"Cash for Clunkers" wins over U.S. drivers, dealers

[Adsos Letter]

Source: Reuters
By Tim Gaynor

- Having driven the equivalent of six smoke-belching laps of the planet, Tony Metzler figured his aging Chevrolet Blazer SUV would not make a good trade for a new car. Until now that is.

With a $1 billion federal "Cash for Clunkers" program that pays consumers $3,500 or $4,500 in credit to swap aging gas-guzzlers for new, more fuel efficient models, he made the plunge.

"It ended up being right place, right time for me," said Metzler, 42, who traded his eight-year-old sport utility vehicle for a new Chevrolet Equinox this week. "It seemed like a good opportunity."

The program signed into law by President Barack Obama in June offers a trade-in credit of up to $4,500 to owners of cars built since 1984, with fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon or less.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE5683IA20090709

[spoony]

1. I really like this program

People are getting some help with a new car and maybe we can all breath easier in traffic.

[taterguy]

2. If breathing easier is the goal why are we promoting automobile usage?

Couldn't we spend that money on things like mass transit and making infrastructure more pedestrian friendly?

[spoony]

3. Mass transit

Nothing wrong with it. Why can't we do both? For what it's worth some money to replace or tune up the old smog-machine buses would be a good start.

[taterguy]

5. Because the program is like giving a problem drinker light beer

It's ok

It's less alcoholic than whiskey so don't worry about it.

[spoony]

6. Simplistic binary thinking should not be mixed with bad analogies.

It just compounds the duh factor. The rest of us, in the real world where cars are not going away any time soon, can promote both mass transit and replacing clunkers.

[Champion Jack]

8. Bravo

[Hello_Kitty]

18. An alcoholic switching from hard liquor to light beer would probably help

An all-or-nothing solution isn't necessarily the best way to deal with a problem.

[jmowreader]

16. "Tuning up" those smog machine buses won't do it

Buses like the one Sandra Bullock drove in Speed have two-stroke diesel engines in them, specifically the Detroit Diesel 6V53T. You can't make them NOT smoke. Changing the engine to something newer would be problematic because that engine is really little, and it sits sideways. Nothing I can think of would fit in the hole. Those you'd have to replace.

A newer bus that uses a larger engine could have a 2007 emissions engine (or a 2010 engine if you do the conversion after the first of the year) installed, because the bus is designed to hold it.

But yeah, if you're going to expand mass transit you're almost stuck with buses--figure the odds on getting rights-of-way for new rail lines.

[anonymous171]

20. Because not everyone lives in cities. nt

[lamp_shade]

4. K&Recommend

[Joanne98]

7. I got a clunker but not enough money for a new car.

[girl gone mad]

9. I think a lot of people are in that boat.

Mixed metaphor aside, I don't believe this program will be very effective in the long term. At best, it can push demand for new cars forward a few months or years. It can't create more demand out of thin air.

[dysfunctional press]

10. same here.

my van is on the list- but i just spent $1700 having the transmission rebuilt, because i couldn't afford to replace the vehicle with a new one, even if they gave me $4500 for it.

[Robb]

19. Me too. Also, turns out

...I can't use the $$ for a down payment on a 80 mpg motorcycle, which I could handle -- the payments on a grand or so (after $3500 from the clunker) would be reasonable. :)

[ContinentalOp]

11. Yay, so this guy bought another SUV that gets only 23mpg! Such progress!

:wtf:

[rateyes]

12. And, those of us who have older cars that good gas mileage go unrewarded

for our efforts. Isn't that how it always goes? I like the "cash for clunkers" program, but if I want to trade my 32 mpg car for a hybrid that gets 50, I would be doing more than the person who trades in a 17 mpg SUV for a 23 mpg SUV...but, the SUV driver gets the money.

Ah, well. Whoever said "life is fair?"

[FarCenter]

13. Equinox? Now he has a new clunker.

17 MPG city, 24 MPG highway.

Trade-in blue book value for a one year old Equinox is about half the new price.

[HOLOS]

14. good

[flvegan]

15. "...a 3mpg improvement..."

Money well spent. :eyes:

[Dappleganger]

17. We decided to keep our clunker...

Did a couple of things to it and now it runs perfectly, although it does need a paint job.
Gets around 26 mph around the city, is a safe older BMW so perfect for the kids to drive back and forth to class and work.

Sorry, we just can't afford to throw money at a new one right now (although we'd love to).