AP sources: Govt to suspend 'cash for clunkers'

AP sources: Govt to suspend 'cash for clunkers'

www.breitbart.com

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional officials say the government plans to suspend the popular "cash for clunkers" program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, wasn't that a tad more short-lived than many expected.

A friend of mine was about to purchase a new Toyota Prius, but was advised to get the order in as quickly as possible, as they were expecting the "Cash for Clunkers" funding to run out quickly. That was over two weeks ago.

The program ran for what, one/two days? Foolishness.

Through late Wednesday, 22,782 vehicles had been purchased through the program and nearly $96 million had been spent. But dealers raised concerns of large backlogs in the system, prompting the suspension.
www.breitbart.com...

www.breitbart.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by MOFreemason


Mmm, why does this smell like "if you act now" ...

Nothing like the gov getting into the sales pitch, they are part owners you know.

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
reply to post by MOFreemason

 

Mmm, why does this smell like "if you act now" ...

Nothing like the gov getting into the sales pitch, they are part owners you know.

You're right...almost like sleezy salesmen!

This government has become so good at making us feel like we have to act under pressure. Everything is hyped, rushed and thrown at us so quickly.

We're not dumb Congress. Seriously. We're not.

The whole thing is BS. It rewards people who bought Gas guzzlers and no one else.

Were you smart and not buy a car that gets less than 18 mpg? TOO BAD.

But Big Moe who bought that F350 or Dodge Ram that gets 6 MPG gets 4500 dollars.

BS.

Who cares if they use all the money up, isn't that what it is there for? To use?

Why are we hording stupid cash for clunkers money?

Im going to put a mod kit on my old hyundai tomorrow while I can LOL

Traded in my '94 Ford Explorer 4x4 for a '09 Jeep Compass 4x4 Tuesday, and got $8000 for 'Cash For Clunkers' ($4500 + $3500) and $500 for being military retired. Couldn't pass that up!

Had to fill out paperwork for GMAC at the Chrysler dealership.

Got financing through USAA Bank though. Got a .75% lower rate through them (5.24% vs 5.99%).

[edit on 7/30/09 by Ferris.Bueller.II]

Ever watch the movie, Uncle buck? John Cnady! His car in the movie, an old monte carlo? Looked like one..smopked like crazy, bet it got less than 12 MPG This article reminded me of it

Originally posted by Ferris.Bueller.II
Traded in my '94 Ford Explorer 4x4 for a '09 Jeep Compass 4x4 Tuesday, and got $8000 for 'Cash For Clunkers' ($4500 + $3500) and $500 for being military retired. Couldn't pass that up!

Dang!
Nice!
Can't blame ya there. Thanks for serving!

Originally posted by tjack
Dang!
Nice!
Can't blame ya there. Thanks for serving!

Thanks. Didn't even know about the retired military rebate until I was chatting with the salesman while he was filling out the paperwork.

July and August is traditionally when the manufactures start shipping out the next model year in this case 2010.

The real goal of the program will be to help New Car Dealers divest themselves of their 2009 inventory which because of the slow sales of to date brought on by the depressed economy and the frozen credit markets, the dealers themselves have been paying a small fortune in interest on the money they borrowed from banks and manufacture's credit arms to pay the factory for the cars when they were first shipped to them.

Ultimately to give the New Car Dealers a chance (This includes Domestic and Foreign Manufacturers) they have to rid themselves of their aging inventory which many misforecasted just how bad the economy would get and ended up with a far greater surplus of current model year cars at the end of the model year than they anticipated with the cost of financing the unsold inventory sitting on their lots eroding what if any profits they are making during these depressed market conditions.

A number of the deals made utilizing the 4,500.00 government rebate won't end up going through and will unravel in the next several days as dealership finance departments won't be able to obtain financing for all the people who traded in their cars up to this point.

They will run out the figures then to see how many 2009's are still sitting in dealer inventory and if it's still excessive they will bring back the program for a stated limited time only and only for the purchase of a 2009 model.

The goal will be to give dealers more or less a clean slate with an appropriate level of inventory forecasted with the continued decline of the economy and slow sales in mind so they can tighten their belts and cut their costs, streamline their operations and move forward to some kind of sustainable profitable position even though profits will likely be limited.

