'Cash for Clunkers' Out of Gas Already?
The new "Cash for Clunkers" program had just barely cleared regulation last week. That’s the program where car buyers can get up to $4500 to trade gas-guzzling clunkers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. But already it looks like Congress’ $1 billion subsidy to consumers is out of gas.
It's been popular with consumers and car franchises.
Through late Wednesday, 22,782 vehicles had been purchased through the program and nearly $96 million had been spent. But dealers raised concerns about large backlogs in the processing of the deals in the government system, prompting the suspension. A survey of 2,000 dealers by the National Automobile Dealers Association found about 25,000 deals had not yet been approved by NHTSA, or nearly 13 trades per store. It raised concerns that with about 23,000 dealers taking part in the program, auto dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 vehicle sales funded by the $1 billion program. – AP
The Transportation Department called lawmakers to tell them they may suspend the program Friday, but White House officials said they were weighing their options.
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Related Reading:
'Cash for Clunkers' Runs Out of Gas, WSJ ($$)
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