All Entries Tagged With: "cars"
Cash For Clunkers A Gift For Honda and Toyota
When the “Cash for Clunkers” program (a.k.a. CARS) was signed into law 2 months ago, there were a lot of different advantages pitched at the American taxpayer:
- CARS will help the environment by getting rid of polluting old vehicles
- CARS will help the economy
- CARS will help the auto industry
- CARS will help the domestic automakers earn a profit
While we can’t speak to the environmental, economic, or overall auto industry benefits, we CAN speak to the idea that the CARS program helped domestic automakers: For 3 out of 3 domestic manufacturers, the answer is NO.
According to a recent report from IBISWorld, an independent company that analyzes the auto industry, the domestic manufacturers took less than there fair share of the cash for clunkers dollars.
Here’s the data:
How To Kill A Perfectly Good Engine for $5.68
We’ve already talked about the buying a Toyota Tundra under the Clash for Clunkers “CARS” program, but here’s a quick recap.
The government offers $3500 to $4500 to trade-in a vehicle that gets less than 18mpg provided that:
- You’re buying a car that gets better than 22mpg.
- You’re buying a truck that gets better than 18mpg or one that gets at least 2mpg better than the vehicle you’re trading or
- You’re buying a work truck.
The specifics are sort of complicated, so you should visit the official Cars.gov website to figure it all out.
One of the requirements of this bill is that the vehicle you trade-in is scrapped. Unfortunately, scrapped doesn’t begin to describe the torture that your clunker’s engine is put through. The description of the scrapping process isn’t for auto fans with a weak stomach…here’s how it works
Toyota Tundra Cash For Clunkers Notes
As you’ve undoubtedly heard, congress is very close to passing a so-called “cash for clunkers” bill (technically known as “Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act“).
The idea behind this bill is to get older, less fuel-efficient vehicles off the road and replace them with newer cars and/or trucks. The hope is that this bill will 1) Help kick-start auto industry sales and 2) improve the environment by crushing a bunch of older vehicles that are currently polluting.
While there are a lot of very smart people who dislike this bill – either because it’s not environmentally sound or because it’s not going to work – the fact is that none of this seems to matter. The bill was passed by a healthy majority in the House of Representatives, and most analysts seem to think it will pass in the Senate and be signed into law shortly. So, with that in mind, here’s what you need to know if you’re considering buying a new Toyota Tundra using a Cash For Clunkers voucher:
