Check Into Cash claims to have “pioneered the payday advance service.” What is certain is that the process consumers go through when they wish to apply for payday loans, cash advance or payday advance loans couldn’t be simpler. Fill out a quick application and receive a decision very quickly. If approved, you can receive the money via direct deposit (if you’re applying online) or in instant cash (if at a Check Into Cash store). To pay back the loan, all you need to do is write a postdated check – with a one-time, flat fee included – for the following payday.

Check Into Cash is “QUICK, EASY & CONFIDENTIAL”

When you need quick cash during an emergency, you don’t want to be inconvenienced. That’s where Check Into Cash (aka checkintocash and checkintocash.com) comes in with its three-sided promise. The application and funding process is quick, which eliminates the worry that you’ll be able to get the money you need in time. When you apply in person and are approved, the money comes in an instant. Online, it can happen in as little as a few hours.

It’s also easy to qualify and apply for payday loans, cash advance or payday advance loans at Check Into Cash. To qualify, you must:

• Have held your current job for a minimum of 90 days
• Be at least 18 years old (19 in Alabama and Nebraska) and a citizen or permanent U.S. resident
• Earn at least $1,000/month after taxes
• Have current home and work phone numbers and a valid E-mail address

What do you need to apply at Check Into Cash?

This is also easy. Make sure you have:

• An up-to-date pay stub
• State or federal photo ID
• Most recent checking account statement

Confidentiality is important

Whether you apply for payday loans, cash advance or payday advance loans at a Check Into Cash location online or in person, your sensitive information is protected with great care and professionalism. You don’t have to worry about identity theft with systems belonging to Check Into Cash.

Checkintocash.com stats from Compete.com

As a veteran of the payday loans industry, CheckIntoCash.com garners significant traffic. In December of 2009, 83,174 unique visitors came to the Web site, which is a 16.94 percent increase over the previous month. Overall visits totaled 101,451, which showed a similar 16.98 increase. The top three paths to checkintocash.com were Google.com (25.36 percent), checkintocashonline.com (19.96 percent) and Yahoo.com (7.85 percent).

What are people searching for that leads them to Checkintocash.com?

The leader and most obvious choice is “Check into cash,” which amounted to 34.33 percent of searches. “Checkintocash” (4.46 percent) and “advancepay” (2.62 percent) followed far behind.

Fortunately, you won’t be far behind if you need quick cash and apply for payday loans, cash advance or payday advance loans at Check Into Cash. Personal Money Store respects their place in the industry.

Related Video:

(Currently not buying cash advance leads of ours)

You’ve seen the commercials with the glib slogan and the checkmark finger motion. You’ve probably seen their stores in your neighborhood, too. Ever since Check n Go first opened their doors for business in 1994, they’ve grown at a fine pace to serve the needs of consumers with payday loans, title loans, check cashing and Axcess pre-paid MasterCard debit cards. Their ultimate goal is to provide “Honest, simple money solutions, every day.” With an uncomplicated attitude like that, it’s no wonder they’ve made headway in the growing payday loan and installment loan market. Apply online at checkngo.com or make your way to one of the many Check n Go locations.

Keeping Your Data Secure

Like most reputable payday loan portals the caliber of Personal Money Store, Check n Go protects the sensitive contact and financial data its customers provide during the payday loan and installment loan process. Privacy is a vital concern, particularly in an age where online identity theft can happen to anyone. One look at Check n Go’s privacy policy should tell you just how serious an endeavor this is, but in a nutshell, you should know that if they need to contact you, they will identify themselves only if they are talking to the actual customer. For online privacy, Check n Go uses industrial strength security measures like VeriSign and 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. Thus, you are protected in both the real world and in cyberspace.

Why Does Check n Go Require Info to Approve You For a Payday Loan?

First of all, Check n Go (or checkngo, if you prefer) is committed to helping maintain America’s security. Thus, to ensure compliance with the Patriot Act, proper identification is required to help ensure that payday loans and installment loans are not being used to fund terrorism or related money laundering activities. Federal law requires that Check n Go, Personal Money Store, or any other payday loan portal  obtain, verify and record the proper info from anyone who opens an account. Federal identification, Social Security number, verifiable contact, employment and banking info are needed for all who wish to apply for payday loans. Faxing of these documents is often not required for online applicants, making the entire process quick and convenient.

Check n Go : A Robust Online Payday Loans Location

According to Compete.com, ChecknGo.com had 170,267 unique visitors to their Web site in November of 2009, which reflected a whopping 54 percent increase over the previous month. Compare that with their numbers for the rest of 2009. You’ll see that Check n Go experienced quite a surge. Was it their advertising? See the video below, it’s very straightforward and useful. Then consider the total number of visitors for the month, 249,813, which marks a 25 percent increase. These are big numbers, so Check n Go must be doing something right.

Turns Out You Can Get There from Here

Interestingly, the megalith Google.com did not lead the pack of referral sources for Check n Go. Yahoo.com directed 12.03 percent of traffic for November 2009, while Goolge.com was close behind at 11.64 percent. Facebook came next at about four percent, which is indicative of that social network’s market power. Search words included “Check n Go” at 22 percent, “payday loans” at six percent, “checkngo” at five percent, “check n go locations” at four and “check n go personal loans” three.

It Really is That Fast: Check n Go!

Personal Money Store says that if you’re looking for payday loans, try us first. Check n Go won’t steer you wrong, however. They’re fast and they have a devoted customer base.

Related Video:

In what universe does a one percent check cashing fee exceed a $35 overdraft fee for overdrawing a checking account by $.01? (Photo: flickr.com)

In the 1960s and 1970s, many of America’s largest banks decided to go “where the money is” by pulling their branches out of the inner cities and focusing more on affluent areas. It may be sheer coincidence that infamous bank robber John Dillinger once gave that response to the question of why he robbed banks, but I’ll leave that for you to decide. Only in recent years has that trend begun to reverse.

What this exodus created was a growing population of “unbanked” individuals and families, people who depended upon everything from shoe boxes and coffee cans to store their money to check cashers for paycheck services and payday lenders for emergency cash. The traditional view society took of such people who depended upon check cashing and payday lending was that they were the “unsophisticated poor.” However, re-examination of this idea is advisable, as the truth may be that the unbanked are more knowledge about what the banking establishment is foisting upon consumers that we’re willing to admit.

Avoiding the World of High Fees

A recent New York Times article explores the phenomenon of why so many people are resorting to alternative measures rather than depending upon traditional checking accounts. While the journalist fails to produce any conclusive reasons, it doesn’t take much to read between the lines – the cracks in society’s pavement, if you will: overdraft fees of $35 per infraction for a checking account mistake are exorbitantly more expensive than a check casher’s fee of a few percentage points to cash a paycheck.

Jose Abreau Says “No”

A 37-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, Abreau denies the bank representatives who come to his New York coffee shop to recruit him into the world of traditional banking. He doesn’t see the point, as what money he earns beyond his immediate needs is sent to his family back home. He does this in spite of the fact that banks are credit unions are within easy reach. However, so are check cashing businesses.

A recent Pew poll indicates that 86 percent of licensed check cashers in Manhattan are located closer than four blocks from a bank or credit union. People like Jose Abreau actually walk past the banks and credit unions to get to the check cashing businesses and payday loan stores. Perhaps this is because many immigrants come from countries where friends or relatives lost money due to bank collapses or corruption (where there was no FDIC to step in and insure the deposits), but in reality there are a wide variety of reasons. Language barriers can exist, but community outreach groups are available to assist. Financial education is available for those who may not understand how traditional banking works. However, the way many banks treat consumers stands at the top of the list as to why someone would not want to rely upon the banking monolith.

Not So Unsophisticated, Are They?

Millions of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. That’s a fact that the current recession has made painfully clear. Yet this does not mean that these consumers who are just making it are unsophisticated. On the contrary, they’re educated enough to see that if a surprise expense or miscalculation dips their checking balance into the red, the resulting overdraft fees are unconscionable. Rather than having such an organization hold their money hostage, many people feel more comfortable with check cashing, where all the money they have is right there in their hands. Check cashing fees are much lower than any overdraft fee or minimum balance penalty.

