'Cash for Clunkers' May Be Out of Gas

[greg1]

http://news.aol.com/article/cash-for...-out-of/597439

WASHINGTON (July 31) — 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.
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Vyto Starinskas, Rutland Herald/AP
Congressional officials said Thursday that the government would suspend its "cash for clunkers" program because it was in danger of running out of cash, but the White House later said it was looking for ways to keep the program afloat. In this July 27 photo, a Springfield, Vt., car dealer promotes the program by dumping a car in a trash bin.

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AOL Autos: 'Cash for Clunkers' Resources
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."
On Friday, Michigan Sen. Carl Levin said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood assured him that the program will be good at least through Friday, but nothing was certain beyond that.
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.
It suggested that with about 23,000 dealers taking part in the program, car dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program.
"There's a significant backlog of 'cash for clunkers' deals that make us question how much funding is still available in the program," said Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the dealers association.
The reports that the CARS program could be suspended created confusion among many dealers, who had showrooms filled with car shoppers looking to scrap their gas guzzlers.
Alan Helfman, general manager of River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston, said he was worried that the government wouldn't pay for some of his clunker deals. His dealership has completed paperwork on about 20 sales under the program, but in some cases the titles haven't been obtained yet or the vehicles aren't on his lot.
"There's no doubt I'm going to get hammered on a deal or two," Helfman said.
The clunkers program was set up to boost U.S. auto sales and help struggling automakers through the worst sales slump in more than a quarter-century. Sales for the first half of the year were down 35 percent from the same period in 2008, and analysts are predicting only a modest recovery during the second half of the year.
So far this year, sales are running under an annual rate of 10 million light vehicles, but as recently as 2007, automakers sold more than 16 million cars and light trucks in the United States.
Lawmakers said they would try to find additional funding for the program, which under the legislation could grow to $4 billion for the funding of up to 1 million new car sales.
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who developed the legislation, said he would work with the Obama administration to keep the program going "until it reaches its goal of helping consumers take 1 million gas guzzlers off the road."
Others suggested using unspent economic stimulus funding. "I can think of no better use for unspent stimulus dollars that are gathering dust than financing 'Cash for Clunkers,'" said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich. Michigan lawmakers planned to meet on Friday to discuss the program.
Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said they would work with "the congressional sponsors and the administration to quickly review the results of the initiative."
General Motors Co. spokesman Greg Martin said the automaker hoped "there's a will and way to keep the CARS program going a little bit longer."

[greg2]

The government's popular "cash for clunkers" program may be running out of money after only a matter of days

not
surprising

[1gerg]

Obama just set aside another 2 billion to keep it going. Me thinks it is a racist program. White upper and middle class that normally buy the new cars do not have clunkers to trade in

[Garth]

I asked you this question in the AIG thread but in case you missed it ..........

?sdrawkcab tleps 1gerg si eman ruoy yhw nosaer ralucitrap yna ereht sI


?kniht uoy t'nod tcepsus tib elttil A

[Seamus Lab]

Obama just set aside another 2 billion to keep it going. Me thinks it is a racist program. White upper and middle class that normally buy the new cars do not have clunkers to trade in

abhorrent, abusive, offensive

[Garth]

Obama just set aside another 2 billion to keep it going. Me thinks it is a racist program. White upper and middle class that normally buy the new cars do not have clunkers to trade in

This coming from the same person who said this:

Obama is this century's greatest Democrat President. Please give him a chance. He has 3 1/2 more years to show us what he can REALLY do.

Me thinks we have another troll in our midst.

[Pontiac]

trolls are all around, it has gotten so bad around here you do not even need to troll for trolls to get one.

perhaps we need both a spam moderator and a greg moderator. I know there are programs to remove spam, does anyone know if there is a program to remove gregs. might want to make sure it removes gregory's also, one of them is more than likely going to rear it's ugly head soon. although it may be hard to tell a head from an ass on a greg. no offense ment to a legitimate greg of course.

[krisinme]

I got in on the cash for clunkers. We had two old suv's. A 99 expedition and a 96 explorer. The explorer was not going to pass inspection this year. Since I went back to school full time and I am not working full time this summer in a seasonal restaurant we dumped the explorer. I drive about 50 miles each way to school a day. The money I spent on gas now goes towards a car payment. Did I buy what I wanted? No not really. I went for the smart car. A 09 Hyundai Accent stripped down 5 speed. My cost after the clunker? 6400.00 Yes a new car for less than a good used one. It is the commuter vehicle and I never ever would have bought a new car. EVER! I think in this case the cash for clunkers hit it's target market. People who don't like to have things on credit and are careful with where they spend thier money.. Ohh btw. We are a white middleclass family.

[Seamus Lab]

$6400.00 for a brand new car. Amazing deal. Lots of luck with it.