It’s bad enough if you lose your job in this miserable economy. It’s even worse if you’re out of work and you’ve just invested in a new car.

With more than 10 million Americans on the unemployment line and several automakers teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Hyundai has come up with a novel promotion to boost sales by letting consumers walk away from their monthly payments if they lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

If the idea sounds too good to be true, Hyundai assures me it’s just smart business. According to a company spokesman, the plan is a calculated gamble on the automaker’s part to bring potential buyers with responsible credit histories into the showroom at a time when the public has considerable trepidation about taking on long-term financial obligations.

Under the company’s Assurance plan, a standard benefit for anyone who buys or leases a vehicle in 2009, owners can return their car to the dealer and stop making monthly payments without any black marks on their credit score, says Joel Ewanick, vice president of marketing for Hyundai Motor America. 

The program isn’t just a safety net for consumers who’ve lost their jobs in tough times; it also extends to those who become physically disabled, lose their driver’s license due to medical impairment, are self employed and file for bankruptcy, or get a job transfer overseas.

“There’s so much fear in the marketplace,” Ewanick explained. “People have a lot of insecurity and uncertainty about their own personal financial situations, and that’s a major barrier to purchasing a new car. Our aim was to find a practical and doable plan to address those fears.”

If the program proves successful and people buy more cars as a result, the automaker might continue offering it in 2010.

While the program appears to be fairly straightforward, the devil, as always, is in the details. To be eligible, an owner must have made at least two loan or lease payments and be current on those payments. And, obviously, you’ll need documentation of your job loss, bankruptcy, disability, or job loss to present to an assurance administrator. Also, consumers are responsible for any amount owed on the vehicle above $7,500.

Although Hyundai is based in South Korea, the company has a state-of-the-art plant in Montgomery, Ala., which employs more than 3,000 workers and turns out 300,000 Santa Fe and Sonata models a year.