How Much Lower?

Consider this. Many banks extend customers the “courtesy” to use ATM machines to withdraw more than they actually have in their accounts. This comes with a heavy – and damningly silent – penalty. We’re talking 200 percent on overdraft fees or more. How is this no legal fraud? How can this be advertised as a courtesy? Is it any wonder that check cashing customers don’t want anything to do with such institutional treachery? If banks would charge no overdraft fees and simply not allow purchases that would create overdraft to go through, they’d probably draw more of a customer base. But banks depend upon overdraft fees for much of their operating profit, so it’s clear that they have little incentive to stop.

Imagine this scenario if you don’t already understand just how disillusioned some are with banks. If a working poor family bounces a single check – let’s say it’s for a mere $3 – there’s an overdraft fee of $35 or more. That could be a weekend’s worth of food for hungry children, plus diapers and subway fare. If the family doesn’t keep their balance above a certain figure, they could be paying even more. Yes, if overdraft fee policies were different, I’d be telling a different tale. And some banks and credit unions do offer free checking. But not everyone meets the credit or documentation requirements, or their local bank many not offer the service. For the transportationally challenged, that means taking what’s closest to home.

What Carrot Could Banks Possibly Offer?

Banks are crying out for customers in this recession, aren’t they? What kinds of incentives could they offer to make people want to use their services? Aside from being able to receive direct deposit or develop a credit history, it seems that people would like to earn a decent amount on their money. But savings accounts that offer .0125 percent interest don’t cut the mustard, let alone the artificial buttery spread. It’s better than nothing, but not by much. Factor in the fees and penalties and traditional banking can feel as good as a sock in the eye.

Hiding from “The Man”

Those who avoid traditional bank accounts for the services of check cashers may be hiding, too. I mention this not to justify the practice, but it’s something of which we should be aware. Without a checking account, bill collections and courts have one less option for skimming cash in the event that the consumer owes money. Of course wage garnishment is still a possibility. And what about those people who avoid traditional banking because their income is under the table? Being able to cash in on certain welfare benefits is a powerful lure, which could explain why some consumers don’t feel the compulsion to put their money in the bank where it can be detected so easily.

Not Such a Rosy Picture for Most

One reader commented on the New York Times article in a manner both poetic and bitingly real:

O, these great unwashed masses, unwilling to strap themselves to our glorious consumer banking system where they can know the joys of ATM fees, NSF fees, account maintenance fees, account research fees, etc. , all while enriching themselves on the 1.8 percent interest rate! What is wrong with these people? Don’t they want to be part of the American Dream?

Avoiding traditional banking is second nature for many, but steering clear of it entirely can have its disadvantages. Check cashing is an attractive option for those who can ill-afford the predatory practice of overdraft fees. Unfortunately, that would include most people. Many who have money do not understand just how much the deck is stacked against those with so little. Bank presidents think in terms of profits; bank customers hope not to run afoul of bank policy, as they have become increasingly unprofitable for consumers with each passing year.

Payday Loans have the green light when it comes to going where the financial need is greatest. Access to conventional credit plays a large role. (Photo: flickr.com)

Payday loans are an inescapable landmark in America’s modern economic landscape. The popularity of the short term loan product has grown significantly since the early 1990s, and it’s no wonder. Giving consumers the ability to absorb financial shocks in the short term – enabling them to avoid hefty penalties – is useful for maintaining economic welfare. It is important for consumers to be educated as to their alternatives in a financial emergency, however. For their part, the payday lending industry (organized under such groups as the Community Financial Services Association and the Online Lenders Alliance) has helped to educate consumers as to how payday loans work and when they should or shouldn’t advisably be used. However, the responsibility rightly rests with the individual.

