U.S. Cash-for-Clunkers deal reportedly nearing congressional compromise
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on Apr 24th 2009 at 1:27PM 
It's looking increasingly likely that the United States will soon have its own Cash-for-Clunkers program. According to The Detroit News, two bills are currently competing for Congressional votes, and while they would both offer sizable rewards for turning in older vehicles, they vary in what new cars and trucks would qualify for the program.
One bill, sponsored by Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) would give the largest voucher – up to $5,000 – to purchasers of new vehicles made in the United States. Slightly smaller amounts would be granted for other vehicles made in the rest of North America, and no cash would be granted for the purchase of foreign-made cars. All cars would need to manage at least 27 mpg to qualify, and trucks would need to hit at least 24 mpg.
The other bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Israel (D-New York), would offer up to $4,500 for the purchase of a new vehicle, assuming that the vehicle being traded-in gets 18 mpg or less, and the new vehicle's fuel efficiency is at least 25% better than average for its class. No distinction would be made based on the vehicle's country of origin.
According to Rep. Israel, the two sides are 90% of the way to an acceptable compromise. Even after an agreement is reached on a final bill, policymakers will need to figure out how to come up with the (up to) $4 billion that the program is expected to cost – not to mention how to handle the resulting lot-fuls of so-called clunkers.
[Source: The Detroit News | Image:: dave_7, CC2]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
From My Cube 1:33PM (4/24/2009)
oh i hope they go the 5k route...ill be waltzing my butt right into a ford fusion hybrid if they do!
i wonder if it will be a tax rebate (boo) or you get a check in the mail for 5k
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Brent 3:58PM (4/24/2009)
If this is truly about reducing pollution and oil use, then I should get $5,000 for trading my Neon into to get a scooter or motorcycle that will beat a hybrid in mileage.
Jared 9:57PM (4/24/2009)
I love how the government still wants to hand money out before it has a positive way to bring it in. And people want congress to run wallstreet? Sheesh.
tekd 2:01AM (4/25/2009)
I'm gonna be really pissed if the 18mpg requirement for your existing vehicle stays...seems really warped to be giving people who went and bought an Escalade $5000 free while penalizing everyone else.
I'm all for the requirement that the new car be fairly efficient and made in the US, but otherwise I'm gonna be really angry that people who drive huge luxo-barges get a tax credit while anybody who bought a Civic or an Aveo gets nothing.
I'd be happy if it includes my parents car though, they need a new one fairly badly and money's pretty tight so 5 grand would be a huge help.
Josh 1:37PM (4/24/2009)
This is a horrible way to waste money and guarantee no car becomes a classic. These lawmakers are using "green" for an excuse to ruin everything.
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Taglane 1:38PM (4/24/2009)
I don't think they're forcing you to turn in your vehicle.
Luis 1:45PM (4/24/2009)
Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
mk 2:05PM (4/24/2009)
No, but they may be crushing my future parts car.
I want to buy a Subaru SVX. There were only 15,000 of them imported, and they were unique, and shared comparatively few parts with other Subarus, and almost none with other cars outside of Subaru.
Why would I buy an SVX if I know that all of the used-part sources are crushed, because people took my money to buy other cars via government taxes, to pay for a newer car. Subaru is no longer making parts, they are getting scarce, and Subaru doesn't make newer coupes for me to choose from.
Now extrapolate that to OTHER cars that might be similarly rare, and scarce to find parts for...
But more fundamentally, why should I be asked to pay more taxes, or suffer more pending future inflation, for the government to pay other people for their old cars?
The government is also funding GM and Chrysler, including GM's new "confidence" scheme... or should I say con game.
And they are bailing out people's mortages, except for the people I know who are going bankrupt due to medical costs, and losing their home... the husband and father in that household is chronically ill, but still working, and making too much money to qualify.
So they take my money away, so I can't buy the car I want, and can't afford to help my friends, family, or anyone else charitably, as well... and it all gets funnelled through a socialist wasteful government, and they get rich for undermining the foundations of a free country.
it is going to get to the point where if I can't beat them, I'll join them. I want my government car, my government house, and my government this, that, and the other thing... less people earning and contributing, and more people collecting and sapping from them...
GET THE POINT YET? THIS NEVER ENDS WELL, and this is just a symptom of a larger flesh-eating, possibly terminal disease.
sith33 2:30PM (4/24/2009)
@mk - just get the svx. It's worth it. '92 LS-L, silver, no spoiler.
LMBVette 2:31PM (4/24/2009)
@mk
I have an idea of how you avoid your SVX quandry.....don't buy an obscure 12+ year old Japanese car! LOL
This bill is two-pronged:
1) Give a monetary reason for people to buy a new American made car (Hondas and Toyotas count too).
