Tags : clash for clunkers
“Cash for Clunkers” To End Monday
Washington, D.C. (AHN) – The hugely popular “Cash for Clunkers” ends on Monday, a little over two weeks after Congress approved an additional $2 billion to augment its nearly depleted funds, and amid complaints from dealers over the backlog in reimbursements from the government.
“This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work,” Secretary LaHood said. Now we are working toward an orderly wind down.”
Officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), the program has been a big hit among consumers who gladly traded in old cars or trucks for new, more energy efficient vehicles to avail of $3,500 or $4,500 vouchers.
As of Thursday, there were more than 457,000 dealer transactions worth $1.9 billion in rebates.
Clunkers was supposed to run through until Nov. 1, but response was so great that its $1 billion was nearly used up before lawmakers settled their arguments about whether to extend it with more funds. It ends at exactly 8:00 pm ET on Aug. 24.
The program helped lagging auto sales, but there is continued disagreement if it pushed the industry toward fuel-efficiency, or if its four-mile-per-gallon requirement will effectively reduce emissions.
Requirements for eligibility issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration include that old cars be manufactured less than 25 years ago, and have a fuel efficiency of at least 18 miles per gallon. Dealers are required to trade in the clunker for a new vehicle that has at least 22 mpg, a standard critics had said will not decrease emissions enough to justify the costs of the program.
There has also been uproar among dealers about the rate of reimbursements from the administration.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has asked Lahood to “expedite” the process, warning, “Dealers have been forced to effectively finance the CARS vouchers for buyers until the dealers are reimbursed by the federal government, placing a strain on dealers’ balance sheets that, if prolonged, could eventually offset some of the benefits of the program.”
Lahood has taken steps to speed up support for dealers, such as assigning additional staff to work on Clunkers.
The White House said on Thursday it was doing everything it can to expedite the processing of applications.
“We tripled the number of people to process applications that are coming in. We understand some of the frustration, but I think it’s also helpful to understand that we cannot — we have seen applications that are legally incomplete, that don’t fit the requirement. That requires us to go back to the dealer to get additional information,” Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.
The National Automobile Dealers Association has urged its members to “now focus their attention and efforts on submitting reimbursement claims prior to the looming deadline.”
The Association also explained, “Any applications submitted prior to the deadline and then rejected may still be funded if the applications are subsequently corrected (even if the corrections are submitted after the deadline). This opportunity to cure the application is an essential element of the wind-down of the program… now dealers around the country can begin implementing an orderly wind-down of the program, while managing their customers’ expectations.”
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- Never mind ‘cash for clunkers’ how about ‘cash for old guns’?
- Cash For Refrigerators Rebate Program Starts October 15 in the U.S.
- AOL Offering Cash For Applications
