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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Procrastinators Rush In as Clunkers Runs Out

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(Newser) – Cash for Clunkers revved into overdrive during its final weekend, the New York Times reports. After Thursday’s announcement that the Car Allowance Rebate System would end tomorrow at 8pm, consumers across the country raced to dealerships, resulting in long lines, epic haggling sessions, and hours of overtime work. “Everybody who was thinking about it is rushing through the door,” a salesman says. “The only problem is we’re running out of cars.”

As of Friday, the clunkers program had received half a million applications, and one Georgia dealership closed 11 such deals in a single morning. Some car owners were nostalgic about trading in their old piles—“My eyes are getting watery right now just thinking about it,” one says—but most seemed to relish the opportunity. “I’m just doing my part for the new socialism,” one man says.

The Obama administration will bring to an end the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program on Monday, Aug. 24, giving car shoppers a few more days to take advantage of big government incentives.
The Obama administration will bring to an end the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program on Monday, Aug. 24, giving car shoppers a few more days to take advantage of big government incentives.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
In this July 28, 2009 file photo, a car turned in as a clunker sits in a recycle dumpster at Capitol City Buick Pontiac GMC  in Berlin, Vt.
In this July 28, 2009 file photo, a car turned in as a clunker sits in a recycle dumpster at Capitol City Buick Pontiac GMC in Berlin, Vt.   (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, file)
In this Aug. 4, 2009 file photo, a sign promoting the Cash for Clunkers program is seen in front a Ford Dealership in San Jose, Calif.
In this Aug. 4, 2009 file photo, a sign promoting the Cash for Clunkers program is seen in front a Ford Dealership in San Jose, Calif.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, file)
In this photo made Friday, Aug. 21, 2009, a Cash for Clunkers sign is displayed at a dealership in Indianapolis.
In this photo made Friday, Aug. 21, 2009, a Cash for Clunkers sign is displayed at a dealership in Indianapolis.   (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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It’s an endearing word now, ‘clunker’—this is my little clunker, my old clunker. Especially now that it’s going to die. It’s going to be lethally injected. - Chris Bonk

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