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BREA, Calif. — To help its dealer body drum up sales, Suzuki is rolling out an incentive program that offers consumers three months of free gas during a period when finding ways to save on fuel can be crucial: summer.

Starting Saturday and going through Aug. 31, Suzuki is offering its "Free Gas for Summer" promotion, where consumers can receive three months worth of fuel for free when they buy a 2010 model in Suzuki's lineup.

Among the automaker's 2010 vehicles are the Kizashi, SX4 SportBack, SX4 Sport sedan, SX4 Crossover, Grand Vitara and Equato.

When the shopper purchases the vehicle, the person will be given a stored value debit card worth anywhere from $280 to $442, based on certain criteria.

Suzuki determines the value of the card that goes with each respective vehicle by considering the following:

—The vehicle's highway fuel economy, as estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

—The Federal Highway Administration's estimated average of 1,000 miles driven per month.

—The U.S. national average price of one gallon of regular gasoline as determined by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

"Suzuki recognizes the economic challenges Americans continue to face and thought this promotion was a great way to provide relief for car buyers," stated Koichi Suzuki, executive vice president of American Suzuki Automotive Operations.

"Working through our U.S. dealer network, we're happy to extend this program to consumers across the country, providing potential buyers even more reason to consider purchasing a Suzuki during the summer shopping season," the executive added.