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Auto dealers are already starting to see consumer interest drop off now that clunkers is over. Watch video: http://www.cardealerreviews.org/?p=117185

Here's the figure: $2.878 billion. That's how much money the government owes car dealers for the "Cash for Clunkers" program. More than $200 million of that is owed to dealers in Illinois and Indiana, so CBS 2's Mai Martinez checked with some of them to see how much money they've collected from Uncle Sam. Now that the popular program has ended, many dealerships are asking the federal government to "show me the money." CAPTURE MY CHICAGO: Send us your pictures of Chicagoland. You could get published in a book. "Out of 142 deals they owe us for, we've gotten paid...

The Obama administration brags that Cash for Clunkers was a success because it revived the suffering auto industry. But who really benefited from this $3 billion program? The majority of cars bought with taxpayer-paid incentives of $3,500 to $4,500 each were foreign cars. Toyota and Honda were the big winners. For years, Americans have been pursuing the goal of self-sufficiency in oil, a natural resource essential to our standard of living. But the effort to get our government to revoke its ban on drilling for oil in American waters off of our shores has been consistently checkmated by the liberals...

Auto makers will release their monthly sales reports Tuesday and they're expected to show the first year-to-year increase since 2007. While the Cash for Clunkers program is getting all the credit, local car dealers are still waiting for their cash. During the month long program, Billion Automotive sold close to a thousand vehicles but has only been reimbursed for 272 of them. Vern Eide sold over 200 cars and has only been paid for 27 of them, and that's fueling lots of concerns in the auto industry. Billion Automotive cashed in during Cash for Clunkers, but owner Dave Billion is...

What’s next? ‘Codgers for Caskets?’ Who says government can’t run business? Most everyone! That’s beside the point. Even Obama chides postal failure to dispatch letters across the United States sans profit. But now, the Obamanistas are in the car biz to the tips of their GM tail fins. Cash for clunkers, also knwn as “Send an Asian Child to College,” is now history. The feds have three big advantages against privately owned business: They don’t have to play by the rules, if the promotion tanks, there’s an endless supply of cash from us the taxpayers, and when that runs out,...

This is hilarious: But many of those cashing in on the clunkers program are surprised when they get to the treasurer's office windows. That's because the government's rebate of up to $4500 dollars for every clunker is taxable. "They didn't realize that would be taxable. A lot of people don't realize that. So they're not happy and kind of surprised when they find that out," Nelson said. The amusement here is how most (if not all) states compute sales tax (charged when you register the vehicle.) When you buy a new car you pay tax on the difference between the...

In a statement released today by the UAW, union President Ron Gettelfinger said, “It’s unfortunate the company chose to close a U.S. facility after benefiting so greatly from the federal cash-for-clunkers program, which is funded by U.S. taxpayers.”

Some of the drivers that bought new cars through cash for clunkers are learning that it wasn't quite the deal they hoped for. Keloland Television: But many of those cashing in on the clunkers program are surprised when they get to the treasurer's office windows. That's because the government's rebate of up to $4500 dollars for every clunker is taxable. "They didn't realize that would be taxable. A lot of people don't realize that. So they're not happy and kind of surprised when they find that out," Nelson said. We imagine that MOST people didn't know the rebates were taxable......

YOUR "CASH FOR CLUNKERS" MONEY IS TAXABLE AS REGULAR INCOME.Friends, we have ONE CHANCE to fix this. 2010. If we don't vote every Democrat out of office in 2010, kiss our sweet butts goodbye.

This hilarious piece is written by one of my favorite writers, Gregg Easterbrook. He's also known as Tuesday Morning Quarterback, and he's a sports columnist for ESPN. His football columns often include thoughts on politics. His recent piece on the foolishness of Cash for Clunkers and excessive government spending is brilliant. Ideal Government Program -- Build New Clunkers, Then Immediately Junk Them: Can anyone explain why American taxpayers are being taxed, via the Cash for Clunkers program, to subsidize the destruction of low-mileage cars -- while simultaneously being taxed to support General Motors, which just released a 426-horsepower, 16-mpg Camaro...

