Free Republic

In a bid to stay slightly more relevant in the midst of rapidly changing times, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer has proposed a $454 billion plan to swap traditional gas-powered cars to electric vehicles, Automotive News reports. Not all of the $454 billion will go to consumers, though. Schumer’s plan includes billions in incentives for automakers to build or outfit EV factories as well as billions of dollars to improve the EV charging infrastructure. The 29 percent of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the “transportation sector” does not only cover new cars, though that’s what’s always targetted. It covers cars, trucks,...

When was it, exactly, that petite Toyotas and stubby Hondas came to rule the American road? One milestone in the compact-car takeover dates back to the summer of 2009. Times were, as you’ll recall, pretty dark. The US economy was bleeding jobs. Trillions of dollars in wealth in stocks and home equity had been vaporized. People were clinging to what cash they had—and definitely not spending on cars. With sales nosediving, several flagship US auto companies were on the brink of ruin. And then came the great Keynesian experiment known best as “cash for clunkers.” Under the bipartisan program, the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. economy went into reverse in the first three months of this year as a severe winter and a widening trade deficit took a harsher toll than initially estimated. The Commerce Department says the overall economy as measured by the gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the January-March period. The revised figure, even weaker than the government's initial estimate of a 0.2 percent growth rate, reflects a bigger trade gap and slower consumer spending. It marked the first decline since a 2.1 percent contraction in the first three months of...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The nation's top automakers reported disappointing sales Wednesday, resulting in the worst August for industrywide auto sales in 27 years. According to sales tracker Autodata, U.S. new vehicle sales fell just short of 1 million vehicles, a drop of 21% from a year ago, which included Cash for Clunkers. That federal program created a sugar rush of sales by dangling an incentive of up to $4,500 in cash for buyers who traded in older gas guzzlers for more efficient models.

It’s been one year since the United States government threw some jumper cables onto slumping auto sales with the trade-in program known as Cash for Clunkers. However, as time passed, some car agreements made by consumers under the government incentive program has bred some buyers remorse of late. According to LeaseTrader.com, droves of Cash for Clunkers-inspired vehicle lessees (who is said to account for 1 in 5 total vehicle sales during the incentive’s period) are actively seeking rescue from their contracts. In lease agreements required to be a minimum of five years, a degree of these commitments have fallen under...

C4C Since “Cash For Clunkers” applied to Ford, GM and Chrysler. Why did Ford Motor Company post a ONE BILLION DOLLAR 3rd quarter PROFIT and GM and Chrysler post losses? It couldn’t be the autos since all models are about the same size, design and price. I believe it was the consumer buying more Fords as a REWARD for not taking TARP money and remaining a private company. The more units sold, the more profit. Consumer votes have been cast. Ford, GM and Chrysler have gone their separate ways. Now when GM and Chrysler look up they see the gutter...

The Cash for Clunkers program was widely touted as a major success by the administration but like most things coming out of Washington that was was a fabrication. The Automotive research website Edmunds.com did a simple business analysis of the cash for clunkers program and discovered that American Tax Payers payed an average of $24,000 to sell each additional car in the clunkers program. A total of 690,000 new vehicles were sold under the program, all but 125,000 would have been sold anyway. Divide the the total cost of $3 billion by those 125 thousand cars and you arrive at...

the list of all 690,114 trade-ins.

Not a JOKE! Someone thought it was a Good idea to trade in these two rare vehicles in the Cash 4 Clunkers program... Jalopnik has a list of the ten most exotic cars that were scrapped in Cash-For-Clunkers. A Bentley Continental R worth $307,000 and an Excalibur Autos Phaeton. Only 1,290 of these Bentleys were built. Now one has been destroyed. Click on the pictures below to see the rest.

Here are the news stories, editorials, and videos that conservatives dugg Tuesday, September 1, 2009. Please take a moment to digg these articles at Digg.com, then get back over here! What is Digg? And why should I care?

Here are the news stories, editorials, and videos that conservatives dugg yesterday, Wednesday, August 19, 2009. Please take a moment to digg these articles at Digg.com, then get back over here! What is Digg? And why should I care?

