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It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
Ten Most Traded-In And Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars (Almost Over!)
Ten Most Traded-In And Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars (Updated, Again!)
Cash For Clunkers Program Ends Monday
Is Cash For Clunkers Out Of Money, Again?
Hundreds Of NY Dealers Pull Out Of Cash For Clunkers
Cash For Clunker Engine Disabling Leads To Fire
Cash For Clunkers Rolls Over $1 Billion
Save The Clunkers!
Cash For Clunkers Program Actually Benefiting Truck, Crossover Sales

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Armand
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
I was for the Cash For Clunkers program. Get rid of old crappy cars-- you know, Tauruses and minivans and other stuff I don't like-- and stimulate the economy. It seems like a clumsy, ham-fisted way to prop up the Big Three and reduce our dependency on foreign oil, but I assumed it was better than nothing.

Then, today, I walked past a car dealership with a bunch of condemned clunkers waiting in the side lot. There was a late '80s Mustang with a 5.0 and a five-speed, and-- dear God, no! a '93 Jaguar XJS convertible.

I'm just glad the slaughter has ended.
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Plecostomus [Tyrrell]
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
Thanks for ruining the wheels and tires on that exploder, I could've used those for my 22+ mpg Ranger.
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MushyHeirloom
08/26/09

@Plecostomus [Tyrrell]: Yeah, I've always liked those rims. Too bad they're 5x4.5" instead of 5x4.25".
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slimwhitman
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
Is there a list of all the trade-ins and thier ranking or trade-in counts? Not just a top-ten? Can we see exactly how many Alfa Romeo Milanos were traded in, or Peugeot 505 or LaForzas, for instance?
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black_bullitt
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
C4C... what a friggin' joke.
With the billions of dollars we just put in the pockets of the Big 3, this would have been a prime opportunity to boost their sales and maybe start paying the taxpayers back. There should have been a stipulation that the C4C allowances HAD to be spent on a Big 3 lot.
They also should have based the rebate off of NADA value of the cars traded in, not to exceed $4,500. Giving someone $4,500 for a car that blue books at $2k is just another example of our gov't throwing away money.

My $0.02
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MushyHeirloom
08/26/09

@black_bullitt: 1: It's not legal for us to specify the manufacturer of the cars purchased, and if we specified based on nationality (US/Canada/Mexico only) the charts would be nearly the same.

2: If the government had only offered Blue Book value, most folks would have traded in or private-sold their old car. Which might have been a better idea, but wouldn't have made either side happy (no environmental benefit, many old cars are scrapped anyway, government still subsidizing new car sales).
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Schm, enjoying his first desert winter. .
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
Can we get some Abawkpramie (Spelling help please) updates. That and the European schemes should get a little more press, as the Yurpeans were/are reporting massive increases in some markets.
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MissingPieces
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
...and now the uptick in auto sales fall off of a cliff, again.
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dwegmull comments for the purpose of obscurity
08/26/09

@MissingPieces: My thought, exactly. We're just borrowing money from our future selves.
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Greasy Breakfast
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
All this did was push forward planned purchases over the next year. Watch as sales plummet again, as a years worth of car sales happened in only a few months.
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aurora40
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
Quote: Secretary of Transportation Roy LaHood calls the program "wildly successful" because of the huge jump in sales numbers saying "American consumers and workers were the clear winners thanks to the cash for clunkers program."

Um... If that is the success criteria, is there any way the program could have failed? The government gave away free money if you do something. Naturally more people do that. Since more people did it, the program is a "success"??

Also, I'll assume in the phrase "American consumers and workers were the clear winners", that the modifier "American" only applies to the word "consumers"...

Using their success criteria, I'd like to propose a $3b "Cash for me" program. I am 100% certain it will be "successful" as evidenced by the fact that I will take advantage of the program.
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GreenN_Gold
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
I propose a new rebate program to get everyone into lighter vehicles. $5 bucks for every pound lighter that your new vehicle is over your old vehicle, capped at $4,500. This will save gas just like the clunker program, but will also promote awareness of vehicle weights and improve the average vehicle's driving dynamics, aka hoon-factor. We'll call it cash for chunkers.
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ploopsy
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
Nice, so all the taxpayers that bought practical cars just paid off all the people who made poor choices buying a car.
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bmoreDLJ
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
Assuming about 140 million people (out of 300) pay taxes, the $2.88 billion adds up to about $20 per taxpayer.

