Comments on: Will a Cash-for-Clunkers Program Work?

U.S. Program Has Many More Restrictions than its Successful Counterpart in Germany

[lawyertom1]

If the function of the program is to get polluting, gas guzzling cars off the road, the concept is good. If the function is to get hi mileage, low pollution cars on the road, the program is deeply flawed. If you want to have a real impact, then any car getting 20 mpg should be included in the program, and the requirement should be the purchase of a car getting a least 35 mpg. Make it count; make it effective. Afterall, it is my tax dollars that are subsidizing this farce.

[despido]

Actually, the 'sub-prime' auto loan business is huge in this country, and growing. Has been around for many years.
by iam4honesty July 12, 2009 7:41 AM PDT
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Government sponsored, with tax payer money?

Not til Obama took over the banking system (GMAC is now a bank with government provided capital) and Barney demanded a reduction in established loan requirments.

[iam4honesty]

Actually, the 'sub-prime' auto loan business is huge in this country, and growing. Has been around for many years.

Haven't been paying attention, huh despido?

[despido]

It's a great idea if done properly, this is not. My '96 and my old work truck don't qualify - and I was looking to replace them. No incentive there.

This is a thinly diguised bribe to lure buyers into government prescibed vehicles. Next come limitations on mileage through factory installed GPS units, then will come the government issued 'use permits' allowing where you might venture.
Strange but true... Barney Frank has pushed to have auto loan requirements reduced (sub-prime auto loans). Haven't paid attention, huh Barney?

I'm only surprised they don't limit it to American made vehicles - like Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mazda, Suzuki, etc.... not those made in Mexico or Canada, like Ford & GM.

[iam4honesty]

Actually, the 'sub-prime' auto loan business is huge in this country, and growing. Has been around for many years.

Haven't been paying attention, huh despido?

[despido]

Actually, the 'sub-prime' auto loan business is huge in this country, and growing. Has been around for many years.
by iam4honesty July 12, 2009 7:41 AM PDT
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Government sponsored, with tax payer money?

Not til Obama took over the banking system (GMAC is now a bank with government provided capital) and Barney demanded a reduction in established loan requirments.

[CitizenMikeM]

Paranoia

[willow0313]

HoHum...........Guess my caddy doesn't qualify...

[iam4honesty]

You obviously can't read, nor can you reason. It says clearly that the vehicle must be newer than 25 years old, and must be registered to the current owner for at least one year. And, yes, genius, it will benefit the car manufacturers, their employees, the companies who provide the items that those employees buy with their paychecks, and the employees of THOSE companies, and on and on. It's called stimulating the economy.

[xlib]

o_the_potus-or should you say totus??
More tax give aways to the "rich". Wow, you sure are a student of the thug in charge.
Try thinking for just a second and tell us how giving people who can't afford a new "green"car now money that amounts to a down payment on a new government approved "green" car. Just how will they make the payments?? Ever thought that far, libtard?
See, do a bit of history research and see how well it worked for fannie & freddie and sub prime loans for mortgages.
BTW-your thug administration is now pushing for fannie & freddie to make money more available for mortgages. You libs never learn.
'

[xlib]

Well, golly, sure it will work cause that's the word the msm and this thug administration will put out. AND, if for some reason it doesn't work and is so obvious that even the most rabid lemmings see it, they'll blame the Republicans! See how easy that is.
So, we'll put the used car dealers out of business, no problem! Besides, they're probably conservatives anyway.
Then, we'll give the money to those who drive the administrations so called "clunkers" money to put down on one of the government motors cars. Chances are there will be many defaults on the car loans and guess what! We'll have the same thing as the subprime debacle brought to us by fannie and freddie, thanks to the Community Reinvestment Acts of the 70's & 90's.
So, the thugs in power need to tell us how people who can't afford one of the "green" cars now are going to afford one after they have a down payment thanks to the thug in charge? Just how will that work?

[Aldymac]

It never ceases to amase me about the liberals, once they have a response down pat thats all they know.

[bobnjersey]

[So, the thugs in power need to tell us how people who can't afford one of the "green" cars now are going to afford one after they have a down payment thanks to the thug in charge? Just how will that work? ]

it works like this:

- you crawl back in your hole
- with the next proposal you crawl back out of your hole
- you broadbrush everything to outline anyone who doesn't think like you as 'a thug'
- you crawl back in your hole
- repeat

[pepperwood2]

Car buyers who qualify received $3,500 or $4,500 towards a new car.

Typical Bureaucratic Scheme - Like owning your own home. All the future Cap & Trade, Sales Taxes, Closure charges, Etc. Sometimes the best deals or buys are the ones you don't make.

If they like though I can take my old clunker to my local Auto Dealership that we bailed out, they can give me the cash, I'll help to save the planet by keeping my paid off clunker. No sense polluting the environment refining & mining our planets resources to build new clunkers. I'll be happy to use the cash, after taxes on it, to help stimulate the BO economy. So Sad, The American Scheme they call it eh!

[TrickynWV]

My old 1996 is a clunker, but its paid for, AND my WV personal property taxes on it are about $16 a year. Compared to property taxes on a brand new truck valued at $30,000 which would be approximately $585 a year. THANKS BUT NO THANKS. I'm sick and tired of paying taxes on something that I have already bought with income that was taxed, sales taxed at the time of purchase (5%), and then to CONTINUED to be taxed for the privilege of owning it? Again, NO THANKS.

