No more CARS? (Photo: unclesamsauntie.com)

America needs strong, decisive action from its government that will restore consumer faith in the economy. One of the vehicles President Obama had planned to use to help those of us who are hamstrung by the high cost of gasoline was the Cash For Clunkers program, also known as CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System). With it, people would be able to trade in their older gas guzzlers for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. It would save consumers money and help the environment.

But after about a week, it appears that Cash For Clunkers will be suspended. This is not inspiring news, Mr. Obama. May I please be allowed to have my cash advances and payday loans now? I’ll need that money to make a down payment on a car Cash For Clunkers was supposed to help me afford!

Cash for Clunkers suspended?

Elisabeth Leamy and Mike Callahan report for ABC News that Congress is currently scurrying about like nervous field mice, looking for a way to funnel more money into Cash For Clunkers, which has proven to be more popular than the government had anticipated. The $1 billion set aside for CARS may not be enough.

Really? You didn’t think people would like the program? You didn’t think that people who truly afford these new high mpg vehicles would still overextend themselves with fat monthly payments? It’s what Americans do.

Still running… on empty

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Cash For Clunkers isn’t suspended, but “is up and continuing to run.” But cash advances must flow into the program soon, as Congress begins their recess… today!

The original plan for Cash For Clunkers was for it to continue through November 1, 2009 or until the money was gone. However, the government’s estimate was that each participating dealer who be able to complete up to 12 CARS transactions. Yet that estimate has proven to be ridiculously low, as some dealers processed as many as 250 Cash For Clunkers deals within the first few days of the program. That’s more than 20 times above what the government was expecting. Now dealers are rushing to push their apps through before Cash For Clunkers is suspended.

The Department of Transportation says “scrap it”

In fact, they were on the verge of pulling the plug. Cash For Clunkers would’ve been suspended, but the White House stepped in at the last moment to buy some time.

“We are working to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program,” Gibbs said. “Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid cars transactions that have taken place to date will be honored.”

Yet the CARS Web site – www.cars.gov – showed $779 million remaining. Sounds like creative accounting to me. But the Web site is still running and displays no news about the program being suspended as of this writing. Dealers are still running their Cash For Clunkers commercials, too.

Dealers on the hook

Oh, did I mention the Web portal dealers have to use has been crashing almost constantly? So there’s a backlog of at least 25,000 transactions that dealers have made but the government has not yet approved. What will happen if the government shuts this thing down? Car dealers are in enough of a mess as it is.

“It’s up to the dealership now to get it’s money back, and that’s where the fear lies,” said one dealership owner to ABC News. “Customers are on the road but now we’re on the hook for the rebate.”

In light of this danger, some dealers are requiring that customers sign an agreement where they’ll return their new cars if government funding disappears. There are already plenty of cars that the EPA disqualified at the last second. Happy campers, get ready to pitch your fits!

WWCD (What Will Congress Do?)

Uncle Sam needs cash advances to keep CARS running! (Photo: vi.sualize.us)

Some senators have argued that while it may be possible to procure the cash to keep Cash For Clunkers going, there needs to be tougher standards put into place as to what vehicles will be eligible. In a joint statement, Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California (Dem.) and Susan Collins of Main (Rep.) said the following:

We will insist than any extension of the program requires that the minimum fuel economy improvement for newly purchased vehicles be at least two miles per gallon higher than it is under the enacted clunkers program. It is also important to include lower-income consumers who are disadvantaged under the current program. So, we would also include a voucher for the purchase of fuel-efficient used vehicles.

Cash For Clunkers guidelines (for now)

1. If you own a car from 1984 or later that gets 18 combined highway and city miles per gallon or less, you may qualify for the Cash For Clunkers – if it’s not suspended!
2. If it starts and has been registered and insured within the past year, you may qualify for the Cash For Clunkers – if it’s not suspended!
3. If the new vehicles gets four more miles per gallon than your clunker, you get $3,500 from the government – if Cash For Clunkers isn’t suspended!
4. If the new vehicles gets 10 more miles per gallon than your clunker, you get $4,500 from the government – if Cash For Clunkers isn’t suspended!
5. An SUV, minivan or small pickup only needs an mpg bump of two to five – if Cash For Clunkers isn’t suspended!
6. The new vehicle just cost less than $45,000 – unless Cash For Clunkers is suspended!

I believe I’d still need cash advances or payday loans for the down payment. If I were buying, I’d get those loans right here. Give it a try, won’t you?

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Does this qualify as drivable? (Photo: Flickr)

Nevertheless, Americans still appear eager to buy cars they can’t afford. Good work, Cash For Clunkers program 2009!

A clunker of a program

Brent Snavely reports for the Detroit Free Press at http://www.freep.com/article/20090728/BUSINESS06/907280316/1002/NEWS01/ that Cash for Clunkers has increased the overall excitement about car buying, if the crowds in showrooms are any indication. Sure, there are questions about how long this ride will last and whether the program is too complicated for its own good. Plus, it’s uncertain so far just how many new car sales have come from the Cash for Clunkers program 2009.

One of the things we know from the 136-page outline of the plan is that the program will last until November 1 or until the $1 billion Congress allotted the Cash for Clunkers program 2009 disappears. There are also very specific regulations for dealers in terms of how they must disable the engines of old vehicles, but the dealers are still hopeful that the program’s overall impact will be to boost sagging sales.

