New data shows trucks among best-selling under cash for clunkers program

New data shows trucks among best-selling under cash for clunkers program
By Drew Johnson - Posted September 22nd 2009

Confirming earlier reports that the government’s tallying system for the cash for clunkers program wasn’t exactly spot on, the Web site cars.gov has released an update list of the best-selling vehicles under the CARS program, with two full-size trucks now residing in the top 10.
According to the government’s latest data, two of the top selling vehicles under the cash for clunkers program were actually full-size pickup trucks. Thanks to a new tallying system that counts sales by model rather than model and drivetrain, the Chevrolet Silverado now holds the 8th spot and the Ford F-150 the 10th spot on the clunkers most purchased list.

Additionally, the new counting system boosts the Honda CR-V from an unranked nameplate to the sixth best-selling vehicle under the CARS program. As a result of the new counting system, the Toyota Prius, Honda Accord and Honda Fit were bumped from the top 10 list.
Although the truck trade-in percentage – 84 – remains the same under the new tallying system, the new data brings into question the CARS program’s effectiveness of promote green vehicle purchases. The three vehicles bumped from the top 10 list averaged 35mpg while the three new addition only average 19mpg.
40 COMMENTS
1. SoTXFord310 days ago
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  This just keeps getting better…
  
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2. beatusmongous310 days ago
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  Isn’t that ironic?
  
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3. JakeK66310 days ago
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  What’s funny is that, honestly, the Accord, Prius and Fit would probably be the best deal from this program only because the other cars all normally have alot of rebates anyway and due to this program, I can almost guarntee the average price of the trucks went up by about 3500 dollars. The Honda and Toyotas, though, aren’t discounted as much-if at all, making them a better deal overall in my opinion.
  
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4. CADDY-V310 days ago
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  Could this mean that toyota was not the automaker with the most vehicles purchased during this program?
  If so their new commercials are actually fauls advertisments.
  Does anyone know the real numbers?
  
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5. A4310 days ago
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  Well considering that the F-150 and the Silverado were already two of the top selling vehicles in the U.S., and the fact that many of the people getting these trucks probably traded less economical trucks, this should still be viewed as a positive thing. The U.S. government has a very skewed view of what a “green” car is. Their primary concern should be CO2 emissions, which new trucks have less of compared to their older counterparts. Mileage should be secondary.
  
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6. johnnycanuck310 days ago
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  Letterman could make a top ten list out of all the screw ups CARS created.
  
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7. gta89mike310 days ago
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  Just goes to show you, even with huge incentives to buy “green” cars, Americans still prefer to buy big trucks. It is going to take consistently high gas prices to really change Americans buying habits. American car companies do build vehicles that customers want, contrary to what the government and media say.
  
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8. eff1Fifty310 days ago
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  Cash for more clunkers
  
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9. leftwingagenda310 days ago
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  yeah, americans are going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming towards a more responsible way of living, but that’s not really a shock…there’s not a lot we don’t have to learn the hard way these days…
  
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10. arena310 days ago
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  thank you, A4. Its really discouraging how little people think for themselves. Then again, it makes my job as a car salesman that much easier now that I firgured it out.
  
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11. DenverGuy217310 days ago
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  Sad…..
  
  The three vehicles bumped from the top 10 list averaged 35mpg while the three new addition only average 19mpg.
  
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12. simonc310 days ago
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  Much like politics, the data can be skewed to reflect whatever they (whoever is crunching the data) want it to look like.
  
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13. MHW310 days ago
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  I agree with A4 on this one, there is more to going green than just mpg. Modern trucks are not the Tree killing demons they are made out to be. The reality is that the modern truck is a very clean running automobile that continues to be a necessary part of our society.
  
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14. beatusmongous310 days ago
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  Hit a tree with a Prius going 60, and then hit it with an F150 going 60, and see which one kills the tree.
  
  Probably both.
  
  That was a really bad joke. Sorry.
  
