There should be ZERO Pubbies for this.
Let the Dems take full credit if it passes.
Five Reasons Cash for Clunkers is a Joke - Why Cash for Clunkers is more a political maneuver than substantive help for the U.S. auto industryor the environment.
With news that Congress has passed its ballyhooed $1 billion Cash for Clunkers bill, we feel compelled to voice our skepticism about the program. Heres the bill in a nutshell: Buyers of new vehicles between July 1 and November 1 will be given a voucher for $3500 if they forfeit a post-1984 car or truck that has been registered for at least one year and has a combined fuel economy rating at least 4 mpg lower than their new vehicle. The voucher grows to $4500 if the increase in fuel economy is 10 mpg or higher. The old car or truck is then crushed and recycled.
Here are five reasons we dont think this program is worth the time it took to draft it, let alone a billion dollars:
1. The voucher replaces the trade-in deal you might otherwise get from the dealership; its not in addition to the cars private sale or trade-in value. In other words, if youre trading in a car thats worth $3000, your net gain is only $500. Although if your car is worth $100, CFC couldnt come at a better time.
2. Were not sure how many folks driving cars worth $3500 or less are in the market for a new car in the first place. Sure, theres the occasional fresh-out-of-college new-hire (were not sure whos hiring right now, but well play make-believe) that might still be ready to move from a Dodge Omni to a shiny new Honda Insight, but people driving cheap old beaters are probably doing so because they cant afford a new car. And $3500 doesnt go far when the average transaction price of new cars hovers around $24K. The vouchers dont apply toward the purchase of used cars, for which the majority of old beaters are traded in.
3. People driving large, gas-gulping old cars and trucks often do so because they need the utility those vehicles provide. Old station wagons, for example, have few modern counterparts that are as versatile while achieving better fuel economy. Ditto pickups, which have gotten bigger and more capable but not much more fuel-efficient. And if the government thinks that someone is going to step out of a 1994 Dodge Ram into a Honda Fit, they need to get out of D.C. a little more often.
4. Naturally, we have some reservations about any bill designed to facilitate wiping outwere sorry, recyclingany automotive species. And lets face it, while there are a lot of bona fide clunkers out there, were afraid that a bunch of future classics will get caught in this roundup. We propose, then, that a certified auto enthusiast (paid, of course) be placed at all certified CFC dealerships to screen the cars that are brought in, returning the cool carsincluding anything with T-topsto the streets.
5. Besides cleansing the U.S. of gas-guzzling pigs, the other supposed benefit of the CFC program is to provide a short-term boost to the starving auto business. However, we hope these legislators dont expect it to meaningfully help the domestic automakers. Many of the automobiles with fuel-economy ratings high enough to qualify for the vouchers come from Japan and Korea.
On the bright side, the cost to taxpayers will be minimal when no one actually participates.