gearheads78

I found a nice one for our board

http://www.youtube.com/v/X0IcIxhd8ks...</param><param


AP sources: Govt to suspend 'cash for clunkers'
AP sources: Government to suspend 'cash for clunkers' program out of funding concerns
By Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer
On Thursday July 30, 2009, 9:25 pm EDT
Buzz up! 735 Print
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government plans to suspend its popular "cash for clunkers" program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases, congressional officials said Thursday.

The Transportation Department called lawmakers' offices to alert them to the decision to suspend the program at midnight Thursday. The program offers owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle.

The congressional officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

A White House official said later that officials were assessing the situation facing the popular program but auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that transactions under the program that already have taken place would be honored.

Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which administers the program, declined comment.

Congress last month approved the Car Allowance Rebate System program, known as CARS, to boost auto sales and remove some inefficient cars and trucks from the roads. The program kicked off last Friday and was heavily publicized by car companies and auto dealers.

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.

"There's a significant backlog of 'cash for clunkers' deals that make us question how much funding is still available in the program," said Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the dealers association.

The clunkers program was set up to boost U.S. auto sales and help struggling automakers through the worst sales slump in more than a quarter-century. Sales for the first half of the year were down 35 percent from the same period in 2008, and analysts are predicting only a modest recovery during the second half of the year.

So far this year, sales are running under an annual rate of 10 million light vehicles, but as recently as 2007, automakers sold more than 16 million cars and light trucks in the United States.

Even before the suspension, some in Congress were seeking more money for the auto sales stimulus. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., wrote in a letter to House leaders on Wednesday requesting additional funding for the program.

"This is simply the most stimulative $1 billion the federal government has spent during the entire economic downturn," Miller said Thursday. "The federal government must come up with more money, immediately, to keep this program going."

Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said they would work with "the congressional sponsors and the administration to quickly review the results of the initiative."

General Motors Co. spokesman Greg Martin said Thursday the automaker hopes "there's a will and way to keep the CARS program going a little bit longer."

Bluevista

Hmmm, 23,000 dealers and 250,000 cars? A whole 10-12 cars to sell each? Who did the math to begin with?...never mind.
They'll probably want to close more dealers to get the numbers up.
I smell some good deals on used cars and all the surplus muffler pipe joint sealer/ Fedclunker engine destroyer paste coming soon.
Now, if I could just find a job.

Lady72nRob71

I just heard this morning the $$ are all out and computer systems are jammed.
Looks like our taxes will go up soon so they can do it over again...
I can guarantee most of this funding / bailout went right overseas somehow. Geez, where is this country heading.


Oh, wait, I already know...

wolfman98

Whether you like the program or not this will soon turn into a political discussion so maybe we can all just agree to disagree with it for whatever reason and move on.As of this morning looks like the money is pretty much spent and hopefully they give it a rest .

rocketraider

This song came to mind whne I read about this in the morning paper... Substitute "voters" or "car buyers" for "Queenie" and it fits well.

"What happened to my car? and where is all my money?
My friends say I been asking for it and they all think it's funny.
You been mean to your Queenie, you didn't show her no respect.
You been mean to your Queenie-
What the hell did you expect?!?"

Point Blank- "Mean to Your Queenie", Airplay, 1979- which just happens to clock at 4:42 on the album...

Possibly the most underrated of the Southern rockers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jrSh...eature=related if you're not familiar.

BosMobile

I saw on the news this morning,that some of the people who traded,may have to pay the 4500 dollars back,if the GOV does'nt .HA! Serves them right!The video of that aurora makes me sick.Thank the lord that foolishness is over.Later BO

joe_padavano

Don't bet on it (from the news report above):

"Even before the suspension, some in Congress were seeking more money for the auto sales stimulus."

So if I do the math, this means that about one BILLION dollars was spend in about two weeks, and there should now be a quarter million new cars either sold or ordered in the last two weeks. Maybe the government can verify this before throwing good money after bad?

HAHAHAHAHAHA

2blu442

I agree with Joe, there is members of Congress wanting to add 3 to 4 billion more to the program.

Bruce, this is getting into politics but my hope is that some issues cross party lines and this does impact our beloved Oldsmobiles. The car in the video was an Oldsmobile. No matter what political affiliation a person has I think they would oppose measures that they feel are bad for the country, and this measure directly affects our hobby. This site is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Oldsmobiles so I'm going to take the risk and add to the discussion.

