Revised ‘Cash for Clunkers’ bill gaining support on Capitol Hill
03/18/2009, 12:20 PM
By Drew Johnson
Congress shot down a ‘Cash for Clunkers’ bill earlier this year – a program that would have given new car buyers cash rebates in exchange for trading in older, less fuel-efficient vehicles on newer, more efficient models – but a revised version of the bill appears to be gaining momentum on Capitol Hill.
One of the biggest criticisms of the last ‘Cash for Clunkers’ bill was that it favored the purchase of import vehicles. However, the new version of the bill alleviates that concern by offering an additional $1,000 rebate on vehicles assembled in the United States.
“It’s good for Detroit and good for America,” Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, told The Detroit News. “There is a sense of urgency with car sales slumping.”
Dubbed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save bill, or CARS Act, the revised plan would offer up to $5,000 in rebates to owners willing to trade-in their old rides for a new set of wheels. To qualify, the ‘clunker’ must be at least eight-years old, the new vehicle must have a price tag under $35,000 and have better fuel economy numbers than the vehicle being traded in. According to Sutton, the new bill would cover about 60 percent of the vehicles on the road.
The CARS Act is also forward-thinking, with a $7,500 voucher set to take effect in 2010. That larger credit would be applicable to plug-in hybrid vehicles with a fuel economy rating of 100 mpg or better.
Barring any major setbacks, it sounds as if the CARS Act will be signed into law within the next few weeks.



03/18, 12:26 PM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
“It’s good for Detroit and good for America,” Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, told The Detroit News.
AH f’n MEN!!!!! At least somebody in power gets it. The only thing imports are good for is recycling, so this plan is a homerun. Get these scumbag, treasonist Americans off the Import koolaid and back supporting the home team like they should be doing in the first place.
Buy American. Buy Gm. It is your patriotic duty
03/18, 12:37 PM
posted by:
Borat
Great bill. Obviously congressman from Ohio wants it through: most of Hondas are assembled in his state! Now we will watch Big 2.6 going against it: most of their cars are assembled in “free trade zone”.
03/18, 12:40 PM
posted by:
shaver
The right thing to do? Hell no. But it is an easy fix.
03/18, 12:41 PM
posted by:
zeeck
I would take my old Bronco over a new car any day, I miss the 10mpg, the stalling (even though it was an automatic), the trouble of starting it on cold days, and especially how that 5.8L v8 would shake the truck, the offroading was nice too
damn expedition ruined all that…
And NMOFGM, you are dumb, I plan on using my 2000 Accord for a very long time
03/18, 12:49 PM
posted by:
Lariat Luxury Locomotive Liner No.3
I believe the rebates should have the caveat of being solely used for purchasing an American manufacturer’s vehicle.
.
And NMOFGM, please STFU!
03/18, 12:52 PM
posted by:
MercMark
Ohio also makes the Chevy Cobalt & Pontiac G5 at Lordstown and Jeep Liberty in Toledo.
03/18, 12:53 PM
posted by:
tripleonefive
I love how they always have a D3 car as the picture Suiting
03/18, 12:58 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
That’s too bad…
My 1990 Beretta GTZ is EPA rated at 22city / 31hwy. I don’t know of many new cars that do better… especially domestics. Calibur can’t beat it… Focus is a joke… and I don’t want an Aveo or a base model Cobalt. Not to mention that there are even less new ones that can beat the Beretta’s 180hp. Guess I’ll just keep have to keep it.
03/18, 12:59 PM
posted by:
FSVT_ROCK
haha @ NMOFGM
03/18, 12:59 PM
posted by:
non_biased_enthusiast
I’m sure many people will forgo the extra $1,000 and buy whatever they want. I am also sure that some will trade an 8 year old GM vehicle for a new import.
03/18, 1:02 PM
posted by:
MercMark
posted by:
RaineMan
That’s too bad…
My 1990 Beretta GTZ is EPA rated at 22city / 31hwy.
Aren’t those the old EPA numbers? They changed the way they calculate them so I’m sure by that standard your Baretta’s numbers are lower.
03/18, 1:21 PM
posted by:
Hazdaz
In a way I think this is a good idea, in a way I think it is a waste.