2) It takes old cars which are less safe (structurally and wear-wise) and presumably less efficient and higher polluting off the road.
I'm all for both of these things if it will keep people building cars in this country (domestic or not) employed.
tankd0g 12:35AM (4/25/2009)
"GET THE POINT YET? THIS NEVER ENDS WELL"
Except in Germany where it's working great.
And guess what? The SVX was a piece of crap but if you insist on owning one, there's plenty of parts available in Japan.
Anthony 4:16AM (4/29/2009)
Taking SEMA's view aren't we?
N..... Please!
That will not happen. What is "Classic" about some of hunks of junk on our roads now?
Like you really wanna save ANY mid 80's Chevy out there! C'mon, how many Fox bodied Mustangs did Ford build? Too many to keep straight, there enough "examples" out there for the history books and museums.
Any 90's spec cars you really want to keep around? Lumina Z34 maybe??? SHO Taurus? Okay those will likely not get traded in, but please if a few do, SO WHAT!
I mean the people that still own Calis 442's will KEEP them.
Again, most Cavi's and Escorts are rolling junk piles, why not crush MOST of them???
Next thing you'll be telling me is that poor people won't have cheap used cars to purchase. Why not bump the min wage up to $15.00 so they can afford a new/er car to start with???
Really some people I just can't stand and so short sighted they need to keep their botched opinions to themselves.
DJ 1:41PM (4/24/2009)
If you ever needed proof that members of the US Congress are the biggest dumbasses on the planet, this it!
A majority of GM, Ford and Chrysler vehicles that meet the mileage requirement are made in Canada or Mexico. So how does this help save or create American jobs?
The most vehicles actually made by US workers meeting the mileage requirements come from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai, but it looks like these will be exempted.
What a bunch of IDIOT!
Just send every taxpayer a check for $3500 and let them do what they want. Buy a car, pay off debt, down payment to buy a house, buy appliances, whatever. Just stop micromanaging our lives.
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Luis 1:46PM (4/24/2009)
Because rebate checks worked last year, right? Give it a rest man.
Cash for clunkers has worked in every country it's been implemented. It will work here too.
Throwback 2:08PM (4/24/2009)
Good points DJ.
I like this line, "Even after an agreement is reached on a final bill, policymakers will need to figure out how to come up with the (up to) $4 billion that the program is expected to cost "
How about cutting spending? I know too radical an idea.
BoxerFanatic 2:19PM (4/24/2009)
Why not just let people keep their money in the first place?
Collecting, and then re-giving back the money, COSTS money, and giving it back to other people is wealth re-distribution, by it's definition.
You said it, they are a bunch of idiots. I agree. But why give them money, to give it back, or to spend on someone else?
I can give my money away just fine, in a sense of charity. I don't need the government to give it to someone else for me. Government charity is not charity at all, it is theft. IRS comes with the point of a law-enforcement gun, and steals it from you, before you even see it most of the time.
Cash for clunkers is a PONZI SCHEME. Just as much as Social Security, or B. Madoff. The first people get their money, until the money runs out, and then everyone else loses. That just hasn't gone to the end of the line in other countries. It doesn't work permanently, ever.
And throwback, You have the beginnings of the right idea, but this is a program that is not part of the government's enumerated powers, and should be cut. So why pass it in the first place? This is part of the tripe that the government shouldn't be involving itself in.
There is already a market mechanism, it is called a used car dealership, or a salvage yard, depending on the car's condition. They perform a service, by sorting through reclaimable equipment, or scrapping what is not reclaimable. They will pay people what their older cars are worth, based on what they can reclaim, or re-sell.
Government involvement and subsidy is going to screw everything up, and cost us to do it. That is what they almost ALWAYS do. Government is the PROBLEM, not the solution.
Edsel 1:45PM (4/24/2009)
"....policymakers will need to figure out how to come up with the (up to) $4 billion that the program is expected to cost..."
Easy! Simply print more money. Make those money presses work 24x7, push'em hard, don't let up for one instance, print, print, print.....
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BigWill 2:16PM (4/24/2009)
They shouldn't even bother with presses. Just give every American a color printer and a USB drive loaded with a PDF of a $100 bill. Same effect but much more efficient
Jake 1:45PM (4/24/2009)
So, our out-of-control, broke and incomptent government is not only going to pay money that we don't have for this, but the knuckle-heads in DC also think that they know better than us what products we should buy and want to coerse/bribe us into doing what they want us to do.
Who voted for these people? I personally can't see how any member of congress who got re-elected last year should have gotten one vote. I didn't vote for my lousy Republican Senator who voted for TARP. Geeze.
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Luis 1:48PM (4/24/2009)
The money will probably come out of TARP.
I'd much rather see them give money to consumers who want to get into newer more efficient cars than the automakers.