Over all the Cash for Clunkers program makes about as much sense as breaking all the windows in the country so that you can sell new windows. You trade in a car get $4,500 toward a new car and the dealer has to destroy your old car, instead of re-selling it. This clunker of a program breaks a key rule of economics, for an economy to grow you need to create capital. The United States economy is in the crapper and our government, is destroying capital. It gets even worse, dealers all over the country have been complaining because they...

This is the same government that wants to take over your health care. Many auto dealers are getting upset that the government is being very slow paying them back the money they laid out for the Cash for Clunkers program. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that some dealerships are owed more than $100,000 resulting in difficulty making payroll: It [Cash for Clunkers] has generated the most showroom traffic they have had in months while at the same time heaping unease, frustration and worry onto the industry's worst-ever downturn. As of the close of business Friday, there was talk in...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – With the Senate poised to pass a bill Thursday night expanding the "cash for clunkers" program with an infusion of $2 billion, White House aides say President Obama will quickly sign the bill into law by the end of the week so there's no interruption to the popular incentive this weekend. "He's going to want to make sure the funds are in place by this weekend," one senior White House official noted because of the particularly brisk weekend business the program has sparked. There has been concern the program is so popular it will run out of...

AUSTIN, Texas -- As Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison head toward an epic primary showdown in the race to be Texas governor, the two haven’t been able to agree on much lately. -snip- But even in their agreement, the campaigns found a way to keep the debate heated. “After years of deficits, earmarks and bailouts, this is yet another example of the federal government offering a program it can’t pay for,” Miner said, taking a jab a the federal government and, by proxy, Hutchison. Hutchison’s campaign criticized Perry for opposing a federal program that’s almost identical to...

More lack of transparency from the Administration that promised to be the most transparent in in history. Sometime this week the Senate may be voting whether or not to give an additional $2 Billion to the program. Funny thing is Obama's department of transportation is stonewalling the the release of the data that would show how the program is doing. How can the senate vote on the extension of a bill without knowing whether the program is a success or not? Well when you look at how the president has rammed things through before, without letting congress read the bills,...

Economists can argue back and forth in the media about the effect of big government programs such as the stimulus package and Obamacare but few things have illustrated government waste as effectively as this disturbing YouTube video in which a well running Volvo engine was destroyed as part of the Cash for Clunkers program. This video is currently going viral on the Web and has sparked outraged comments from many people whom I suspect have previously remained somewhat uninterested in the often elusive topic of economics. However, the wasteful destruction of this car seems to have awakened an economic sense...

Cash for Clunkers is a success! Obama said so! Our economy is on the quick road to recovery, right? Switch back to reality. The U.S. economy is like a small flame on a campfire, flickering and striving to light up the dark. The U.S. Congress, in its 'wisdom,' is not addressing the fundamentals of the economy. No, they are not conscientiously building up the woodpile underneath the flame to make it a roaring fire and strong economy. Sad to say, they are merely throwing gasoline on the flame, hoping that it will ignite the economy's recovery. ...Lest we forget, the...

Let’s have a $4,500 subsidy for everything. Americans are streaming back into auto showrooms, and one reason is the “cash for clunkers” subsidy. Democrats are naturally claiming this is a great success, while Republicans are claiming that because the program has run out of clunker cash so quickly, this proves government can’t run the health-care system. How do we elect these people? What the clunker policy really proves is that Americans aren’t stupid and will let some other taxpayer buy them a free lunch if given the chance. The buying spree is good for the car companies, if only for...

Washington, DC – On the heels of news that all of the $1billion in funding appropriated for the “Cash for Clunkers” or “CARS” program has been exhausted, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) today stated that any extension of the program must adhere to higher fuel efficiency and greater emissions reductions. Senators Feinstein and Collins, along with Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) previously authored an alternative “Cash for Clunkers” proposal that would have achieved 32 to 38 percent greater oil savings and emissions reductions than the enacted program. Following is a joint statement from Senators Feinstein and Collins: “The...