I found a link that states reasons we should stop the cash for clunkers program. I agree with them but understand not everyone will. So I'm posting the link for those who are interested to visit the site. But if anyone thinks I'm way off on this one please don't visit the site. John

http://paracom.paramountcommunicatio...ABE631DAADA0AB

gearheads78

Call it political if you want but the simple fact is this was the foot in the door to end our hobby.

As for stupidity how about the fact that all this will do is make it harder to find a running craigslist beater. Lots of people that will drive a car like flat can't afford even the least expensive new car. Hey I got an idea thats have the same guys that bugeted this project as will last till November control much more important item like one that rhymes with wealth bear.

gearheads78

This was just a trial balloon for the next program. "Cash for Crippled" Just bring in a old person that needs a walker and you get 3500.00 toward your own goverment health insurance.

joe_padavano

While I was one of the first in this forum (and others) to warn of this idiocy, I think you are giving the government WAAAAY too much credit. This is simply another handout for the auto dealers and automakers who lobby. The American public is frankly too stupid to realize the government is simply taking the $1 billion out of the taxpayers' pockets, skimming off an administration fee (anywhere from $50M and up, depending on who you believe) and giving it back to the taxpayers. How is this a good deal?

csstrux

IMHO its never a good idea to give anything to the government to deal with or manage. I was doing just fine on my own. Thanks for nothing Uncle Sam. Consider it like this. There is only so much water in a pool ( wealth in an economy) if some one is trying to "fill" the pool up using a 5 gallon pail pulling water from the deep end of the pool (the wealth producers) ALOT of water is going to get spilled on the patio (govt) transporting the water to the shallow side of the pool (the working class/ the"oppressed" poor) Water naturally finds level, and wealth naturally flows to those who produce. We do not need stimulus, and we do not need uncle sam interfering. Not only is it slowing recovery, possibly grinding it to a permanent halt, its costing us our freedom...on all levels. Time to wake up America!

gearheads78

I don't think it will happen tomorrow but I can just see it comming. I hope you are right.

Olds64

I was surprised by this. I guess my friend in Dallas, TX better get off his rear and trade in his Chevy Blazer before they run out of money again.

It is a shame... it is just another form of bailout for Detroit.

Lady72nRob71

But thats if people buy "American" cars, which i suspect most are not doing...

Olds64

I know I sure wouldn't buy an American car! Not after what has been happening...

redoldsman

Fox new is saying the government is getting ready to fund another billion or two for this stupid program. I don't know if anybody else remembers or not but a certain candidiate promised to make Detroit the auto capital of the world again. He sure is trying and doing it with our money. It is not his money he is writing these checks with. Better stop before I get political.

Lady72nRob71

Sadly, it already has...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090731/...h_for_clunkers
Can't my tax $$$ go to a better cause??

csstrux

WTF!?!?! Don't these fools ever learn?????????

I sure hope PPL are paying attention to who is doing this when the house of cards comes crashing down around their heads!

joe_padavano

Great, so now it's 750,000 crushed cars...

gearheads78

6 Months from now the REPO guys will be making a killing on these cars. There will be payment defaults on a large percentage of them.

joe_padavano

That's the truth. Aren't these the same people who can't afford their mortgages now? Let's see, gov't relief on the mortgage payments, and now a cash handout for a new car.

ent72olds

Richard, that's all part of the plan...the poor guy with no money can't get financing anyway now, so he has to take mass transit!!!! Time for me to have a beer with the president!!!

OLD SKL 69

Our president seemed that he was interested in making the American auto industry healthy again by supporting our auto companies. But this program is aimed at anyone buying any make of automobile, not just american. Sadly, the only thing this supposedly accomplishes is to make the autos on the road a little more fuel efficient. And of course, it just gets rid of some future potential classics in the process.

They should have offered a huge tax break for anyone buying a big 3 auto instead of the bailout and this stupid program.