[PatDaddy67]

Hey, it's your state. Get involved and fix the problem. You need to talk to this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Eyman

[sjc_1]

In Germany it works because they have good paying union jobs. The auto union at VW and Mercedes is much stronger than the UAW. They pay well, so the workers can buy new cars.

[Newster1]

payasyougo
So if you are planning on buying a new car, first go out and buy an 84 v8 bronco or any of the large PU trucks that are for sale ragged out for less than $500. Then use that $500 vehicle to get a $3500-$4500 CARS cash bonus."

That little scam is EXACTLY why the program rules state you have to be the owner of that car for at least one YEAR, license and insure it for one year, and it has to be newer than '84 and driving.

That prevents idiots from trying to rip the program off by buying a used car cheap that doesnt even run and 2 days later trade it in.

WHat a stupid program anyway, get a whopping $3500 allowance on an over priced P.O.S. $25,000 car made by one of th US companies going or gone bankrupt, that is made to last at best 5 years, with paper thin sheet metal that rusts thru, recalls galore', needing expensive full coverage insurance... wow what a deal!

What I want them to explain is why my '82 civic got 38 MPG, and whose special head valve system even today meets stringent air pollution standards, and yet today- more than 25 years later we still build a car that barely gets 38 MPG if even that much!!

After 25 years we should be getting 100 MPG!!


So for a little work you can make 3-4k towards the purchase of that new vehicle that you were going to buy anyway.

[PatDaddy67]

I want to know why GM/Suzuki quit making the GEO Metro. I regularly got 40+ MPG on the highway. The car was easy and cheap to maintain and more efficient that the current hybrids. It really is a flippin' joke! The cars the need to be off the road are the smokin' oil burners that all the meth heads up here in North Idaho are driving around. The gas mileage of an 81 Honda may not be too bad, but the oil mileage is terrible.

[tmittelstaed]

The only thing that really sucks about the cash-4-clunkers program is that they should have only made the vouchers available for GM and Chrysler, so that those companies could more quickly become profitable and the government could then get rid of it's ownership in them.

[tmittelstaed]

They know about the used market. The hope is that if the people with money who can afford a new car take advantage of the cash-for-clunker program, that will take them out of the used car market - thus reducing prices of used cars, bringing them into affordable range of the really poor people in the country who couldn't afford a new car even with the money from cash 4 clunkers.

They know that the worst polluting and worst gas mileage cars are owned by the poorest of the poor out there. No rebate program in the world will help those people get better cars. The only thing that will is if used car prices drop to the point that people are literally giving away good used cars for salvage prices. Then the poorest-of-the-poor will get better cars and their junkers will go to the wrecker.

[whitemale08]

...and Al Gore will still be chafeurred around in a Rolls Royce, just like the movie Children of Men where the chaffuer takes the main character in a Rolls Royce to the house of the 'Crimson King' admist the gunfire and chaos happening in the city of London all around him.

Global Warmers just love serfdom and fuedalism.

Instead of re-industrializing America, which is what brought mankind all of the civil ways of life and endless luxuries for everyone, the financiers/oligarchs just want that for themselves while everybody else lives like serfs.

[rbstrcklnd]

Interesting what some people love.

[rbstrcklnd]

Is this a program where tax payer pay for someone's piece of sh*t so they can buy a new piece of sh*t?

[whitemale08]

...and Al Gore will still be chafeurred around in a Rolls Royce, just like the movie Children of Men where the chaffuer takes the main character in a Rolls Royce to the house of the 'Crimson King' admist the gunfire and chaos happening in the city of London all around him.

Global Warmers just love serfdom and fuedalism.

Instead of re-industrializing America, which is what brought mankind all of the civil ways of life and endless luxuries for everyone, the financiers/oligarchs just want that for themselves while everybody else lives like serfs.

[bobnjersey]

[Is this a program where tax payer pay for someone's piece of sh*t so they can buy a new piece of sh*t? ]

yea ... they spend $500 billion every year doing this ... it's called the defense budget.

get rid of the old helis so we can buy new helis ... get rid of the new tankers so we can buy new tankers ... get rid of the old jets so we can buy new jets.

[Bobthefirst]

@ bobnjersey

Defense spending isn't in question. Defense spending is a necessary part of maintaining the United States position in the world as a premier superpower. The fact is, when you stop improving your technology in the realm of defense, you become stagnant, eventually fall behind, and become vulnerable to attack on your own soil. Why, exactly, do you think that the world at large doesn't respect the United States but doesn't attempt to engage in a war on our soil, terrorist attacks excluded (since they are not sanctioned by any country's government)?

The Cash for Clunkers program is for private vehicles, and shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer dollars. Defense spending benefits everyone. Giving your neighbor $4,500 to buy a new car benefits your neighbor, and nobody else.

[cranialnerves]

I love it when Republicans are forced to bathe in their own filth. These results are payback for you putting things off to make a buck in the moment.

Tired of yourself yet?

[rbstrcklnd]

Interesting what some people love.

[ricklf1]

I agree with ArmandB! What government program ever works as advertised. So now the American Taxpayer is buying up all the used junk cars and the scrap metal will go overseas. Another dumb idea to help bankrupt America. My God, when are we going to wake up in this country?