Got a clunker?

[dmccarty]

I just read a memo I received that is based on the Department of Transportation and it says that, so far, 60% of the vehicles purchased using a "clunker" for a trade in has been a Honda, Toyota or Hyundai. Other 'foreign' manufacturers make up another 8% of the sales. That means that the U.S. "Big Three" are only selling 32% of the vehicles being purchased via the government give-away program. I wonder if this was predicted?

There was some news churn yesterday that DOT would not release the figures. I have not seen that this has hit the news yet. I think it was predicted which is why the removed the requirement to buy the car from a domestic company.

Later,
Dan

 

[Dargo]

There was some news churn yesterday that DOT would not release the figures. I have not seen that this has hit the news yet. I think it was predicted which is why the removed the requirement to buy the car from a domestic company.

Later,
Dan

The facts are starting to leak out and it's not good for the domestic manufacturers. Just look at this thread and see how many have bought imports. I personally have no issue with imports. I just have an issue with my tax dollars being wasted. This program is not doing what was promised yet the O administration is going to double it regardless and, with the facts being what they are, the faster the better to avoid major revolts.

 

[scott_vt]

This program is not doing what was promised yet the O administration is going to double it regardless and, with the facts being what they are, the faster the better to avoid major revolts.

Good Afternoon Dargo,
Exactly !

Once its gone its really gone..... and we get to pay off the bill....

 

[dmccarty]

... I don't look at it like "free money" though. I just look at it like I got a little more of my money back from the government.

AMEN!

I don't know why people find this hard to understand.

Our county and county seat are spending $360,000 to fund a bus service to ONE local city for 18 months. Working out the math its reasonable that it will cost $15-20 round trip per person per day. That does not include any fare the riders pays. What is there is already bus service going to the major employer in that city.

And there are people who think this bus service is a good thing. The county is having to layoff teachers and teacher aides whose jobs have a wide impact but we will spend money on a bus service for a select few. I doubt they will even get the ridership they are thinking and the cost per rider will be much higher.

Later,
Dan

 

[jas67]

How about just giving me my money back and let me spend it to boost the economy....

I AGREE!

This also applies to the all the corporate welfare bailouts (Wallstreet, AIG, etc).

 

[scott_vt]

And there are people who think this bus service is a good thing. The county is having to layoff teachers and teacher aides whose jobs have a wide impact but we will spend money on a bus service for a select few. I doubt they will even get the ridership they are thinking and the cost per rider will be much higher.

Later,
Dan

Good Afternoon Dan,
I assume your speaking about the ridership on todays school buses ?

If you are, thats kind of a sore point around here, hardly anyone uses the buses that are provided for our HS students. In the last few years it has become increasingly uncool to ride the bus !

Unfortunately no one wants to compromise this service in any way, so the taxpayers just get stuck paying for something that is totally underutilized !

 

[dmccarty]

Good Afternoon Dan,
I assume your speaking about the ridership on todays school buses ?

Nope its not school buses. It is a bus service from our county seat to a city with a large University and hospital. What is really whacko about the whole thing is that hospital and/or the university already has bus service to the north part of the county via a park and ride service. The new bus will start at the county seat and go into the university town.

The Mayor who pushed this through is a developer. Our county, especially the part of county through which the bus will drive through but not stop, HATES developers. But they support this mayor. The bus will stop/start at a development created by the Mayor. Conflict of interest? Ya Betcha but the useful idiots worship this guy. I just shake my head and wonder if they can think. Our county WAS half dry. We have ABC stores and you can buy wine/beer at restaurants and stores. But the mayor pushed through a change to allow hard booze sales in bars. Again he will make money because he can sell out parcels to Chili's type places. Conflict of interest? Ya Betcha.

Later,
Dan

 

[2manyrocks]

I wanna $4,500 rebate to trade in my 70's 2 stroke outboard for a nice, new four stroke. I wanna this and I wanna that. And I wanna it all free or somebody else to pay for it. Make people's life savings worthless by printing money they don't have. Let's stick all our heads in the sand and pretend that paper is the same thing as economic production.

 

[TBDonnelly]

The Washington Post is reporting the Big Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) account for 45% of the Cash for Clunker trades.

washingtonpost.com

Don

 

[westcliffe01]

The average fuel economy improvement on the trades is stated as being 66% (from 15-25mpg). I personally had an improvement of about 127% (going from 18mpg to 41mpg). Doing about 20k miles/yr, I will save about 870 gal of fuel per year at a cost of about $2300 at current prices. All raise their hands who think that gas prices are not going up in future ?

My clunker was a good car that served us well, but it had close to 160k miles on it, a KBB value of about $3k, had an expensive ZF transmission that was starting to act up and it needed a timing belt change (major service).

There are plenty people out there who are still employed, who are still bringing home decent pay, but who have been holding back on buying a new car. I think this program is the first thing the government has done since the start of the financial crisis that has had ANY tangible benefit for taxpayers.

Lets remember that the republicans gave the banks the $1 trillion, after being in denial for years. Bush had taken just as much tax money off me as anyone else, but republicans feel that it is somehow justified if you are hitting shacks in the desert with stealth bombers @ $100k/hour. But spending is not justified if one is trying to ween the population off their gasoline addiction ?

People who take advantage of this program and buy a vehicle that is downsized, economical and FUN are unlikely to return to their old ways. And all those who complain about not buying american: The fact is that FORD, GM and Chrysler sell fuel efficient vehicles in other countries, just not here. If people buy products from competitors, and I might add, first world competitors - not chinese sweatshops - they are sending a message to the big 3 that they had better not ignore.

As of this summer, you can get a turbo diesel passenger vehicle from VW, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. Chrysler dropped the ridiculously overpriced Grand Cherokee with the mercedes engine and the others have nothing. Shame on them, when manufacturers in foreign countries have to build vehicles to meet more stringent emission regulations than their own and start selling them here in the US when the Big 3 have nothing to offer their own people.