One thing you can say about Oprah Winfrey, she did it up BIG on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. One of my favorite Oprah Moments was the car giveaway! It was a moment that has gone down in Television History. On this day, September 13, 2004 the talk show queen gave 276 deserving audience members a new Pontiac G-6 Sedan valued at over twenty-eight thousand dollars.
The cars were not totally free because even tho Pontiac paid the state taxes on the donated vehicles, the winners had to pay the federal and state income taxes of around six thousand dollars on their free cars. Some of the winners took our car loans and others traded down to a cheaper vehicle.
It was an awesome giveaway. I remember watching and wishing I was one of the winners. I do believe that Oprah can be credited with starting the talk show giveaway trend. Until she started giving away promotional gifts on her talk show, all talk show audience members could expect to leave with was a good time at the show. Now if you attend a talk show there is a good chance you may leave with a free gift. Thanks Oprah!