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'Cash for Clunkers' Is a Car Wreck

By Drew Nelles,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 18, 2009 5:20 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Cash for Clunkers program should never have left the lot, Michelle Singletary writes in the Washington Post. The premise is fine: Give people a financial incentive to trade in old gas guzzlers for new gas sippers. It's the details that smell like a lemon. "The law does not apply to the purchase of used cars, encourages people to take on more debt, and doesn't require the new cars to get substantially better gas mileage."

In short, this $1 billion program is just “welfare for the limping auto industry,” Singletary argues. The new fuel-efficiency standards are as low as 15 mpg for some trucks, and the program allows leasing—as long as the lease period is 5 years or more. “Oh, goody: Our federal government has now given people an incentive to stay in a cycle of car debt,” Singletary writes. For those still game, click on the link for her tips on navigating the system.

The first family to purchase a new car with Cash For Clunkers at Paragon Honda in Woodside, New York.
The first family to purchase a new car with Cash For Clunkers at Paragon Honda in Woodside, New York.   (PRNewsFoto/Paragon Auto Group)
In this 2008 file photo, 2009 Prius sedans sit at a Toyota dealership in Frederick, Colo.
In this 2008 file photo, 2009 Prius sedans sit at a Toyota dealership in Frederick, Colo.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
In this May 15 file photo, Chevrolet HHR's are seen on display at a Chevrolet dealership in San Jose, Calif.
In this May 15 file photo, Chevrolet HHR's are seen on display at a Chevrolet dealership in San Jose, Calif.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 12 comments
tazsugs
Jul 25, 2009 4:20 AM CDT
the program works if your in the market for a new car anyways and you have a old one you have had a long time.i traded 14 mpg for 28mpg for under ten grand.
riffran
Jul 20, 2009 8:04 AM CDT
uhhhhhh....pass
Reader65069154
Jul 20, 2009 1:03 AM CDT
If you don't have any success, just keep blaming the last guy... this is such tired rhetoric.

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