Here is video of Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl on with Neil Cavuto today where he said the Government's "Cash for Clunkers" program will result in higher car prices, and will become a "case study in unintended consequences." Anwyl said sales of cars are already dropping dramatically after the artificially created spike last month. He also said prices have already gone up on cars. He says the program actually created an "artificial bubble" and in no way means the economy is improving in reality. . . . . (Watch Video)

The Obama administration spent three billion dollars subsidizing the destruction of 700,000 vehicles in order to boost car sales. Which auto makers actually benefited from these American tax subsidies? Reuters reports that foreign car manufacturers gained market share, while the two bailed-out American automakers lost significant portions of theirs in the big summer sale. Only Ford managed to hold its own:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japanese and South Korean automakers registered the biggest market share gains in the U.S. government's "cash for clunkers" program that ended this week with bankruptcy related inventory shortages hurting General Motors Co GM.UL and Chrysler. Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T), Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T), Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) capitalized on the program's goal of pushing consumers away from gas guzzling sport utilities and pickups, to more efficient cars and trucks, preliminary sales figures showed on Wednesday. Overseas manufacturers dominate in car sales, while U.S. companies have been stronger in the light truck...

WASHINGTON - The popular Cash for Clunkers program generated nearly 700,000 new car sales during the past month, giving the U.S. auto industry a badly needed jolt of activity during the deepest decline in auto sales in two decades. The government, releasing final data on the car incentives, said Wednesday that dealers submitted 690,114 sales totaling $2.88 billion, bringing the program to a close under its $3 billion budget. Japanese auto manufacturers led American companies in new car sales through the program, which ended late Monday.

The DOT released the final tally on the ‘cash for clunkers’ today. The final data is concerning for the big three automakers because their market share took a big hit. This decrease in market share is due to the fact most of top selling cars under this program are foreign, while most trade-ins were domestic. See Top Selling Cars & Trade-Ins Under the Cash for Clunkers Program...

Yep, you read that right. In many states car buyers that turned in their “clunkers” for up to $4,500 off the cost of a new car are finding out that they have to pay state sales tax on the $4,500 too. And still others just might find out next year that they’ll have to pay income tax on that “free” government money. Many South Dakotans, for instance, have been shocked to find that the wonderful gift from Obama was still added in with the cost of the automobile for the sales tax calculation, so their tax went up accordingly despite...

NOTE: This is actually part of the Tuesday Morning Quarterback column written by Gregg Easterbrook...-------Can anyone explain why American taxpayers are being taxed, via the Cash for Clunkers program, to subsidize the destruction of low-mileage cars -- while simultaneously being taxed to support General Motors, which just released a 426-horsepower, 16-mpg Camaro to complement its 556-horsepower, 15-mpg Cadillac? Under the Cash for Clunkers mileage rules, both cars classify as clunkers!... New clunkers are rolling off the assembly line, subsidized by your taxes.Meanwhile, auto dealers who credited customers with $4,500 for clunker deals are discovering federal rebate checks have not yet...

Some of the drivers that bought new cars through cash for clunkers are learning that it wasn't quite the deal they hoped for: Keloland Television: But many of those cashing in on the clunkers program are surprised when they get to the treasurer's office windows. That's because the government's rebate of up to $4500 dollars for every clunker is taxable. "They didn't realize that would be taxable. A lot of people don't realize that. So they're not happy and kind of surprised when they find that out," Nelson said. Karl Denninger calls this hilarious, and explains the mix up: The...

Video showing how the "clunkers" that were traded in for a new car are disabled by destroying the engine. http://abqjournal.magnify.net/video/Killing-the-Clunkers

When we talk about government policies destroying wealth, we usually mean taxes that shift money from efficient to inefficient uses. Rarely do we mean the deliberate destruction of valuable assets. Yet, thanks to the Cash for Clunkers program, which ground to a halt yesterday, we now have a visual aid to help with this abstract concept. Mechanics tasked with destroying the so-called clunkers have been posting the videos on YouTube, often muttering in anger as they fill the engines of perfectly good Corvettes and Cadillacs with sodium silicate and then run them until they self-destruct. The goal of the Cash...