Japanese car makers like Toyota, Nissan and Honda, and from European marques like BMW, has forced the German-American car maker to take the incentives to a new level.

"The combination of free gasoline, free scheduled maintenance and a full warranty puts our customers' mind at ease and allows them to fully experience the joy of driving one of our vehicles," said Joe Eberhardt, Chrysler's executive vice president of global sales, marketing and service.

Under the so-called "Miles of Freedom" plan, its cars will come with a five years or 60,000 miles warranty on parts, raised from its current three years or 36,000 miles warranty.

In total, the deal could be worth $3,400 to customers, according to Alan Helfman, manager of River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston.

Mr Helfman estimates that the free maintenance is worth up to $300 and the extended warranty is up to $700.