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Buck
Forum Admin
USA
5354 Posts |
 Posted - 08/03/2009 : 12:25:33 PM
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quote:
Cash for clunkers program may be running on empty
The government's popular "cash for clunkers" program may be running out of money after only a matter of days as car shoppers flock to dealerships to take advantage of the rebates.
The White House said Thursday it was assessing its options amid concerns the $1 billion budget for rebates for new car sales may have been depleted. The program officially began last week and has been heavily publicized by automakers and dealers.
Transportation Department officials called lawmakers earlier Thursday to alert them of plans to suspend the program as early as Friday. But a White House official said later the program had not been suspended and they were reviewing their options to keep the program funded.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said they were working to "assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program. Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid CARS transactions that have taken place to date will be honored."
Dubbed the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, the program offers owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle, in exchange for scrapping their old vehicle. Congress last month approved the plan to boost auto sales and remove some inefficient cars and trucks from the roads.
The program was scheduled to last through Nov. 1 or until the money ran out, but few predicted it would be depleted in days. Through late Wednesday, 22,782 vehicles had been purchased through CARS and nearly $96 million had been spent.
But dealers raised concerns about large backlogs in the processing of the deals in the government system. A survey of 2,000 dealers by the National Automobile Dealers Association found about 25,000 deals had not yet been approved by the government, or nearly 13 trades per store. Read More - Yahoo News
And some of you want to put them in charge of health care?
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians. |
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Rumor Runner
Active Poster
USA
238 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2009 : 10:16:58 PM
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This entire program annoys me greatly. I appreciate their willingness to help the failing automotive industry; but did they really think the funding would last through November? Missed that mark by...gee...hmm.. I don't know...'bout 3 months?
I think this says that American's are interested in new cars. They WANT to buy new vehicles. They WILL buy new vehicles if the prices are right and the rebates and discounts are high enough. The days of us shelling out $45,000 for a vehicle are over just like the days of auto workers making $100,000 a year. We can cry about it. We can complain about it...but the truth is that those days are over and someone needs to share that news with our government  No disrespect to auto workers...because we all feel their pain. However, those salaries and those of the CEO's are what forced me to dip into my own pocket and pay too much for my last few vehicles.
The RUMOR RUNNER attempts to verify and chase down a variety of rumors in and around St. Joseph County. |
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Buck
Forum Admin
USA
5354 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2009 : 12:47:47 PM
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Yup. Apparently Upton doesn't agree though:
Upton praises House approval of measure to redirect unspent stimulus funds for 'Cash for Clunkers'
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians. |
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cuzimrite
Frequent Poster
885 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2009 : 3:04:54 PM
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| All I know is that the wife left last Friday with our (my) truck, and came home with an '07 Chevy HHR from Cole's. Nice car. Kinda like a beefed-up PT Cruiser. |
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Buck
Forum Admin
USA
5354 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2009 : 12:12:27 PM
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SOS helps "Cash for Clunkers" buyers.
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians. |
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Buck
Forum Admin
USA
5354 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 11:22:13 AM
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Upton applauds Senate approval of more money for "Cash for Clunkers" program.
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians. |
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Buck
Forum Admin
USA
5354 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2009 : 2:39:09 PM
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quote:
NY dealers say unpaid Cash for Clunkers claims mounting, prompting many to pull out of program
Hundreds of auto dealers in the New York area have withdrawn from the governments Cash for Clunkers program, citing delays in getting reimbursed by the government, a dealership group said Wednesday.
The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, which represents dealerships in the New York metro area, said about half its 425 members have left the program because they cannot afford to offer more rebates. Theyre also worried about getting repaid.
(The government) needs to move the system forward and they need to start paying these dealers, said Mark Schienberg, the groups president. This is a cash-dependent business.
The program offers up to $4,500 to shoppers who trade in vehicles getting 18 mpg or less for a more fuel-efficient car or truck. Dealers pay the rebates out of pocket, then must wait to be reimbursed by the government. But administrative snags and heavy paperwork have created a backlog of unpaid claims. Read More - Breaking News 24/7
This is why I don't want these people mucking around with health care. They cannot even get something as simple as a reimbursement plan right. What a joke.