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15. Bosley310 days ago
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  When the change the ‘counting system’ next week to whatever they want, maybe something new will be on the list…… :p Sounds like someone has an agenda by changing how they rank sales. Government Motors perhaps?…… Like the Ford saying the F-Series is the best selling truck, not the F-150, which is what most ‘sheeple’ think……….
  
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16. CADDY-V310 days ago
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  Bosley-
  You bring up a good point. I’m sure one that most people on this site already know.
  Ford says the F- Series is the best selling truck.
  Which is the F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, and the F-650
  but they only show the F-150 in their ad’s when they say the F-Series is the best selling truck.
  
  I’m also sure most people on this site also know if you took all the F-Series truck sales every year it dosen’t add up to the Silverado and Sierra sales.
  
  When it comes to trucks GM just sells more of them.
  
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17. johnnycanuck310 days ago
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  CADDY-V, and they would be fools to f*ck with that fact hence the reason GMC still exists. Let’s just call it the truck world’s dirty little secret even though as secrets go it’s really not much of one.
  
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18. Me310 days ago
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  @ leftwing, I believe when elitists have your attitude we end up with slavery or at the very least, extreme poverty. You better believe I’ll be kicking and screaming if you’re trying to tell me what’s responsible. What is responsible? Your interpretation? Which nation should we look at as a benchmark of responsibility? Why do you begrudge the producers of the world -the innovators- America, and nations like her, their standard of living when you know that other nations would give their left you-know-what to have what we have. It’s human nature. Believe it or not, Americans are good stewards of the world’s resources. If it’s not us, it’s going to be someone else. China? Yeah, they’re real “green.” I can tell by your response this truck news must kill you. Why do you look with disdain on someone who drives one or buys one? If this story is true, it’s just another example shifty Americans working around some poorly conceived and implemented leftist scheme. I’d also like an answer to this question: Why are you a car enthusiast? No car is ever going to be “green” enough -or safe enough- for you. Cheer up lefty, you live in the best country in the world. Thanks.
  
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19. CADDY-V310 days ago
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  johnny-
  I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.
  
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20. Veda310 days ago
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  They never change. If gas becomes cheaper and the economy picks up again, I bet there are more sales of luxury cars than ever before due to pent up demand. All in all it’s human nature and Americans go back to being consumptive beasts that they are.
  
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21. orangecones310 days ago
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  americans need to grow up (err…down), drop the “i will drive a tank because everyone else drives a tank” mentality and downsize. Unless you need it for work….you don’t need a pick-up. If you don’t have more than 3 kids…you don’t need a 7-passenger SUV/minivan. If you are a 20-something single male…your Escalade isn’t going to get you laid (but a Fisker Karma might).
  
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22. worst 3310 days ago
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  this is not horrible as it has a positive that there less pouting then old but still not how this program should have been.
  If only some one has a good life style truck out now that can haul enough for people with small boats and such and get good mpg like 27-25 on the high way, and people realize they don’t need 1/2 tone trucks.
  
  I hoping the next generation dodge Dakota will be like that. big enough to fit plywood in back and tow 3000lb (starting at 2k to 5k may be option). Dakota just become to big might as well get the ram
  
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23. beatusmongous310 days ago
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  Orangecones, just FYI, I don’t have 3 kids yet (the third is baking now), but I still have the biggest minivan that was available when I bought it. I don’t drive it to work very often, though. In fact, at this moment, the Quest doesn’t see much action on the road. This is because I carpool to work, and my wife uses it to haul kids around. I bought the Quest so that my family and my brother-in-law’s family could ride together on monthly road trips to California. Circumstances have since changed, though, and I’m “stuck” with it. Since it’s paid off, and it runs well, there’s no need to replace it. And since we enjoy the minivan and actually get quite a bit of use out of its size, I wouldn’t exactly say “stuck.”
  
  However, I’m looking at small commuter cars for me, because I won’t be carpooling forever. My personal favorite is the ForTwo right now, although there are some others that are catching my eye. Once I get all of my ducks in a row, I will shop and buy, but until then…
  
  Here’s the real kicker: If I fold my back and middle seats down, I can lay several full sheets of plywood flat on the floor. Not even all the big crew cab trucks can do that.
  