But it’s like I said… new cars are still too expensive

Yet Snavely did manage to find at least one person who is in a position to buy, thanks to Cash for Clunkers program 2009. Dennis Wagner is eligible for at least the standard $3,500 voucher if he turns in his 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis. Dealers were only going to give him $1,000, although this is likely because he was asking the wrong dealers. If you do your homework, you’ll find dealers who offer special promotions that extend the Cash for Clunkers program to the used cars in their inventory. Talk about getting a better deal!

Speaking of a better deal

Try a payday loan or cash advance if you need help with a down payment. Apply here and see in moments whether you’ve been approved for anywhere from $100 to $1,500!

CARS!

Whether you call it Cash For Clunkers program 2009 or the official title – Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS – people are interested to see if they qualify. To review, Cash for Clunkers program 2009 provides vouchers through registered dealerships. Consumers who are replacing a car or truck less than 25 years old that gets fewer than 18 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving.

“I believe we have better than 70 pending deals on it right now,” said Bill Demmer, a dealership owner in the Detroit area to the Free Press.

Yet many dealers aren’t as hopeful

The Obama administration sees Cash for Clunkers program 2009 as a means or getting more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road and jump starting the sagging automobile industry in America. Yet there are scores of dealers who doubt the effectiveness of this convoluted program.

Specifically, some refer to some last-minute updates the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made to federal fuel economy data. This change effects approximately 100 vehicles that would have previously been eligible for the program. The EPA upped the miles per gallon of these vehicles, making them ineligible. A fine way to frustrate an already downtrodden consumer base, this is.

We don’t want no stinkin’ disabled!

Here’s a cost issue that dealers have to take into account: the Cash for Clunkers program 2009 requires that with all cars they take in trade, the engine and transmission must be disabled and taken to a junkyard. Obama doesn’t want these things to make it back out onto the streets with their high emissions and low miles per gallon ratings.

Yet it seems that not all junkyards want disabled stuff.

“We finally got a hold of a junkyard willing to take the disabled engines and transmissions,” said Bill Golling, owner of a Bloomfield Hills dealership.

And registration is tough

(Photo: happyvalleynews.wordpress.com)

Here’s something that comes as no surprise to me: it’s difficult to register for the Cash for Clunkers program 2009 through the government Web portal. What a shocker! Some dealers have applied, but are still awaiting a confirmation E-mail.

But again, that hasn’t stopped some people from going after the new vehicle of their dreams. Unfortunately for people like Tom and Ann Morabito, they dream of the Ford Taurus. Sure, it’s a 2009 Taurus, but it’s still a Taurus. They are geared up to swap their 1997 Ford Aerostar minivan. They no longer need the extra passenger room because their children are grown. Tom Morabito told the Free Press that he wants a 2010 Taurus (as if that will be better), but they won’t be available for a few weeks. He’s worried the Cash for Clunkers program 2009 will be out of cash by then.

A long way to go

As of the day before I write this, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had processed 70 vouchers. That’s nationwide, apparently. Obama hopes that the Cash for Clunkers program 2009 will aid in around 250,000 transactions.

“We would certainly dearly love to see the program be a huge success, but we don’t see the money running out. We’ve got $1 billion,” said NHTSA spokesman Ray Tyson.

Will you run out of money for a down payment? Try a payday loan or cash advance if you need it to bridge the way until your next paycheck!

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If it needs a kick-start trade it in

If you have multiple cars on blocks outside and no immediate plans to rearrange the furniture on your front lawn, perhaps you should give your homestead look a bit of summer loving. At the very least, you should take advantage of the Cash For Clunkers 2009 program and get something that will purr when you turn the key. Their car allowance rebate system should help the environment and change your lounging area from a rust garden into a place where grass will have a fighting chance.

But the operative word is should. Apparently, the Web site it up but the rules aren’t completely in place. Until then, use cash advances as the fast loans that help you make that down payment on a newer vehicle.

“Tell your dealers so we don’t have to!”

Justin Hyde of the Detroit Free Press reports that while Congress has passed Cash For Clunkers 2009 and the Web site www.cars.gov is in place, rules to govern the program could take up to a month to hammer out. That’s government efficiency for you.

Cars.gov so far is a source that offers information on how the exchange process (clunker for fuel-efficient roadster) will go down. It also urges consumers to contact their local dealers in order to talk them into registering for the program. To me, it seems that that should be the job of the government. I elected you for what reason, again? I pay taxes for… what was that again? Representation? What a concept!

Will Cash For Clunkers 2009 be enough incentive?

Congress has sent their approved version of the $1 billion bill to President Obama for his signature. As it stands, it is designed to give about 250,000 consumers $3,500 to $4,500 in money off the sticker price of a newer, more fuel-efficient vehicle. The original target was $4 billion and one million cars, but the real question is whether people who have held on to their rust buckets will even be able to afford the reduced-price cars once the deal is made. $3,500 to $4,500 isn’t that much if you’re talking a sticker price of $25,000 or more. It helps, but higher-priced vehicles will still be out of reach of many.

What about this delay? CNW Marketing/Research claims that the delay in getting the sign off by Congress is the culprit. Not only did they lessen the scope of the program – which means it will help only a quarter of those originally intended – but now car shoppers won’t be able to take advantage of the program through July. And guess what? There’s a November 1 cutoff, too! Perhaps it will read “between 11:57 p.m. and 12:01 a.m. on the third Tuesday of September by the time Obama’s done with it.

Even with the financial assistance, CNW predicts that buyers will be going primarily for Asian makes. Make it better and make it cheaper, America. Too many big, expensive hulks is what got the industry into this mess in the first place. Better, more fuel-efficient cars are better for the environment, too, although CNW believes that when it comes to Cash For Clunkers 2009, “the environmental impact will be minuscule considering the number of vehicles actually being replaced.”

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