While customers can choose between a $250 (£125) petrol card and a gun, owner Max Muller said only two people – a Canadian and an “old guy” – have chosen the former.

The move at Missouri-based Max Motors was inspired by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s recent comments about small town Americans clinging to their guns and Bibles. Muller was upset by Obama’s victory over Hillary Clinton in the Missouri primary and decided to show his pride in his right to bear arms by launching the offer. Muller emphasised that citizens of small town America were “not clinging to nothing” and needed the guns to protect themselves. Max Motors sells Ford, Chevrolet, General Motors and Jeep vehicles, among others. To view a US news report on the story CLICK HERE. To view the Max Motors website CLICK HERE.