It’s extremely disappointing to learn that highly touted Cash for Clunkers program mostly exchanged old Ford or Chevrolet pickups for new ones that receive only slightly better gas mileage.
An analysis by The Associated Press, as reported by Yahoo! News, shows:
The single most common swap – which occurred more than 8,200 times – involved Ford F150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford F150s. They were 17 times more likely to buy a new F150 than, say, a Toyota Prius. The fuel economy for the new trucks ranged from 15 mpg to 17 mpg based on engine size and other factors, an improvement of just 1 mpg to 3 mpg over the clunkers.
The AP's analysis of sales of $15.2 billion worth of vehicles at nearly 19,000 car dealerships in every state also showed:
Owners of thousands more large, old Chevrolet and Dodge pickups bought new Silverado and Ram trucks, also with only barely improved mileage in the middle teens.
Those deals helped the Ford F150 and Chevy Silverado – along with Ford's Escape midsize SUV – climb into the top 10 most-popular vehicles purchased with the government rebates, reports Yahoo! News’ article “'Clunker’ Data Show Pickup-for.jpgckup Trades.” The most common truck-for-truck and truck-for-SUV deals totaled at least $911 million.
It's a violation of the Cash for Clunkers program to give the rebates for new cars and trucks that got the same or worse mileage.
Although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating these violations and dealers that submitted invalid trade-ins will have to return the rebate, it’s upsetting that consumers and dealers defrauded taxpayers and the federal government.
Consumers, businesses, and the government need to work together in a spirit of fairness and honesty to come through the Great Recession and restore our economy. Turning in a gas guzzling pickup or SUV for a new gas guzzling pickup or SUV doesn’t cut it in terms of producing a good outcome for all.
Flickr photo by JFeister
From a bumper sticker:
“A man and his truck; it’s a beautiful thing!”
Every man I know either owns a truck, has owned a truck, or wants to own a truck! The report is frustrating and I do understand what you’re saying. I think some behavioral changes are glacial!
Hi Cheryle,
Thanks for your comment and telling me about the bumper sticker. It made me chuckle.
Rita
The program has been receiving negative feedback because the policy has shown some loopholes. Perhaps reviewing the details could reinvigorate the original goals of the program.