Unfortunately, the image still persists within the popular media that payday loans are an instrument through which unscrupulous businessmen and women exploit “at-risk” members of society. One of the primary means these critics use to attempt to prove their point is by focusing on the geographic clustering of brick-and-mortar payday loan locations (as well as pawn shops and check cashing outlets). This fails to take into account online payday loan companies and aggregators like Personal Money Store, whose average customer by income tends to fall comfortably into the middle class. However, when brick-and-mortar locations only are considered, a clear pattern of going where demand is greatest becomes apparent. A recent study by Robin Prager, the Assistant Director in the Division of Research and Statistics for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, supports the assertion that payday loan businesses tend to cluster in areas where access to credit may be restricted and liquid assets that help consumers handle financial surprises may be closer to scarce than abundant.

“Determinants of the Locations of Payday Lenders, Pawnshops and Check-Cashing Outlets“

Prager groups payday loans, pawn shops, check cashing and a number of related short term loan companies under the name “alternative financial service providers” (AFSPs). Recognizing the controversy the rapid growth of these institutions has generated, Prager analyzes the geographic placement of AFSPs. Using county-level data for the entire country, she expands upon the regional work most studies had undertaken before. Demographics, population, consumer credit profiles and the degree of strictness in state and local laws all play a role in where the largest clusters of AFSPs appear.

Rules and Regulations Facing AFSPs

Payday lending, pawn broking and check cashing aren’t overnight sensations. They date back to at least the 1930s, although payday lending may date back to Colonial America and pawn broking in its various forms is particularly ancient. As with any explosive growth industry, there has been a need for regulation. AFSPs are subject to regulations on the federal, state and local level. Such things as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, and the Bank Secrecy Act all have jurisdiction. Moreover, all loan companies must follow the federal rules of the Truth in Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Talent-Nelson Amendment to the 2007 Defense Authorization Bill, to name a few. On the state and local level, numerous and variable other regulations exist. It’s safe to say that a regulatory maze exists when it comes to AFSPs. While they do serve to protect consumers against potential exploitation, the question as to whether over-regulation has stifled competition with the consumer financial services industry is a more than legitimate area for study.

Urban vs. Rural Distribution

Prager found that in 2006, 98.9 percent of rural and 99.6 percent of urban counties in the U.S. featured at least one bank or thrift branch. Furthermore, two-thirds of rural and 90 percent of urban counties had at least one AFSP provider (payday lender, pawnshop, check casher, etc). Considering population by county, the average of 33,000 people were serviced by 2.5 payday loan stores, 1.2 pawn shops, 1.7 check-cashing outlets and 10.7 bank and thrift branches. On the urban side, the numbers change to 220,000 people, 16.6 payday loan stores, 7.4 pawnshops, 21.2 check cashers and 67.5 bank and thrift branches. AFSPs like payday loan companies are certainly not more prevalent than banks in Prager’s sample.

Where Do the Payday Lenders Congregate?

Prager found that the highest concentration of payday loans outlets on a per capita basis came in southern states where regulation is more forgiving: Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Pawn shops concentration was also high in such areas (primarily Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee), although check cashing ranked highest in California, Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina.

Banks and thrifts found their highest concentration in the north central states, including Kansas, Nebraska and North Dakota. This did not tend to correlate into having a negative effect on the number of pawn shops and check cashing outlets in a county, but Prager did find a positive correlation when it came to payday loan stores.

Credit Scores Point to Subprime

Here is where we get to the heart of the matter with AFSPs like payday loan stores. They tend to appear where the need is greatest. If consumers have difficulty security mainstream credit in an emergency, then payday loans become a very attractive option. Prager introduces an equation that factors credit availability and a variety of other factors in order to express the number of AFSP outlets as a function. It is a function of the following demographic data: racial/ethnic mixture, age, consumer education, poverty standing and the county’s population density. As stated, creditworthiness and area regulations are also factors.

Here are some of Prager’s comments on results:

Looking first at the equations explaining the number of payday loan stores per million capita, we see that the results are fairly similar for urban and rural counties. In both cases the number of payday loan stores per million capita is negatively related to the share of the population that is Hispanic, positively related to the share of the population that is non-Hispanic black, and unrelated to the share that is Asian. Payday lenders are more prevalent in both urban and rural counties where a larger share of the population is below the age of 40 and less prevalent in both urban and rural counties where a larger share of the population lives below the poverty level. The number of payday loan stores per million capita is significantly related to the share of the population with a high school diploma (negative sign) and population density (positive sign) in rural, but not urban, counties.