If you have an older car that gets less than 19 miles to the gallon and want to try to take advantage of the program still keep your eyes open for when they unsuspend it, look for it to probably run for a period of 5-7 days top.

Originally posted by Ferris.Bueller.II
Traded in my '94 Ford Explorer 4x4 for a '09 Jeep Compass 4x4 Tuesday, and got $8000 for 'Cash For Clunkers' ($4500 + $3500) and $500 for being military retired. Couldn't pass that up!

Had to fill out paperwork for GMAC at the Chrysler dealership.

Got financing through USAA Bank though. Got a .75% lower rate through them (5.24% vs 5.99%).

[edit on 7/30/09 by Ferris.Bueller.II]

That is awesome!

So, let me get this straight: You get the $4500 for the "clunker" AND you got money for the value of the car? I thought it was one or the other?!

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


Thats a pretty good take on it.

I never thought of it like that, but that actually seems to make the most sense.

I couldn't understand why they would do this otherwise (or have been doing this)

Originally posted by greeneyedleo
That is awesome!

So, let me get this straight: You get the $4500 for the "clunker" AND you got money for the value of the car? I thought it was one or the other?!

No. Chrysler had a 'Cash For Clunkers' matching offer that was based on the new vehicles value. So I got $4500 from Federal for buying a vehicle at least 5 MPG over my trade-in, plus $3500 matching from Chrysler.

Took her for a cruise yesterday, and she drives wonderfully!

reply to post by GreenBicMan


That's actually what they are doing, but to a 'bail out' weary public, putting a 'Green' spin on it is a nice touch.

The Government is always in sales!

The Government is also trying to find ways to enhance the perception of American cars now that they are part owners and to try to steer more consumers towards American products, generate some fresh sales and publicity from some consumers that CNN and FOX will likely tout rave reviews of the American cars they are purchasing.

The Government also can find an advantage there with skillfull marketing and publicity by making it look like it was government involvement in the Auto Industry that led to an uptick in quality, so people should be excited in the future as the Government moves into more areas of business that those businesses too will start offering a better quality product and value for the money.

Forgive me, Mom dropped me on my head once too often as a child and the resulting brain damage has caused me to suffer through life thinking like that Powers that Be do!

Sadly there is no medication for it!

Thanks Greenbic Man.

And these same people are telling us that their government healthcare will not cost too much, will be excellent care, and may lower the deficit? yeah right

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler


No, it makes sense totally.

Like its worth sacrificing 4500 dollars for 5 MPG especially when who knows how many xxxx pollutants are put into the air everyday.

Unless of course every driver did this all over the world and there was a scientific journal studying both these events for xxx amt. of years etc..

And hopefully we will not be in the car business for long.

This Gov't program was actually helping local auto dealers in my area. In fact, I was watching the local news earlier today, and they said many local dealerships were reporting excellent customer reaction to the program. A few even said that because of the program, their business was experiencing a boom. It figures, the one decent thing the Gov't spends money on, that helps the economy on a local level....gets scratched midstream. Thanks for the change Obama! It was almost discreet

reply to post by MadDogtheHunter


Well that is pushing it a bit (relating to the only thing helping middle america) but I am sure it somewhat helps at least short term business around town.

Just as another govt. plan (first time home buyers) would as well.

Makes me so confident and comfortable about this government with a new health care plan.

The decision to suspend the plan came after auto dealers warned the government today that it was in danger of losing track of how many trades had actually been made.

The plan offering owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more efficient vehicle has proven wildly popular, with 22,782 trades certified by federal officials since Monday. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told dealers Wednesday that a vast majority of transactions submitted were being rejected for incomplete or illegible paperwork.

www.freep.com... /90730081/Cash-for-clunkers-to-be-suspended" target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow">htt p://www.freep.com/article/20090730/BUSINESS01/90730081/Cash-for-clunkers-to-be-suspended

I wonder how many people could use a "clunker" to get a leg up?

More waste...

"The way the law reads, we have to crush them. So, we'll bring them in, drain them and get ready to crush them," said Michael Hibbs with Square Deal Auto Salvage.

Hibbs makes a living selling parts that are sometimes hard to find. He figures crushing 250,000 drivable cars will make good parts even harder to find.

"They'll still be plenty of cars for inventory, but they'll be harder to find parts, prices will skyrocket on those," said Michael Hibbs with Square Deal Auto Salvage.

www.newson6.com...