  But I see your point, and I don’t like driving it to work for that exact reason – I don’t need 7 seats sitting in a covered parking garage while I edit. Many of my coworkers feel they do need tanks as daily drivers. It also bugs me when my family and I go to dinner with my parents, and they insist on taking their H2 along with my minivan, even though they live only a couple of blocks away. We all fit in either car, so there’s no need for two cars.
  
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24. sharpie310 days ago
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  Just because it’s a truck, or a big car doesn’t mean it’s not fuel efficient. It’s all relative and someone (i.e. the government) had to draw a line somewhere. So most critic’s interpretation of a clunker is misguided. I always said the name of the program is a misnomer.
  
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25. A4310 days ago
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  Good lord dont buy a ForTwo…
  
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26. ricky_b309 days ago
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  A4 – Why not buy a ForTwo. They’re so “CUTE”!!! BTW, where do they store the wind up key?
  
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27. RaineMan309 days ago
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  No doubts from me on this “news”. The entire clunkers program was geared towards people trading old trucks for new trucks. If they had really wanted to make a difference the restrictions would have altered to force buyers participating in the program to purchase something else.
  
  The whole program was a farce and didn’t really accomplish anything except racking up more taxpayer debt.
  
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28. vicdub85309 days ago
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  Orangecones.. I’m a 20′s single male and drive an Escalade EXT and let me tell you, when I pull up to the club, all the skanks pretty much just hoist up their skirts and bend over. I’ll take a new one home every night and will hit up a different club every night of the month so I won’t run into them again.
  
  I’ll pull up to the gym and you’ll hear a clatter as all the guys drop their weights and wish they were me.
  
  JAGER BOMB!
  
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29. armstealer309 days ago
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  Cash for Clunkers had nothing to do with the environment, and you all know it. It was a marketing tool only, and not for the people you think. This was simply designed so that the Fed and the White House could pick and choose from its results and show us how the economy is “fixed” now.
  
  Hello. Propaganda at its finest. Now Bernanke can say that Consumer Sales rose in August, and Inventories dropped meaning the companies would have to replenish those inventories later. When they do, Production rises, so he has another fact to go on TV with.
  
  simonc said it well, “the data can be skewed to reflect whatever they (whoever is crunching the data) want it to look like.”
  
  It wasn’t about the Manufacturers, it wasn’t about the Green Movement, it was about the Depression. It was about Politics.
  
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30. lemonade309 days ago
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  The cash for clunkers program accomplished exactly what it intended to do: help bolster the car companies during the great recession. The fact that trucks were big sellers only helps push that motive along. They are the most profitable vehicles sold under the cars program. Therefore, they helped keep the companies afloat better than any other vehicle sold. Greenwashing the program into something to help “save the environment” is off the mark.
  
  Said it before and I’ll say it again. Don’t loose sleep over what other people are driving. It’s not good for your mental health. The elitist whining of car snobs is growing stale. Cry me a river, bottle it and send it to Africa where they need the water.
  
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31. leftwingagenda309 days ago
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  lol@”Me”…oh please…if you believe that our current position with respect to fossil fuels is sustainable in perpetuity you’re sadly mistaken, and don’t think for a microsecond that your “you’ll get that key to my pickup out of my cold dead hands” attitude phases me one bit…you also say that i “begrudge” america, and yet the position i take on this issue is held by millions of americans, they just happen to be millions of americans that you don’t agree with, but they’re still just as american as you are…you can try to wield patriotism like a weapon in this argument, but you will fail, because discourse and discontent is truly american, and your smears are laughable…
  
  this “news” doesn’t kill me (as it still does represent an mpg improvement before cash for clunkers – and i’ve always said that cash for clunkers was an economic stimulus not an environmental program), but i’m glad you found my post so aggravating you felt the need to attack…i think that’s kinda funny…
  
  it’s also that “best country in the world” superior attitude that needs to go…a little humility would be nice, instead of useless chest-beating arrogance…but i think you’re well beyond changing at this point, so just make sure not to run for any political office and we’ll be ok
  
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32. RaineMan309 days ago
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  Cash for Clunkers was NOT about sales. If anything, it took all the people who were “on the fence” about buying a new car within the next 6 months and made them buy it then instead. Just like any promotion it took sales from the future and put them all in a short period of time. It will do nothing but harm the auto makers and the economy in the long run.
  
