The Car Allowance Rebate System — better known by its nickname “Cash for Clunkers” — got underway yesterday with many auto dealers holding out high hopes that it could spurn better times. As expected, reviews for the program have been mixed.
We’ve compiled some of the up-to-date news about the C.A.R.S. program, with links and excerpts below. Additionally, to find out the list of dealers participating in the “Cash for Clunkers” program, follow the link to CARS.gov dealer locator.
As Cash for Clunkers Starts, Dealers Hope to Clear Lots — (Time Magazine)
After many months of agonizingly slow sales, automakers and dealers are anxiously counting on the cash-for-clunkers program, getting under way officially on July 27, to help clear their lots.
They’ve got good reason to be nervous. With sales running at less than 10 million units annually — the lowest level in more than three decades — there is still a mountain of inventory sitting with dealers around the U.S. despite deep cuts in production, not only by the bankrupt General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC, but also by companies such as Toyota, Ford and Nissan.
Auto recyclers leery of cash for clunkers – (AP)
Not all auto recyclers are relishing the government’s new cash for clunkers program, which requires car dealers to destroy the gas-guzzlers they get as trade-ins from new car buyers.
Used engines and drive trains are a big part of recyclers’ income from each scrapped car, and under the federal program those engines must be destroyed. The idea is to promote fuel efficiency and help automakers, but it comes at a time when more than a dozen U.S. auto parts suppliers have filed for bankruptcy this year.
“Why throw away good parts when the supply chain is in jeopardy? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” said Michael Wilson, executive vice president of the Automotive Recyclers Association based in Manassas, Va.
One website that is providing consistent coverage and information about the program is CashForClunkersFacts.com. There, you can read stories regarding the potential for the program to run out of money by August 1st, as well as a discussion of some consumers’ frustration with fuel economy data.
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