Viewers were told to expect a big surprise as "The Oprah Winfrey Show" opened its 19th season on Monday (Sept. 13). They got that, but the 276 people in the studio audience got an even bigger shocker.

Winfrey and Pontiac teamed up to give each member of the studio audience a new car, no strings attached. The automaker donated a fleet of its new G6 model and will also pay for additional options winners want and taxes on each vehicle. The G6's sticker price is about $28,000.

"We're calling this our wildest dream season, because this year on the Oprah show, no dream is too wild, no surprise too impossible to pull off," Winfrey said during the show.

The talk-show queen began her season premiere by calling 11 audience members to the stage and informing them that each was receiving a new car. She then told the rest of the audience that a gift box handed out to audience members contained keys to a 12th auto.

When they opened their boxes, everyone found a key to a new G6, setting off floods of screams and shouts while Winfrey kept repeating "Everybody gets a car!"

Additionally, Winfrey (with help from telecom firm SBC) gave a college student who had spent years in homeless shelters and on the street with a full scholarship to the school of her choice, along with a $10,000 wardrobe. Finally, she gave $130,000 to foster parents -- currently caring for eight kids -- to buy and renovate the house from which they were about to be evicted.