Patterns in Payday Loan/AFSP Placement

Prager recognizes a few general patterns: 1) Payday lenders/AFSPs appear in credit challenged areas; 2) But they tend to avoid areas where the poverty level is highest; 3) AFSPs and other payday loan businesses aren’t seen to be particularly concentrated in Hispanic regions; 4) Payday lenders do tend to appear more in the African-American community; 5) population density and payday lending presence are connected in rural areas, but not as much in urban; and 6) Not surprisingly, areas with tighter regulation show a much lower instance of payday loan companies.

Payday Lenders Do Not Prey on the Poor

This is what Prager found based upon county-to-county data and it runs contrary not only to what the mainstream media would have you believe, but to the findings of a number of past studies. Credit scores remain a prime factor in distribution of AFSP. Going where the need is greatest is an idea that holds up in this instance. Mainstream credit may be less expensive on average, but if a consumer does not have the credit to access such a thing, then payday loans are the best options. As federal, state and local governments devise new ways of continuing to limit the industry, what exactly do they think credit-challenged individuals are going to do? If sinking beneath the waves of poverty so that they’re “out of sight, out of mind” is a feasible solution for elected officials, then perhaps people who can display more reason and human compassion deserve a turn.

Apply for Payday Loans here!

Allyson Ames | Image from OC Metro

America definitely has a fascination with people who “make it” at a young age and don’t spend their lives just waiting until check cashing time. This can mean winning the Olympics, becoming famous or getting rich. Mark Victor Hansen’s fascination with rich young people lies in using their stories to inspire others.

Hansen calls himself “America’s ambassador of possibility” on his web site, and his latest book, “The Richest Kids in America: How They Earn It, How They Spend It, How You Can Too,” is aimed at inspiring “readers of every age to wake up their inner being and obtain their true financial freedom!” Allyson Ames, president and co-founder of Wonderland Bakery in Newport Beach, Calif., is featured in Hansen’s book.

Who is Allyson Ames?

I’m not sure what age group Hansen considers “kids.” Allyson Ames is 23, but she’s been making big money as an entrepreneur for a couple of years. She was named Best Young Chef in America when she was 17. Fast-forward to now, and Business Wire reports:

Allyson Ames has created Wonderland Bakery, a unique retail bakery concept specializing in cupcakes, cookies, artistic cakes and whimsical gifts. An enchanting mix of equal parts Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, Alice’s Wonderland and Candyland, Ames and Wonderland Bakery’s celebrity following has earned national media attention.

She has created cookies for President Barack Obama’s inauguration day events, baked the reigning “Best Gingerbread Cookie” according to Whoopi Goldberg and The View, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger honored Wonderland Bakery with the 2008 California Business of the Year Award.

Could it possibly get better for Allyson Ames?

Obviously, Allyson Ames was doing very well even before she started her media tour and appeared on The Today Show and CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. Now that she’s got national television news media talking about Wonderland Bakery, it might have a big enough impact to call for business expansion. And it appears Allyson Ames is ready for that. Business Wire reports:

This holiday season, Ames will commence an expansion plan that includes whimsically designed point-of-sale displays that will be placed in retail locations from coast to coast. She is in negotiations to host a children’s cooking show; internationally license the Wonderland Bakery brand of toys, games and products; and will expand with five new Wonderlicious party, cafe and retail stores in major markets, with the first stores in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

More about Wonderland

I couldn’t find a figure telling how much Allyson Ames’ business is worth, but if it’s any indication of who Hansen considers “The Richest Kids in America,” the first person he profiles in his book has a business worth $1.5 million. Here’s more about the Wonderland product line from Business Wire:

She has recently added to her brand a collection of “Bake Memories at Home” desserts, a mesmerizing line of merchandise, a best-selling book, Wonderlicious The Enchanting and Delicious Wonderland Bakery Adventure, a read-a-long book for the animated Allyson Wonderland bear by Gund.