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians. |
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Buck
Forum Admin
USA
5354 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2009 : 9:07:52 PM
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Dealers stiffed as clunkers pile up. Its only cars now. Just wait until it is health care.
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians. |
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lovinlife
Member
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2009 : 11:28:35 PM
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The fiasko of what they are doing with these traded in vehicles is unreal! For a party of people who are so hell bent on "helping" people, why don't they sell the traded in cars for a small fee to those who otherwise couldn't afford a vehicle? Instead they are putting metal shavings in the oil pan and running the engines till they blow up and then hauling them off to the scrap yard. Doesn't sound very environmentally friendly to me. Alot of these vehicles aren't even that old. And the fuel efficency story isn't jiving. The cars that they are selling aren't 35mpg. Most are around 25mpg and trucks don't even have to get better gas milleage.
How's Fred going to explain this to his 6th district buddies in a year from now?
Lord help us when they do the same with health care. Next thing we know there will be a cash for grannies grant to well,... that's a whole other forum. |
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amazon
Member
54 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 08:21:40 AM
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Passing along an NPR bit heard recently: the cash infusion should go toward solar and wind power--both prohibitively expensive in their infancy and with potential to create new industry AND get us off coal. The commentator said that C4Clunkers is just pushing need forward--we'll replace our cars eventually, this just forces the issue. Meanwhile, getting solar panels on a home costs about half the value of the home (!) and we have miles of coastline in MI suited for wind power.
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cuzimrite
Frequent Poster
885 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 09:54:04 AM
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This is where so many of Obama's detractors drift away from the double purpose of the CARS program. We traded our '94 F-150, which on a good day got 12 MPG, for an '07 Chevy HHR that gets over 28 MPG. Had they just allowed someone to buy my old truck, it would have just perpetuated our dependence on oil. While it disturbs me that my truck got shredded, I can see that it is for the better good. This is not just another govt. giveaway. This provides a beginning for getting high mileage vehicles off the road. The fact that the funds are slow in getting to the dealers, only speaks to the success of the program.
Yes, new technologies are expensive in the beginning. I could remind everyone that the first color tv's for wide consumer use were over $500.00...1950's dollars. The costs will eventually drop as the use rises to a level of mass consumption. Just my two cents. |
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Buck
Forum Admin
USA
5354 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 10:39:14 AM
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From the consumers point of view it is a success, at least in the short term. I just hope that we are not repeating the mistakes made in the housing market. By that I mean encouraging loans to people who can not afford them over the long term. The other issue is that, in reality, they are only robbing from future sales for short term results. The net effect to the economy is probably a wash. I will give you that they are moving people to more fuel efficient cars earlier then it would naturally happen but I personally don't care about that. If people want to pay more to fill their tank they should be able to do so.
An of course the program was popular. Whenever the government offers people "free anything" the people are going to respond. Its common sense to anyone not in government. I am more concerned with the absolute abysmal way that the government planned for it and then managed it. As I have already stated I think this is case and point of why we should not trust the government to manage health care.
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians. |
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Buck
Forum Admin
USA
5354 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2009 : 10:09:06 PM
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quote:
Cash for Clunkers Results Finally In: Taxpayers Paid $24,000 per Vehicle Sold, Reports Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. October 28, 2009 Edmunds.com, the premier resource for online automotive information, has determined that Cash for Clunkers cost taxpayers $24,000 per vehicle sold.
Nearly 690,000 vehicles were sold during the Cash for Clunkers program, officially known as CARS, but Edmunds.com analysts calculated that only 125,000 of the sales were incremental. The rest of the sales would have happened anyway, regardless of the existence of the program.
Ironically, the average transaction price for a new vehicle in August 2009 was only $26,915 minus an average cash rebate of $1,667.
"This analysis is valuable for two reasons," explained Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. "First, it can form the basis for a complete assessment of the program's impact and costs. Secondand more importantit can help us to understand the true state of auto sales and the economy. For example, October sales are up, but without Cash for Clunkers, sales would have been even better. This suggests that the industry's recovery is gaining momentum."
Source: Edmunds.com
Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians. |
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Cash for clunkers program may be running on empty
