Fear not, I am alive!

Wow, it's been a while.
For those of you wondering (read, my one reader...you know who you are) I was kidnapped by russian operatives not long after making my last post and was only recently returned from captivity. But telling that story would only validate my assailants and bring up horrible memories from the past such as placing lotion on my skin in order to avoid the dreaded hose. *shudder*

Anywho, Chrysler recently announced they will be offering a lifetime powertrain warranty on all new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles sold on or after July 26th (sucks if you bought a car yesterday...sucker).
Wow, lifetime warranty? Really? Where's the catch?
Read on, my friend. Read on.
First of all the warranty is non-transferable so it only applies to the original owner which is fine, until you try to resell the car. Hyundai, Kia and Mitsubishi all have 10 year warranties (not that I condone the purchase of these autos) that are transferrable which help the resale value. Imagine trying to sell a Sebring 2 years from now with no warranty. Even if they stuck with their current offerings the car would still carry an extra year of warranty for the new owner.
If you don't care about resale value and plan to keep your car for more than 10 years they you'd think you would come out ahead, right? Here's where the fine print gets you. The car must have its powertrain inspected every 5 years by an authorized dealer or else the warranty is void. There is no charge for the inspection, but it must be inspected within 60 days of each 5 year anniversary. There's the rub. It's the same deal as "free after rebate." The average American (read, your mom) isn't going to remember to call for an appointment to bring their car in for an inspection in 2 years let alone 5. And you know Chrysler isn't going to be sending out reminder cards.
So what Chrysler has done is effectively posed a deal which makes their new vehicles appear to be problem free for life while diminishing the cars resale value (doesn't matter to them) and they're likely not going to have to provide service beyond the initial 5 years because of the likelyhood of people reselling or forgetting the required inspection.
Well played.
Despite the fact that I'm the type of person who would remember the inspection date (I'm also a free after rebate junkie), I plan on sticking to my Nissan/Toyota cars that retain their resale value and don't require unlimited warranties to run forever. But that's just me.