More on ‘The Richest Kids in America’

You can purchase “The Richest Kids in America” through Hansen’s web site, www.markvictorhansen.com, and of course through Amazon.com. A customer review on Amazon says:

I’ve been seeking a good book to give to young people to inspire them – especially now during this recession. There is too much talk of government bailouts so Mark’s book has come at the right time. Each story will show, in a different way, the path to success of very different people. Great, compelling and very personal on some levels.

My dad always tried to encourage me to use, spend and invest money wisely. I am betting most dads, even the ones who aren’t particularly financially savvy themselves, try to instill similar ideas in their children.

These Father’s Day gift ideas will not only show Dear Old Dad how much you appreciate him, they will show what you have learned about saving money and finding good deals. Check out these inexpensive Father’s Day gift ideas. Most of them are free, so you won’t need to do any check cashing before you start on your gift.

Make him a web site

If you’ve got digital photos and a bit of tech savvy, you can easily make a web site dedicated to your father on a free personal web page hosting site. Most of these operations provide design tools and web space for no cost. Just plug “make free personal web site” into a search engine, and you’ll have plenty of hosts to choose from.

If you play your cards right, this Father’s Day gift idea could end up being completely free. Many of the page hosting companies are easy to use, so you don’t need training in design software and web programming code. If you’ve already got pictures and a few ideas for things to write about your dad, you’re halfway there. Make a web site dedicated to explaining why your dad is the greatest. Not only will be be flattered by the kind words, he’ll have the gift of knowing he has a smart, frugal child.

Sneak him a screensaver

If you’re somewhat tech savvy, but not web-site-building tech savvy, here is another free Father’s Day gift idea. You can sneak a free screensaver onto his computer at home or work to show appreciation without spending cash.

Check out this website: fatherhood.about.com. There is a collection of free screen savers that will entertain and flatter your father.

Give him a secret safe

There's a gift idea hidden in these screws.

I came across this idea on About.com, and if you’ve already got a mason jar, some nuts and bolts, a scrap of cardboard and a toilet paper tube, you won’t need to spend a dime. This Father’s Day gift idea will show that you’re frugal and care enough to spend some time making a gift. It will also provide your dad with a clever hiding place for small valuables, such as cash or keys.

Just cut the scrap of cardboard so it fits in the bottom of the jar. Make sure the toilet paper roll is the same height as the jar. Glue the end of the tube to the cardboard so you can stand up the tube in the jar. Then just fill in the space between the tube and the jar with nuts and bolts so it looks like the jar is filled with them.

For the techno-Dad

If you want to spend some cash on Dad this Father’s Day, but not too much, check out  this list from PC Magazine of 10 tech gifts for less than $100.

This is a great list for adults who want to get something great for their dads, but donn’t want to break the bank. This list of Father’s Day gift ideas includes inexpensive hand-held video games, great ideas for video games for dads and other useful gadets.

A rare glimpse of a discoboat dinosaur on its way to the tar pits. Oh look... it's already stuck!

Aside from rampant overproduction and an overall lack of quality, one of the major reasons the discoboat dinosaurs of the American automobile industry are in over their heads financially – and in dreadful need of a big payday cash loan from a giant check cashing business – is that their record on producing environmentally friendly vehicles has been sorely lacking. That’s why the CAFE standards President Obama is going to require of the nation’s automakers is so important. With better, more fuel-efficient vehicles, sales will eventually increase and the recession will be beaten back.

Environment News Service (ENS) reports that President Obama is determined to make the CAFE standards the “highest auto fuel efficiency standards ever attempted in the United States.” Aside from the obvious benefit to the environment, the development of new greener technologies should eventually begin to stimulate job growth within the diseased auto industry as production capability and demand increase.

A ship-shape fleet

If Obama’s upgraded CAFE standards (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) are adopted as expected, the required fleet car average for fuel efficiency would be 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. Currently, the CAFE standard is 27.5 mpg for cars and 24 mpg for light trucks. Obama’s national CAFE standards – would begin with 2012 model cars.

