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Detroit, 6:49 PM
Sat Nov 7
5 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/05/09
The fact is avg MPG went up 9.2 mpg per transaction.
8200 F-150 "swaps" vs 700,000+ transactions.
100,000 more cars bought than trucks (which included light CUVs like Escape).
The AP should print a retraction and apologize for sensationalizing something that was mentioned from the earliest reporting of the program. #cashforclunkers
11/05/09
And people's fake concern about the pollution from all that manufacturing is unwarranted. 11 tons CO2 to manufacture a car vs. avoiding 19 lbs CO2 for every gallon not burned saves tons of CO2 overall. To increase the fuel economy of the US fleet you have to swap old cars for new, unless you're proposing engine swaps, EV conversions, and adding lightness. #cashforclunkers
11/06/09
Just because the average fuel economy went up doesn't mean that it's all good. I'm not just talking about saving the penguins and tree hugging. I'm talking about my money that went to other people and I got zero benefit because I own a car that wasn't "clunkery" enough.
We have no idea how these cars will be used. Daily drivers, secondary cars, bought it just to have? People could drag whatever they wanted in irregardless of whether they drove it. They could be driving a 30+MPG appliance (Corolla) daily, but traded in an old Cadillic Fleetwood that used to be their grandpa's for another 30+MPG appliance. The government just threw our money out the window.
In my father-in-law's case there is a net loss in CO2 emissions. He traded in a full size pickup that hadn't run in 2 years and was barely worth scrap metal cost. Now that he has a new shiny pickup, he drives it constantly and stopped driving his car, which gets 50% better MPG.
11/06/09
11/05/09
Largesse! Praise be to the Emperor for our slightly more fuel efficient vehicles! #cashforclunkers
11/05/09
So that, and an unnatural blip in car sales, is what your $3 billion bought you. #cashforclunkers
11/05/09
11/05/09
The Elantra is perfect for NYC. Don't care about the car, don't care about the dings. Still don't want. #cashforclunkers
11/05/09
The article says that 1.87 million tons of CO2 will be saved yearly (sounds more impressive than it is). Could someone find out approximately how much CO2 is released by building the 677,081 new vehicles involved? Then we'll find out if any possible reduction was worth $3 billion, or if they could have been better spent elsewhere. #cashforclunkers
11/05/09
10/24/09
I have worked with a lot of dealers, and most (if not all) of them usually offer around 60% of KBB trade in value. Sometimes it may look like they are offering more, but this involves some dealer cash given by the factory. Anyway, it is the dealers job to pay as little as possible for the trade, and that is why they use other books to determine trade values.
One book, not available to the public is Galves, a NJ based company that determines values on actual auction results across the country. Speaking of auction results, many of the auction companies that run these auction produce a booklet for the dealers use.
Also, determining trade in value for the car, the dealer uses the base trim level, not the upper trim level. You have an Accord ES? Too bad, because the dealer will use the Accord VP pricing level. You have a sunroof? Not counted. Alloy wheels? Good luck. Leather Interior? May as well be plastic.
Oh, but all that gets thrown out the window when they want to sell it, sometimes adding in equipment that doesn't exist to wring out the most money from the consumer. Anyway, this isn't my point.
My point is that the average everyday consumer, one that hates negotiating with the dealer, would have never received this moch on trade in as they did during the C4C program. #clunkpocalypse
10/24/09
That's right, it's the legions of Craigslist fucktards who're truly responsible for the destruction of some of the nation's cleanest Toyota pickups. I hope they're happy. #clunkpocalypse
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
Well, the crowding of SUV's Minivans and Trucks isn't all that much od a surprise. However, these twelve makes being traded in under the cash for clunkers program should be. Read all about the Dirty Dozen #clunkpocalypse
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/24/09
I'd say ninety or so percent of the clunked cars deserved it and we're better off without them, but there's others where the residual values seem so large and obvious that it's surprising that people were willing to turn them in. #clunkpocalypse
10/24/09
10/24/09
10/11/09
This could also be a LeMons punishment- welding a pink valve cover to your engine hood.
10/11/09
I know Matt did this list once before, but here is my analysis of the 12 cars that should have never been traded. Read all about the Dirty Dozen.
10/11/09
10/11/09
10/12/09
10/10/09