That Time Oprah Gave 276 People 'Free' Cars That Actually Cost Them $6,000 In Taxes

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But this was sort of uncharted territory for a television promotion, and likely done completely in good faith despite being ultimately rooted in the marketing department of General Motors. Still, winners of the cars had to either take the car and pay the tax, sell the car and still cover the tax fees, or refuse it altogether.

In later promotions, Forbes points out, the Oprah team had learned their lesson, writing checks and giving them to audience members along with the pricey prizes in an effort to offset the sudden burden of a spiked income tax.

But as for the big G6 giveaway episode, Oprah got her iconic “you get a car” moment, the network got unprecedented ratings, Pontiac’s marketing team got a ton of buzz, and at least some of the audience members were able to get away with a brand new car, nearly free of charge.