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Detroit, 3:45 AM
Tue Nov 10
27 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/14/09
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I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if 350 cubic inches suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced...
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08/14/09
Eat shit Obama!
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When did conservatives get photoshop, anyway?
08/14/09
Well, look here, it's a Corvette this time. What you guys are missing is the following:
1) The owner couldn't get up to $4,500 on this car even if he (or she) were to sell it. This is a very easy way to get the value while doing none of the work. Remember, we are talking about the average consumer, not an enthusiast.
2) Having a year full ofclunkers, and dismantling them would cost a great deal of money for the dealer. The is the low cost way of making the car inoperable, by killing it with a lethal injection.
3) The car recyclers, who receive all these clunkers once the drive train seizes, don't want to waste anymore time trying to recover parts that are probably not worth anything (I mean, how many explorer front fenders can you have?) and are trying to recover the scrap steel price as quickly as possible.
4) A lot of these cars need a lot of work. The Oldsmobile Aurora that was on the other day had over 200,000 miles on it, the A/C wasn't working, and all the lights on the dash were on. Same thing with this Vette, as it probably needed at least $5,000 worth of repairs to get back into workable condition.
5) Again, I have to remind you that no one put a gun to the owners head and said he had to trade it in. There are many stories like this, including a guy who traded in a Mercedes 380 SL on a Hyundai Accent in RI.
6) Calm down, as this program will run out in a few weeks, and will not be repeated.
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BTW, why is an average consumer driving around a C4 Corvette? Can you really believe that this jerk off was a soccer mom, or a teenage girl and not an enthusiast?
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Sad this is, the engine might be the best remaining part on a lot of these cars. And it's sad to see these cars being put down. But eventually, every workhorse reaches its limit, and then you need to do the humane thing.
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08/14/09
What I am trying to do is show the other side of this argument. A lot of you say that we should have never authorized this in the first place. OK, that's fine, but there would be a lot of dealers who are benefiting from this program, as are the car companies.
Ford stated that they are adding shifts to produce more Escapes and Focus (Foci?). And if the average everyman (or every woman) thinks the new car is more desirable, then so be it.
By the way, did you ever take into account that if this guy was married (and the Maserati Guy as well) that it was his spouse that actually made him trade it in? 80% of the car buying decisions are made by women. The husband thinks he made the ultimate decision, but it's mostly the women who really make their mind up.
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Nobody (well, pretty much) is faulting anyone for trading in their car.
Get it?
Well then, take some time, I guess. Sleep on it. We'll explain something else to you next week.
08/14/09
Also, enough with the "this car isn't worth $4500" thing. Once the person who trades in the clunker drives off the lot in his fancy new car, it isn't worth what he paid + 4500 anyway.
08/14/09
My fiery Jalopnik soul still sheds a tear at the loss of a Corvette.
08/14/09
Everything that UDMan pointed out is exactly correct from a standpoint of sheer reason, and it is the exact train of thought that was behind the passing of the legislation, and the exact same train of thought going through the minds of consumer that are taking advantage of the CARS legislation.
It's one thing to disagree and to think poorly of those who passed the CARS legislation and those that trade in perfectly good Corvettes under said legislation. We are Jalopnik. We get that way sometimes. But don't imply that another member is stupid simply because he is making a rational argument and is citing sources to support his argument.
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08/14/09
A: As a general rule, people who can afford a new car, even with a $4500 discount, aren't running around in $500 smoke-belching shitboxes, so the worst cars on the road aren't the ones being crushed.
B: The boon to the new car dealers and manufacturers is killing many used car dealers. It's tough to sell a 2 year old used car for more than a new one goes for, no? Additionally, they are getting fewer trade-ins in the $3k-$5k range which is a huge market segment. Charities have seen a dramatic decline in donated vehicles, as well [www.msnbc.msn.com]
C. The people who drive true beaters, are watching this in disbelief. Instead of taking those cars from the well-off to middle-class, and letting those vehicles trickle down to the less affluent, the government is eschewing its own "share the wealth" ideology. This is akin to walking up to a man barely scraping by on Ramen noodles, while eating a fillet mignon, and rather than offer him the uneaten portion, you let him watch you lace it with rat poison, to ensure that it cannot be eaten by anyone.
D: For those buyers whose budget is around $5k, there are fewer vehicles to choose from.
E: I cannot argue that if I had a $4500 (or less) car that I wanted to get rid of, and could get $4500 and avoid the hassle of actually selling it, I wouldn't take it. I probably would. People have always taken far less on trade than they could have gotten selling their car privately. The convenience has a value. (and hell, why not be on the receiving end of my tax dollars for a change?) Once the title changes hands, it is the buyer's vehicle to do with as he wishes, but it is still saddening as one who tends to anthropomorphize his vehicles to know that it will be killed in such a manner.
I am patiently awaiting the end of the program, and hope that when the dust settles, and the tallies are in, that the cool car casualties are minimal.
08/14/09
The people who drive true beaters, are watching this in disbelief. Instead of taking those cars from the well-off to middle-class, and letting those vehicles trickle down to the less affluent, the government is eschewing its own "share the wealth" ideology. This is akin to walking up to a man barely scraping by on Ramen noodles, while eating a fillet mignon, and rather than offer him the uneaten portion, you let him watch you lace it with rat poison, to ensure that it cannot be eaten by anyone.
Amen^1000.
I actually drive a POS car. My dad drives a POS beater that probably ought to be taken off the road.
And yet, nothing for the people who drive real beaters, as they are older than 25 years. What we need to do is get those seventies, malaise-era, and even early 80s, road-going behemoths off the road. They are not only horrible gas guzzlers, they are also far more polluting than a five-year-old Ford Explorer.
Even in LA, I still see plenty of crappy old Lincoln Town Cars, Cadillac DeVilles, Chevrolet Caprices, Ford Crown Victorias etc. from the seventies, and I am sure those people would love nothing more than to get rid of them in favor of an efficient small car.
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I mean, wouldn't most people rather have a new Kia than a used Audi? ;)
08/15/09
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It would be like caring for animals at a shelter, then walking in one day and getting a list of puppies that you have to euthanize.
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How great would those youtube mashups be?
08/14/09
Guess I might as well say it again, since my last one got eaten by the dreaded page two on the last one. I not spamming, I pwomise!
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I fear something terrible has happened.
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@Z71 supports the victims of the Jezebel Massacre:
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*orgasmic moans*
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