  People that bought under Clunkers were going to buy anyways… they just weren’t going to do it right then. You got a one-month spike in sales numbers… followed by a 3-6 month slump. Just watch sales numbers for the rest of the year and see what happens.
  
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33. Me309 days ago
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  @leftwing, what’s funny is you believe that these millions of idiots that believe the way you do are going to change the opinion of the many more millions who are not content to turn this country into breadlines and starvation. You are fighting a losing battle. What has to frustrate you the most is that it’s never going to happen. I know, I know, you have a world view and you know how everyone should act, and eat, and spend and vote and consume, but you are living in a fantasy and no one cares what you deem worthy. Enjoy the sort time your leaders are at the top with your ilk tearing down every value that makes America the envy of the world. The discourse and discontent is on you now. The millions that you speak of are cranky, unproductive, leaching pseudo-elitists that think food comes from a supermarket. While you’re tilting back Starbucks coffee and arrogantly pointing out the faults in everyone else, some us are producing goods and services that the world needs –and, at the same time, providing a better future for our families. What’s chest-beating and patriotic about that? It’s your attitude that needs to go. It’s doing nothing for the country or the world. I found your first comment disturbing and arrogant –yet typical- and thought it deserved rebuke. And yes, I’m beyond changing. Also, I’d really like an answer to the last question in my previous post.
  
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34. RaineMan309 days ago
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  Me: So America is the envy of the world? Is that why our European allies have turned their backs on us and the Middle Eastern Jihadi’s want to blow us all to kingdom come?
  
  50 years ago America was the shining light of the world. A symbol of what hard work and freedom could do. But what have we accomplished since then? We have only become an example of how greed and corruption can bring a mighty nation to its knees.
  
  You want to know how the US is really doing? Why not ask the Communist Chinese… they own a huge percentage of our debt now. I’m sure they’d be glad to tell you what they think.
  
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35. beatusmongous309 days ago
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  The U.S. is awesome because I’m here. If I decide to leave, that’s when the U.S. will suck, but until then…
  
  (chiste)
  
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36. Me309 days ago
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  Raineman, yes, the US is the envy of the world. When you are on top, you become the target. This is nothing new. As far as the down-fall of the last 50 years: You can draw parallels to the rise of progressivism -read liberalism- during that time. We’ve created a culture where there is no longer an incentive to work hard for an ever-growing number of people -in urban areas in particular. They are dependant on the government for everything from food to shelter. What’s the incentive to better yourself when you can have it provided for you for “free”. Some still choose to not live that way. Thus, an economic divide (and your claim of greed) and some say it’s capitalism’s fault? Capitalism is working for China. Have you noticed?
  
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37. RaineMan309 days ago
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  Capitalism is working for China?
  
  Is that why they send over lead painted toys and baby formula tainted with pesticides to kill our children with?
  
  As far as people being lazy and living off the govt dime… I know plenty of honest hard-working Americans who had their entire life savings and retirement plans wiped out by corporate greed and downright lies. Executives at places like Bank of America and AIG sold out the very soul of this nation so they could pocket more cash. That disgusts me.
  
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38. NavinRJohnson309 days ago
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  Drew, Why not post the revised top 10 list instead of giving us tidbits about it?
  
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39. Need more oil for GM jackass309 days ago
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  Clash for Clunkers- what a failure. It;s just another way to get rid of those piece of crap last year model overstocked junk GM and Buick cars on the lots. Did it work- yes. Does it mean GM is successful? Hell no. Kill GM and Buick. They are the joke of America.
  
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40. biff152309 days ago
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  A4, you may want to study the relationship between mpg and CO2 emissions. No wonder the global warming alarmists are having such an easy time pushing their agenda.
  
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