All the 276 members of the studio audience were taken by surprise when Winfrey opened the show by calling 11 members of the audience to the stage and gifting them a new car. "No dream is too wild, no surprise too impossible to pull off," Winfrey said during the telecast.

In keeping with the statement Winfrey then handed out gift boxes to the rest of the audience stating that one of the boxes contained the key to the 12th Pontiac. The boxes were opened at the count of three, where in the audience went berserk finding every single one of them have been gifted a car.

General Motors was responsible for the $7 million giveaway, which provided the free Pontiac G6 sports sedans, a new line of cars, as part of a promotional deal with Winfrey's Chicago-based show said agency reports.

A handout introduced the "Wildest Dreams Come True" theme for the 19th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which has been rated as the top daytime talk programs in US syndication since its debut in 1986.

Winfrey led the ecstatic crowd outside the studio to a parking lot filled with G6s topped with big red bows. Everyone was asked to contact a Pontiac representative to personally customise the actual cars they will receive, allowing them to choose the colour and features that come with a fully loaded model.

Agency reports claim that most members of the audience had been hand picked from letters sent in advance by viewers on behalf of themselves, friends or family who were in need of a new car. But the audience members were kept in the dark about the nature of the show until it was taped.

Winfrey also was reported to have given away a four-year college scholarship, $10,000 wardrobe and make-over to a young woman who had spent her teen years in foster care and homeless shelters. That apart, a family with eight foster children were gifted a houseful of furniture and electronics as well as a cheque of $130,000 to cover their mortgage and home repairs.