So if you pay taxes, didn't use Cash for Clunkers, but know someone who did...no biggie. Just let them know they owe you a Jackson.

You could also ask them to treat you to a hot, delicious two-topping pizza. Possibly Papa John's; although I find their sauce a bit cloying.
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Edited by bmoreDLJ at 08/26/09 12:56 PM bmoreDLJ was starred bmoreDLJ was unstarred

theeastbaykid
08/26/09

@bmoreDLJ: I'd shell out another $20 to cut the Explorers by another half.
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leavethegun-takethecannoli
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
What I'm wondering is: How many cars will be repossessed?
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slysolstice07
08/26/09

@leavethegun-takethecannoli: Kind of like how many homes were purchased serveral years ago by people who could not afford them, and are now in forclosure? Oh wait..........another government program!
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55Hardtop
08/26/09

@slysolstice07: You both have hit the true target here. My prediction, car repossesions will skyrocket in 6-8 months, just like the housing market.
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PowerTryp, Starless wonder.
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
As a Canadian who is watching this with out any ability to get personally involved it is very interesting to see how this has played out.

While talking about it with colleges of mine we were trying to figure out wether the enviromental impact has actually changed and where the true honest benefit of this program lies, sure more people are working but its sort of a bubble from an economic stand point, created to supply more people with jobs and sell more product. Now when the need for new cars dries up and you're left with very low car sales due to the inverse effect that this will have we get to start it all over again.
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Joshuman
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
"Whether or not this balances out the environment impact of manufacturing more vehicles is debatable." There is a marginal ongoing emissions reduction as a result of Cash for Clunkers. It is my opinion that the impact of manufacturing new cars and new hybrids is much, much worse than keeping a slightly more inefficient vehicle on the roads.
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Neener
08/26/09

@Joshman Pouhon: Think of it this way: The plethora of used parts for these model of cars will assure that the ones that were not C4C will remain on the road for a longer period of time. Plus, I'm sure you'll be able to find a ford 4.0L v6 for many years to come, therefore extending the life of the non clunked clunkers.

Furthermore, these people who traded in their cars were looking for an excuse to get ride of their clunker...there will always be new car purchases and if the c4c was able to persuade half of those potential buyers to think economically, then I think the cause is just.
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MushyHeirloom
08/26/09

@Neener: I'd like to accept your first paragraph, because if this program was run in an ideal manner, that would be true. However, many clunkers with good parts are being stripped and crushed earlier so that the scrapyards can make a quick buck.
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skierpage
08/27/09

@Joshman Pouhon: It is my opinion that the impact of manufacturing new cars and new hybrids is much, much worse
Your opinion is not supported by science.

This boosted the MPG and lowered the emissions of the USA car fleet. All lifecycle studies (besides the laughable "Hummer more eco than Prius" NWA Marketing study) I've read conclude the operation of a car represent 75%-90% of its lifetime energy (and by proxy, emissions). So the additional emissions caused by new car production will be offset by reduced emissions in operation.

than keeping slightly more inefficient vehicle
I heard the average MPG boost was 10MPG. 15 to 25 would represent a 67% improvement in MPG.
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Das ASHloch (achtundsiebzig)
08/26/09

In reply to It's Over: Ten Most Traded-In, Purchased Cash For Clunkers Cars
$4,500 basically disappears the moment the vehicle is registered, so I'm still thinking the private sector "net wealth effect" was neutral or negative in the immediate term. Taking taxes into account, it's just the repetition of a generally poor financial decision (buying a new car) repeated 700k times. I'm sure there's some modest environmental and fuel consumption effect, though. And a temporary demand boost, of course.
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HurtsSoGood
08/26/09

@Ash78: Really? Lemme see. 8.5% sales tax (central New York) on one $18,000 Toyota Corolla LE sedan: $1530. That still leaves almost three grand to spend on stereo equipment, driver-side butt warmers, etc, or to keep in your pocket. Either way, it lowers your monthly payments quite a bit.
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Das ASHloch (achtundsiebzig)
08/26/09

@HurtsSoGood: Not sales tax...the tax used to fund the $4,500. In other words, the private sector pseudo-benefit is actually a net negative when the funding source is taken into account.
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Psiu! Puxa!: You're right, Mopar or no car!
08/26/09

@Ash78: Yep, robbing the masses to "help" the few and calling it a positive result. This whole thing was a crock.
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FЯeeMan
08/26/09

@Psiu! Puxa!: That's how government works, doncha know.
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