A goal of Cash for Clunkers was to get “greener” cars on the road. On average, the cars traded for older cars have 10 miles per gallon more. This did help the pollution. The other goal of CFC was to boost the auto industry. This did increase sales of major dealerships, some of them which are new and undeserving and probably will not make it as the program is now over.

However, it definitely hurt private dealerships. These people rely on selling the older cars for a living.
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September could produce the worst auto sales of the year, according to an analysis. Just as Cash-for-Clunkers goosed auto sales numbers in August, it’s crushing September’s sales numbers. Without that juicy government rebate, fewer people are interested in buying a car. People like free money!

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales (SAAR) for September will be 8.8 million units. Last year when the economy was unraveling September’s SAAR was 12.5 million. In February, “the darkest month of the recession,” SAAR was 9.1 million.
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According to a new survey, 30% of consumers who purchased a new car during the recent Cash for Clunkers program had no intentions of buying a car, but said they bought one because the government program was too good to pass up.

The survey, which focused on consumers who purchased a new or used car in the last three months, also showed that an additional 37 % of consumers who bought a car in the last several months were originally planning on buying a used car but switched to new to take advantage of the government offering.
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The government has compensated dealers for 70% of the cars sold under the popular Cash for Clunkers program and they should be fully paid by the end of September, the transportation secretary said. 478,000 of the nearly 700,000 car vouchers have been paid, or about $2.4 billion.

Transportation officials said about 60,000 dealer applications worth about $250 million have been rejected. The department was working with those dealers to ensure that they are compensated.
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Question From Jon: I have owned my clunker for 8 years.This year ,it will not pass the smog ,but I have an extension to fix my smog problem.In other words I am in the process of fixing my smog problem ,The suburban is worth $1000 to 1500 ,it needs a rebuild engine.It is not worth putting the money into it.Instead ,I rather take that money and put it in a new car.The dealer says that my car doesn’t qualify for the clunker rebate because it is not registered.I have paid all the registration fees but have not completed the smog test.Do you know if the dealer is right?
thank you
jon
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The federal Cash for Clunkers program is getting a lot of trucks and sport-utility vehicles off the road, but it hasn’t made best-sellers out of the Prius or other gas-efficient hybrids.

Let’s brainstorm why the Hybrids are sell so poorly… because they’e ugly!? Why do the most efficient vehicles on the market, like the Toyota Prius and the newly redesigned (but still ugly) Honda Insight have to be so repelling? What’s wrong with designing a sexy vehicle?  At least you could look cool while everybody else is speeding past you.
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Question From Carol: If I buy a car through you, can I still use my cash for clunkers?  I have a qualifying Toyota Previa, and I’m looking at either the Honda Insight or a Toyota Previa.  I’ve already been told that I qualify for the full $4500.  Thank you.

Queen of the Road: Hi Carol,

You can definitely use the Cash For Clunkers program when purchasing a car through AutoBrag.  Go through the Braggle process and get the best possible price on the new car.  Then bring in the Previa and get the Cash For Clunkers rebate.
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As of Tuesday morning, car buyers in the U.S. had signed deals to trade in 411,624 clunkers for new vehicles, getting rebates of up to $4,500 from the federal government. Most of the trades have been pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

The top 10 vehicles purchased by those making clunker trades:

1. Toyota Corolla
2. Honda Civic
3. Ford Focus
4. Toyota Camry
5. Toyota Prius
6. Hyundai Elantra
7. Ford Escape (front-wheel-drive)
8. Honda Fit
9. Nissan Versa
10. Honda CR-V (four-wheel-drive)

THE TOYOTA COROLLA!!! Yeah, I’m not suprised either. More customers trading in vehicles under the Cash for Clunkers program bought cars from Toyota than any other manufacturer, according to new government statistics. In previous reports, General Motors has topped that list.

Toyota has so far sold 18.9% of the vehicles bought through the Clunkers program, while GM is now second, with 17.6% of Clunkers sales. Buyers have mostly been trading in trucks in favor of small cars, according to data provided the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Republican opposition is stalling Senate efforts to keep the popular “cash for clunkers” program alive. The program, which gives consumers who trade in old gas-guzzlers for more fuel-efficient models as much as $4,500 each, is likely to end by the weekend unless the Senate approves additional funding.

Senate Republican leaders railed against it, calling the program a model of government inefficiency and out-of-control spending. The program originally got $1 billion, but all but exhausted that funding last week, its first.
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Overwhelmed by the flood of claims from car dealers participating in the government’s “cash for clunkers” program, the U.S. Transportation Department is doubling the number of contract workers hired to process the transactions.

The news will be welcomed by auto dealers, who last week spent hours, if not days, trying to process claims. Not only does the government require pages of documentation about the clunker trade-ins but it requires dealers to prove that the old cars have been junked.

Dealers complained last week that once they assembled those documents and prepared to send them in, they were stymied by a government Website that slowed to a crawl, leading to long waits and frustration.
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