I think the cash for clunkers program in the US is great way to come out of the economic situation, for both businesses and individuals.
What cash for clunkers is - is that you exchange your old gas guzzling car for a new hybrid one, or even get money for it.
I'm not sure how much money was involved, but its still a good deal, to save on fuel, and also for companies like ford to sell their hybrid cars, so that the company doesn't go down!
Anybody choose to comment? 
Cash for clunkers was a mistake...and here is why.
1...Spent 3 billion of our tax dollars.
2...Took over 700,000 vehicles off the road, a good chunk of which were still perfectly good.
3...Biggest sellers...Toyota and Honda...even though most of them are made here, the profits went strait over seas...doesn't help out our economy that way.
4...The only people that could take advantage of it were mostly the wealthy...the new cars that qualified were still mostly over $10,000 after the rebate...well out of reach for most people right now that actually need a new vehicle.
5...Sure it boosted the auto industry...for a few months. What happens now that the program is over? People still can't afford a new vehicle, people are still loosing their jobs which means they won't be buying a new vehicle. Soon the dealer inventories will be overloaded just as before and the auto production industry will fall again. Some of these plants turn out over 1000 new vehicles a day...which means one plant alone would be able to replace the 700,000 vehicle whole in the inventory in less then 2 years. With all plants up and running, even at half capacity, will mean 3-4 months and there will be to many sitting again. On top of that before Cash for Clunkers thousands of new vehicle dealerships were given the pink slip...which means there's that many less lots to fill with new vehicles...so meeting quota won't take long at all.
So basically it did nothing. Bailing out one industry is not going to turn things around. As a farmer that's seen many small farms go under the last couple years because the cost of fuel, and production went through the roof, where the hell is our bailout 
Nothing more disgusting then driving by a dealership and seeing a line of older trucks, that were exactly what I've been looking for to replace mine...all marked clunker and going to be destroyed. That hurts people like me that can't afford a new vehicle, and relies purely on the used market to get something reliable for a price I can afford. Now there's that many less I have to choose from. And my hard earned money that was taxed to death was responsible for footing the bill of this program. As a tax payer I should have a say in where my money goes, but this government spends it however they please and don't ask us what WE think about a program like this.
Not only that...half the new vehicles sold didn't really get that great of mileage. 25mpg highway for a brand new car is nothing...My old 97 3/4 ton Chevy truck with a 5.7L V8 engine gets 24mpg on the highway....a brand new car with a smaller engine should be getting double that 
So the program in my opinion was a waist of tax money and a failure. Auto industries already got billions in bailout money that they pocketed, this just gave them more. You can't bail out one industry and say the economy is going to turn around. There's many other industries going under every day but you don't see them getting a dime to help them out. Cash For Clunkers was all just a big publicity stunt. Yes this is a debate in Economics which is continuing for hundreds of years that if Goverment makes a long wall, destroys it and rebuild it, it is good for economics and employment.
We have a similar thing in the UK:
1. Car company and government both put £1,000 into the price of a car, making the cost to the consumer drop by £2,000.
2. Car industry gets more sales, saving it from collapse.
3. The eligible cars are hybrid, making the UK's CO2 emissions smaller.
The only problem is, the car companies are putting the prices up by £1,000, meaning they put nothing in, and it is entirely subsidised by the government.
Hey guys, your views are right and noteworthy, but the fact remains, is that should the government see the fall of companies, or should it help, especially since these auto companies do contribute to the economy.
My personal opinion is that the government should let them fall on their arses and learn their lesson, but that still doesnt boost or save the economy.
Also, triple_7, they arent good cars, I think the new cars exchange program is for more fuel saving cars, is it not? 3 billion added to the loans/bailouts already given to the US auto manufacturers. Sad, most of that 3 billion US taxpayer's money went overseas.
| lagoon wrote: |
We have a similar thing in the UK:
1. Car company and government both put £1,000 into the price of a car, making the cost to the consumer drop by £2,000.
2. Car industry gets more sales, saving it from collapse.
3. The eligible cars are hybrid, making the UK's CO2 emissions smaller.
The only problem is, the car companies are putting the prices up by £1,000, meaning they put nothing in, and it is entirely subsidised by the government. |
We have just extended ours for another 500,000 cars. Hopefully it will stop auto company disaster... | lagoon wrote: |
| Hopefully it will stop auto company disaster... |
The auto companies need to stop their own disasters, or die trying.I know someone who works at a dealer, and they said most people why took advantage of the cash for clunkers were already going to buy a car... not many people bought a car BECAUSE of that program....
My personal opinion is that the cash for clunkers program just delayed the demise of the auto manufacturers in the US. Reason being is that the US middle class, the major consumer of the worlds goods is comllapsing. By shipping jobs overseas at a rate of around 30,000 a month, the major coroprations are increasing the rate of unemployment, until they stop the trend of sending all the jobs overseas, and actually creating jobs for americans to work, the place will eventually destroy it's own market, by driving enough of it's own consumers into unemployment, and a subsistance living, IE: they are no longer consumers, or purchasers on the market.
I understand that the attitude is that by sending jobs out of the US, they are increasing the economy in other countries thus creating a global market place, and a wider variety of countries in which to make sales and earn money. I guess it remains to be seen if that works or not, but in the mean time, it spells an ineviteble decline of the US market, and the eventual downsizing, and dwindeling market of US Consumers for any company that sells to the american public.......just my thoughts on it anyway.
| ocalhoun wrote: |
| lagoon wrote: | | Hopefully it will stop auto company disaster... |
The auto companies need to stop their own disasters, or die trying. |
I suppose it bring us back round to the debate over companies that are 'too big to fail'. If they are just that, they should be broken up. | lagoon wrote: |
| If they are just that, they should be broken up. |
I argued the same before the bailouts happened.
I think it could be interpreted as another reason to have anti-monopoly legislation, and the authority to break up large employers based on excessive economic risk could be added to that legislation. | menino wrote: |
I think the cash for clunkers program in the US is great way to come out of the economic situation, for both businesses and individuals.
What cash for clunkers is - is that you exchange your old gas guzzling car for a new hybrid one, or even get money for it.
I'm not sure how much money was involved, but its still a good deal, to save on fuel, and also for companies like ford to sell their hybrid cars, so that the company doesn't go down!
Anybody choose to comment? |
This project was a joke. It just made people buy cars that were already going to buy cars in the next four or five months. So, you had a huge rush on the market. Some of the dealers haven't even been paid all of their money yet.Yes, I initially thought that the clash for clunkers was a good thing.
I still belive its a good thing, but not good enough.
Still though, its an offer that also caters to global warming.
In all seriousness though, people who used the cash for clunkers program were anyways going to buy a car - agreed. But the additional incentive was they get rid of their old car. This is mainly a marketing scheme initiated by the government to try and patch up a couple of problems.
I think the main thing that the government should be doing is lowering taxes, so that people can afford to buy cars. 