On the one hand, it will be good to get some of these older cars off the road – that alone will help with lessening our reliance on oil because the newer car would get better mileage and newer cars should be much cleaner on emissions. Also it would help stimulate demand in the car market and a large % of the cars bought in the US are made here (be they from “foreign” nameplates or not) so that would help with jobs.
On the other hand, that $5k tax break has to come from someplace, so is this the best way to stimulate the economy – by borrowing all this money to help offset some costs for people that would have (possibly) bought a new car anyways? There are already dealerships that run these type of deals all the time – “push, pull or tow your old car and get $XXXX off a new car”. If these dealerships can make those deals on their own, why have the government help them? I also could see a bunch of corruption in this – be it from the dealerships themselves or individuals buying up $500 cars just to trade them in for $5000 rebates.
03/18, 1:29 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
A valid point MercMark… with the “new” EPA numbers the car is rated at 19 / 29. My odometer calculations have me at around 20MPG in town… so I’d say that’s fairly accurate. You have to admit… for a 20 year old car that ain’t bad.
03/18, 1:35 PM
posted by:
Mutant@DCX
That’s a good looking Bronco pictured… i’ll give you $5100.00 for it.
03/18, 1:42 PM
posted by:
jpruden
The problem is that it’s not allowing those of us with more recent SUVs to trade them in for something more efficient.
I’ve got a 2004 Expedition that my wife *had* to have… and this program is not making it easy for me to trade it in on something smaller because it’s *only* 5 years old. The 14 mpg I get driving it around town isn’t helping.
Ugh.
03/18, 1:57 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
Well jpruden… some of us will just have to suffer because we were deluded by the idea that $1.50 gas would be around forever and foolishly went out and spent a ton of money to buy a 2-ton oversized offroad hauler to commute back and forth to work in. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve heard your story repeated… “The WIFE had to have a (Hummer/Escalade/Suburban/Expedition/etc.) to get around town in.” You didn’t need it then… you could barely afford it then… and look at where you are now.
The week after Katrina hit the gulf coast I went and traded in my 15MPG Ford truck for a 25MPG Chevy car. Do I miss the utility and power of the truck, oh yeah… do I miss the weekly fuel stops, oh no.
History is one h3ll of a teacher, ain’t it? Hopefully a lot of Americans will learn something from this crisis.
03/18, 2:02 PM
posted by:
carstuff
Raineman, the replacement vehicle would be the 4 door Malibu which is rated at 22/30 which still beats your old 22/31. It also has 173 hp which is so close to your 180 hp.
jpruden, this is not a trade in. It is a scrappage program. The vehicle has to be scrapped so whatever you bring in should be worth less than $5k.
03/18, 2:05 PM
posted by:
Borat
MercMark, true. Do they all together account for sale of about 300K units as only Civic does (in the former years with decent economy)?
03/18, 2:29 PM
posted by:
BuyUSA
Why do they have to put a picture of a Bronco on this story? Man, those things were sweet…wish i still had my 93 eddie bauer.
03/18, 2:59 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
BuyUSA: Are you OJ Simpson?
03/18, 3:13 PM
posted by:
BuyUSA
Yes, I am typing this from prison right now…they gave me internet privilidges as part of my plea agreement.
03/18, 3:17 PM
posted by:
JakeK66
So let me get this straight. Since I drive a newer car already, I’m getting punished? I won’t get a rebate since my car I’m driving is already fuel effecient and safe?
This is why I hate Democrats, I’m sorry, but giving handouts to people who should have be driving a new car anyway. If they have good enough credit and can afford a new car, why do we need to give them something to get a new car? This really makes me mad, I’m ready to go ballistic if this passes. My tax money shouldn’t be going to a bogus thing like this, what stops people from buying a 1991 Cavelier for 100 bucks, have it sit in their garage for a couple months, then trade it in and get an addition government rebate?
03/18, 3:20 PM
posted by:
JakeK66
Oh – RaineMan,
I believe OJ’s was a ‘94 XLT, it didn’t have the tan trim of the Eddie Bauer’s.
03/18, 3:26 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
I pray that this won’t pass… it would be devastating to the used car market.
