clunkers program done already?

[beachmouse]

A fair number of cars from overseas companies are built in the States. My old Corolla was assembled in California; my Subie was born in Indiana. Not quite the same as supporting Detroit, but buying those kinds of cars does tie back into American jobs nonetheless.

 

[Jdarg]

A fair number of cars from overseas companies are built in the States. My old Corolla was assembled in California; my Subie was born in Indiana. Not quite the same as supporting Detroit, but buying those kinds of cars does tie back into American jobs nonetheless.

The big Toyota plant in Kentucky doesn't just employ the Japanese-

And the Ford plants bought many parts from foreign owned companies- my husband worked for one of the Japanese suppliers.

Find me a car that is truly all American made or all foreign made.

 

[wrobert]

I heard on CNN tonight that a majority of the cars purchased were foreign.


We really need to turn healthcare over to these folks, they obviously have their (you know what) together.

Is the problem that the foreign plants in the US do not employ many union workers? Is that not causing a problem for the all the new employees of the US government that are stationed at GM and Chrysler?

 

[Will B]

I heard on CNN tonight that a majority of the cars purchased were foreign.

My old Accord? Built in KY
My Honda Goldwing? Built in Marysville, OH
BMW 3 series? Spartanburg, SC
Then there's that huge new Kia factory just below LaGrange, GA.

What is truly a foreign car these days?

My beef with the system is that it should pay out for clunkers that get low gas mileage, or is that part of the criteria?

 

[Winnie]

My beef with the system is that it should pay out for clunkers that get low gas mileage, or is that part of the criteria?

Yep.

The cash for clunker requirement in a nutshell are:
Cars--Cars and trucks must be 1984 models or newer. The most recent and complete list of cash for clunkers qualifying cars is HERE.
MPG--Eligible cars must get 18 mpg or less in combined highway/city rating
Paperwork--Owners need to show dealers their car's title, and proof of insurance and registration.
Car Rebates-- $3500 if the car gets at least 4 mpg more than the trade-in or $4500 rebate if the car gets at least 10 mpg or more than trade-in.
Truck Rebates-- For SUV's pick-up or minivans, a rebate of $3500 if the new vehicle gets at least 2 mpg higher than the old vehicle or $4500 if it gets at least 5 mpg more than the trade-in.

Cash for clunkers requirements

 

[scooterbug44]

I don't understand why people are so upset aboout this program - at least in this scenario we are encouraging people to buy vehicles w/ good fuel efficiency, NOT gas guzzlers whose heavy vehicle weight deteriorates our roads and bridges.

Even if people are buying "foreign" cars (which as others pointed out aren't all that foreign), they are still buying them from a dealer in the US, paying sales tax on them, paying for license plates, titles, etc.

I'd like the MPG improvement requirements to be higher, but even with the additional $2 billion they added to the program, it's still a fraction of the amount of money we outright LOST while shipping pallets of cash to Iraq.

People are buying the products of a hard hit industry, states are getting fees for their bare/empty coffers, and we are putting vehicles on the road that use less gas (which will help keep gas and oil prices low) and release fewer emissions. I see that as a win-win.

 

[30ashopper]

I don't understand why people are so upset aboout this program - at least in this scenario we are encouraging people to buy vehicles w/ good fuel efficiency, NOT gas guzzlers whose heavy vehicle weight deteriorates our roads and bridges.

Even if people are buying "foreign" cars (which as others pointed out aren't all that foreign), they are still buying them from a dealer in the US, paying sales tax on them, paying for license plates, titles, etc.

I'd like the MPG improvement requirements to be higher, but even with the additional $2 billion they added to the program, it's still a fraction of the amount of money we outright LOST while shipping pallets of cash to Iraq.

People are buying the products of a hard hit industry, states are getting fees for their bare/empty coffers, and we are putting vehicles on the road that use less gas (which will help keep gas and oil prices low) and release fewer emissions. I see that as a win-win.

I agree generally with the concept, except the feds aren't exactly swimming in cash right now - the money is borrowed. It also promotes people taking on more debt, which IMHO is not the lesson government should be teaching.

 

[drivingtheview]

Hold the phone??? You mean Obama gave us a measly $1 Billion Federal Government program that any of us could qualify for assuming we meet the specific criteria he outlined. The program ran out of funding after 31 days and 2x the original funding immediately gets released to keep the program alive. Phewww..... Thank goodness Obama can gleam those "lessons learned" over a cold Bud Light and nothing like this will ever happen again

I don't understand why people are so upset aboout this program - at least in this scenario we are encouraging people to buy vehicles w/ good fuel efficiency, NOT gas guzzlers whose heavy vehicle weight deteriorates our roads and bridges.

Even if people are buying "foreign" cars (which as others pointed out aren't all that foreign), they are still buying them from a dealer in the US, paying sales tax on them, paying for license plates, titles, etc.

I'd like the MPG improvement requirements to be higher, but even with the additional $2 billion they added to the program, it's still a fraction of the amount of money we outright LOST while shipping pallets of cash to Iraq.

People are buying the products of a hard hit industry, states are getting fees for their bare/empty coffers, and we are putting vehicles on the road that use less gas (which will help keep gas and oil prices low) and release fewer emissions. I see that as a win-win

I'm not arguing the merits of the program. Is there any dispute that Federal Government programs designed to give taxpayers some of our money back unequivocally helps us as well as our overall economy (ie tax decreases, tax credits, rebates - it's all $$)??? My issue of concern involves the Feds spending our tax money

What I previously stated in this post (above) referred to the pathetic fashion in which our Federal Government handles any type of Spending/Entitlement Program. Take Cash For Clunkers. Good idea, seems like the public is for it, and all it needs is a paltry $1 Billion in funding. Surely-implementation of such a small program for the good of the people would be efficiently simple? Forget the funding crisis for a moment - Have you heard of the countless problems reported around the country such as these??

Cash For Clunkers Comes with Problems
Scrap yard set for clunkers | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/01/2009
89.3 KPCC | Popularity and problems with "Cash for Clunkers"

Federal Government Spending/Entitlement programs are nice for some but they cause numerous unintended consequences for others. The Feds estimated $1 Billion in funds would cover Cash For Clunkers for 4 months. So they set aside the funds to pay for this, established the red tape (the rule book for this simple Federal program is only a couple of hundered pages long), and let us have at it. After only 4 days-what happens? The program exceeded cost projections including that pesky line item financial experts refer to as a "budget." Here is how some people define "budget;" a financial plan established to manage the spending and saving of money. So what happens next-Congress is expected to approve $2 Billion in additional funds for Cash For Clunkers which according to my calculator-is an additional sum 2 times as large as the originally scheduled budget!!. And it only took 4 days to require $2 Billion in additional funds (of our money) :scratch:. Healthcare Reform is conservatively estimated to cost $1 Trillion, according to Government "Budget Experts." Here is a definition of $1 Trillion - if you spent $1 Million per day every single day since Jesus was born thru today, you would only have spent approximately three quarters of $1 Trillion. Another way to look at it; $1 Trillion seconds = 32,000 YEARS! Now of course, $1 Trillion is simply a proposed "Budget" from our Federal Government experts! Surely they could not be wrong again

 

[poppy]

Since the Bush administration wiped their asses with it for eight years I'm surprised you could even read it.

how???

Well, you lean to one side, reach back and---oh come on! you know how this is done.

 

[Bob]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LidmCvdUMeg"]YouTube - Cash for clunkers kill the chevy[/ame] !!