Cash For Clunkers = Fail ?

Okay, please forgive me for stating the obvious

AP reports Cash for Clunkers mainly used to trade for vehicles that barely get better gas mileage than the "clunker" they traded in -
AP news story

Our tax dollars hard at work again!

How does this make you feel?

reply to post by Signals


I don't think that the cash for clunkers deal was ment to persuade people into buying so called greener cars but to help keep the car factories in business.

reply to post by colec156


I think it was meant to do both things-

* help the environment
* stimulate the economy

Ironic it accomplished neither?

and it actually hurt the poor

all the cars traded in had to be scrapped,,,, can't be resold
\
so that 1998 honda that someone traded in can't be bought for a college kid,,, or someone who owns a 1986 ford escort and wanted a newer,,, better car can't upgrade

they temporarily killed the used car business,,,,, think of the amount of people who buy used cars,,,,,,,,,, millions



also,,,, i'm to broke and scared to buy a new car right now,,,,, but i helped pay for someone else to get a new car,,,, because essentially we're all paying the bill for this

i guess we're spreading the wealth,,,right,, i'm just on the wrong end of it


couldn't they have lowered the income tax across the board so everyone would benefit

instead again our gov't picked winners and losers

October U.S. Sales Rose at GM, Ford

General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. led the way, posting increases compared with October 2008, when sales were depressed by the financial crisis on Wall Street.

Chrysler Group LLC, which has struggled to jump-start sales since exiting bankruptcy reorganization, saw its sales fall 30% in the month. Sales were flat at Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

Auto makers sold 838,052 new cars and light trucks, according to Autodata Corp. That's just 104 fewer than in October 2008, but up 12% from the previous month, when September's sales plunged following the end of the U.S. government's "cash for clunkers" rebate program.

October Auto Sales: Ford sales rise 3 percent

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday its October sales rose 3 percent as the popular F-Series pickup truck helped the company boost its estimated market share to more than 15 percent.

BY THE NUMBERS: Sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles climbed to 132,483 vehicles sold last month. U.S. sales of vehicles produced by Swedish carmaker Volvo, which Ford owns, climbed 19.4 percent to 4,437.

Year to date, sales of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles fell 20.4 percent to 1.66 million vehicles, while Volvo sales declined 19.7 percent to 51,166 vehicles.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Thanks for the research Slayer, it appears the program did what was intended. What's going to keep propping up the automakers, though? Another bailout?

I've got to agree with shortywarn as well....recently I lost my job and had to get rid of my '07 nice ride and get a cash car, a '95 4runner.....The pickens were slim for me I believe due to the cash for clunkers....

I still find it ironic that those who took advantage chose cars that weren't really that more efficient.

Clunker' data show pickup-for-pickup trades

The single most common swap — which occurred more than 8,200 times — involved Ford F150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford F150s. They were 17 times more likely to buy a new F150 than, say, a Toyota Prius. The fuel economy for the new trucks ranged from 15 mpg to 17 mpg based on engine size and other factors, an improvement of just 1 mpg to 3 mpg over the clunkers.

Owners of thousands more large, old Chevrolet and Dodge pickups bought new Silverado and Ram trucks, also with only barely improved mileage in the middle teens, according to AP's analysis of sales of $15.2 billion worth of vehicles at nearly 19,000 car dealerships in every state. Those deals helped the Ford F150 and Chevy Silverado — along with Ford's Escape midsize SUV — climb into the Top 10 most-popular vehicles purchased with the government rebates. The most common truck-for-truck and truck-for-SUV deals totaled at least $911 million.

news.yahoo.com...

Guzzler for a guzzler and no car payment for a shiny new car payment. Great Program. Glad I kept my vehicle and still don't have a car payment. $24000.00 per car!!

i simply will never grasp what it's like to always be pissed off at the world



Cash For Clunkers worked.

It didnt kill the used car business.
It did help the auto industry

It put a lot of new cars on the road that got "better" gas mileage, that didn't leak oil, etc etc.

It helped a lot of people.

Want proof?

they ran out of money.

There's your proof. Enough people had crap old cars that needed trading in, so they did, and poof....they have new cars.

You are projecting false expectations for the program...intentions it was never designed to achieve...

In order to achieve the things of which some people in this thread are talking about- the government would have to spell it out line for line

"If you trade in a Chrysler, you get a ford, if you trade in a ford, you get a Chevy" and they all have to be from this line up and this color, etc etc etc



then....after it met your current expectations, you'd complain that it was too intrusive and the government made all the decisions for you.

Lighten up. Going through life this angry could result in a heart attack.

Are you sure it's me that's angry?



I am glad we still live in a country where people such as yourself have the right to support helping your neighbor get a new ride.....and one that isn't anymore efficient than their old one! Seriously....you can support that, and that's fine with me.

Try losing your job and having your finances crumble, then looking around for a cash car and realizing they're all being sent to the car crusher!

Do you seriously think this will have a long term positive effect on our automakers? We shouldn't have had ANY bailouts and you know it...we should have let the weak companies sink before we all go down with them.

And my heart is doing just fine, thanks for asking.

IMO anybody who thought things thou in a rational manner would conclude that the Cash For Clunkers is a conspiracy against low income earners if not an extension of the bailouts . Cars that low income people can afford have been taken off the road and for those who were silly enough to sign up with the program are struck with a tax bill and Car payments they likely can't afford .

Originally posted by xpert11
IMO anybody who thought things thou in a rational manner would conclude that the Cash For Clunkers is a conspiracy against low income earners if not an extension of the bailouts . Cars that low income people can afford have been taken off the road and for those who were silly enough to sign up with the program are struck with a tax bill and Car payments they likely can't afford .

You do realize that these cars that were traded in -- were owned by low income people...right?

I highly doubt that a CEO who drives a Lexus, and makes 500,000 a year, traded in a 1982 Pontiac Grand Am.

And not all "cheap cars" were eligible for the trade in.

I see this so often from the right wing these days. You have totally misused facts, and left out other facts, in order to obtain your story.

But anyone who thinks things through in a rational manner, would have the short term memory to know that you're spreading lies in an effort to detract.

Is this intentional? Doesn't matter.

[edit on 9-11-2009 by Snarf]

Originally posted by Snarf
You do realize that these cars that were traded in -- were owned by low income people...right?

Of course I do .
What is your point ?

I highly doubt that a CEO who drives a Lexus, and makes 500,000 a year, traded in a 1982 Pontiac Grand Am.

Yeah but they could use fraudulent logic to claim an increase in sales ,

And not all "cheap cars" were eligible for the trade in.

Well the scram had to have some terms and conditions to make it look good.

Is this intentional? Doesn't matter.

Sure I use logic intentionally clearly you don't .

Epic failure just like the majority of their schemes.