03/18, 3:52 PM
posted by:
carstuff
devastating to used car market? It would quickly move the base price up to almost $5k over night. Your ready to buy a new car? Pick up a 70 junk accord for $1000 and turn it in for $5k.
03/18, 4:03 PM
posted by:
save saab
Good idea, but they shouldn’t scrap Caprices (LT1 powered), Broncos or Firebirds, those will be collectibles in 2026.
03/18, 4:07 PM
posted by:
miket
If we are looking to stimulate the auto industry, and increase our US avg MPG, I propose we just offer a tax credit to anyone who purchases a new car that gets 10% better MPG than the one they are trading in. For most of us, we are talking about only 2-3 MPG better than what we drive now. That’s not too hard if you drive an SUV currently. On the other hand, if you already have a prius, you already got your credit anyway.
Everyone has an equal chance to get the credit if they purchase a new car.
03/18, 4:20 PM
posted by:
bigjimid
Even if people buy a used cheap a$$ car just to trade in, it’s still helping out. It would just be like they are only getting say $4000 instead of $5000.
The only way I could see it being abused is if someone first buys a ‘junker’, then trades it in for a new car, and then from there sells the new car for more than they paid for it, and then do it all over again. But I’m sure that there will be a clause where you have to own the new vehicle for a certain number of months following. Either way, that would still be a pain in the a$$ just to only make a couple thousand dollars on it.
03/18, 4:21 PM
posted by:
nestle_s
the GM products i will own is the corvette, the new ford mustang and a 2002 firebird with the ws6 package thank you! ^_^
03/18, 4:25 PM
posted by:
shaver
Suddenly everyone in Mississippi with a front lawn just doubled there income.
03/18, 4:26 PM
posted by:
bigjimid
miket – Good idea man. I wonder if there is a place to submit suggestions for the bill, because I’d submit this one if I were you. But they’d probably come back and say something about not getting enough older vehicles off the road or some bullsh!t like that.
03/18, 4:27 PM
posted by:
carstuff
I can see old 4wd trucks will be in demand. Any vehicle gets better gas mileage and you can pick them up cheap. Heck if the US does not watch out we will see scrap yards putting together junk vehicles out of junk and selling them.
03/18, 4:32 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
Not sure this is such a hot idea
Zeeck: you’re not alone.
03/19, 1:56 AM
posted by:
elviososa
hmmm…i want a Camaro…..
03/19, 11:16 AM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
I already did patriotic duty, I bought the wife a Ford Expedition…
03/19, 12:33 PM
posted by:
winnipegjets
is anyone else thinking that NMOFGM is betty sutton?
this is a good idea, but theres a lot of wrinkles that need to be ironed out with it. for starters, it should be SUVs5 years older or more, and cars 8 years older or more, trucks being somewhere in the middle. dont forget however, that imports have amuch higher resale than american cars do, so the people that already have old imports will be helped out more by this. for instance, last year my father traded in his 2000 toyota 4runner with 100000 miles on it for a new lexus sc430. he got 12000$ for it! that SUV was 8 years old and still worth 12k. considering he paid 34k to begin with thats not a bad loss. also, my sister is trading in her 2002 celica (bought it september 01) with 50000 miles on it, and she is getting 9K for it. shes trading it in on a bmw which is being delivered in the beginning of june. so she may lose 500$ on trade, but gain 4000$ in rebates.
03/19, 7:34 PM
posted by:
bailout
“NO” to North America and “YES” to made in the U.S.
This bill is ok only if it applies strictly to U.S. made vehicles. The vouchers will be funded by the taxpayer. In this case the domestics and the new domestics (transplants) workers,whom are U.S. taxpayers, should reap the benefits. Applying the vouchers to vehicles made in Canada and Mexico does nothing to support the American auto assembler and machinist.
The Canadians nor the Mexicans pay U.S. taxes and therefore should not reap any benefits at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. If the bill applies to regions outside the U.S. boarders it clearly comes across as a method to clear dealer lots of low waged Mexican assembled vehicles.
Congress, please be informed…. Make the choice that benefits the U.S. worker building within our boarders.