An unnamed government official commented that “the projected oil savings of this program over the life of this program is 1.8 billion barrels of oil.” Furthermore, the official claims that under President Obama’s proposal, “tailpipe emissions would fall by more than 30 percent.”

Obama has an ally in California

California is one of 13 states that has been petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency for years for permission to enact their own emissions standards. These standards would have been significantly more strict than the national standard (reducing harmful emissions by 30 percent in passenger cars by 2016 has been the Golden State’s goal). California supports Obama’s drive for heightened CAFE standards that former President George W. Bush refused. Now the EPA is reconsidering California’s previous request.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be on hand to attend the president’s CAFE standards announcement.

“If EPA does grant the waiver, California has agreed that they will defer to the proposed national standard that we are announcing tomorrow,” according to the unnamed official.

The industry-wide effect

“It’s important to note that all companies will be required to make more efficient and cleaner cars,” said the official. “We do that by proposing individual standards for each class size of vehicle and then a fleet average for each company. This has the effect of preserving consumer choice – you can continue to buy whatever size car you like, all cars get cleaner.”

Is anyone surprised that the world’s major automakers said in a joint statement that they’ll support Mr. Obama’s CAFE standards statement? The rest of the industrialized world has generally been ahead of America on environmental issues, and the American automakers have no leeway for argument, considering their sorry state and total dependence on taxpayer dollars.

One national standard, no red tape

For seven long years, there has been a debate over whether states or the federal government should regulate autos. President Obama’s announcement ends that old debate by starting a federal rule making to set a National Program. Automakers are committed to working with the President to develop a national program administered by the federal government. All industries will be called upon to reduce carbon emissions. Automakers play an important role.

Having a national program in place will prevent conflicting standards and give automakers a leg up on long-term product planning. Over the life of the program, experts predict there would be a reduction of 900 million metric tons of greenhouse gas. According to the official, “That is equivalent to taking 177 million cars off the road or shutting down 194 coal plants.”

Following California’s example

President Obama has directed the Department of Transportation to work in tandem with the White House and relevant federal agencies to “coordinate multi-year CAFE standards by April 2010,” writes the ENS.

Executive Director Bill Becker of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies is excited with the changes to come.

“Wish they all could be California… cars? Well under an historic agreement between California and the auto manufacturers, now they will be,” said Becker. “After an initial phase-in, every new vehicle sold in every state in the country will be required to meet California’s clean car greenhouse gas standards. And that’s not all; the auto manufacturers have agreed to drop their contentious litigation and support this landmark regulatory program. Few actions could have a more profound impact in the fight against global warming.”

Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, is equally enthusiastic that the adoption of the new CAFE standards will be a step in the right direction:

President Obama, the state of California, the auto industry, and environmental leaders have come together around a global warming solution that will strengthen our economy and put the auto industry on the path to a clean energy future. The future of the auto industry lies in making cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles that reduce global warming pollution and our dependence on oil.

A triple play

“The new clean car standard being announced tomorrow by President Barack Obama is a triple play – it will help move America off foreign oil, save families money, and spur American businesses to take the lead in developing the job-creating, clean-energy technologies of the future,” said Daniel Weiss, director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress.

“The new standard will dramatically reduce oil use and help make cars go significantly further on a gallon of gas,” he said. “It will also help American car companies make the super-clean cars of the future. And finally, it will help us compete with China, whose leaders have already announced their intention to become the worldwide leader in the production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.”

The open road awaits

“Automakers are selling 130 models of automobiles that achieve 30 mpg or greater on the highway,” McCurdy said. “Consumers can now test drive 35 models of hybrids or clean diesel in dealer showrooms. More technology is on its way to market.”

Thanks to the proposed new CAFE standards, the American automobile industry will be an exciting place again soon. It’s palpable, a veritable shiny check for chasing. Once the specter of their collapse (and need of a gigantic payday cash loan from the American people) vanishes, America could be heading back to the top of the automobile industry.

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