Our tax dollars at work!

z11375ss

I saw where the impact on the used car market would be fairly severe. In other words, anyone who can't afford a new car will not be able to drive because the used ones will be destoyed (or sold at a premium). That is the game played to it's full end. Playing with the fair market system by the government ALWAYS ends up screwing the little guy. BTW Goldman Sachs paid about 10,00 dollars in income taxes last year. That's right 10,000. One of their own has been our Treasury Secretary for the last three administrations. There is nowhere to hide anymore. We are in some deep doo-doo. Vote the Bastards OUT.

jensenracing77

yes! vote them out. we need new blood in there. on both sides of the fence! i only know of a small hand full that i would trust. the sad thing is, that small hand full is hard to get heard.

gearheads78

very small hand full

wolfman98

Almost all of them have special interest groups that are filling up their campaign funds so how can you trust anybody that is allowed to legally be bribed. might as well have the mafia run the country , at least they had strong loyalties and knew how to deal with dissenters

wolfman98

forgot to mention that they pumped in 2 billion more into the CARS program.

citcapp

In the news this morning, most of the cash for clunkers money is going to non-american car companies. At least we are doing our part to shore up the economies of Japan, Koriea etc. Isn't that great. Could have fooled me I thought we were trying to recover our economy. Lots of good engines that could have been used to refirbish older cars are now going to be destroyed and guess what the auto reclycle industry is going to be hurt as selling the engines is were a lot of their income is derived. Sounds like a bad deal to me.

BosMobile

This deeply saddens me,our hands are tied again.Yes,now there going to keep it going.
At least i can save the ones i own,although the used parts will now skyrocket.Damn the gov!Later,BO

Joeypete

I wish it was only for American brands as well, but since Toyota is bigger than GM now...lol...well that wouldn't have gone over well.

I loathe Japanese cars but the fact is that most of the cars sold by Toyota here are actually made here as well, employing American workers. Granted other foreign brands are built overseas, but sales of their cars do help Americans because we are the ones selling them at dealerships!

It doesn't bother me as much because you have to buy a new car, not used. For people who lost their jobs (like me), they can't buy a new car anyhow, unless they are paying cash. I just bought a new car 2 weeks before I found out I was losing my job, really bad timing. I had to provide copies of my most recent paystubs to qualify for the loan, so people on unemployment would be out of luck. I don't think a bank would be too keen on loaning money to someone who's only income is unemployment...

Maybe it's only in my area (Tucson) but all of the "classic" cars I see on the roads here wouldn't even qualify because they are too old. I rarely see an 80's G body or B body on the road. I've noticed with these kinds of cars too that people own them because they like the car, not because it's all they could afford, and would probably keep them anyhow. People don't like driving huge boats anymore. My cars get criticized all the time for that. If they wanted a cheap car, they'd buy an old Civic or Cavalier or similar, especially with gas prices being as volatile as they are now.

Anyway, sorry for the rant but I thought we weren't supposed to be talking about politics in here. It's kind of obvious what political party most of you lean towards and I just don't think it's fair to us "others".

z11375ss

If you think there is nothing you can do, you're wrong. Call your congresscreep and Senator and voice your opinion. It is easy to find out who represents you. Google how to do it and you will see how easy it is to contact them. Your opinion will be duly noted by the person on the other end and you will at least have vented your frustration. Explain to them how this actually does not help America. Tell them you want ONLY American dealers to benefit. Tell them how this will hurt the salvage industry. Do it. I did. And yes, I absolutely hate foreign cars of all makes. High end or low. It's American for me.

Joeypete

Lord knows I've done that plenty...haha. I only buy American cars as well. I grew up only with GM cars, but I bought a new Ford just because I like their new products.

jensenracing77

i know that nobody is perfect but there are some that are good and should stay a little longer. Mike Pence from Indiana is a good one in my opinion. maybe i should not name names. i may not look at this thread any more. it is to easy for me to get political and say something i should not.

BosMobile

TRUE,Its only 84 up cars now,that get 18mpg or worse.I see the writing on the wall for our older cars/trucks though.I'm lucky,alabama does'nt even inspect cars.For those of you that have to register/have inspected,whats that going to be like?I bet a permit or somthing will have to be purchased to even be able to drive a car with less than 20mpg.I feel sorry for my son,he'll have to deal with all that crap.Anyway you slice it,we lose.I dont see this as political,its our hobby getting the shaft,from'' bigbrother''.It does'nt help to go off on a finger pointing tyrade,does it?It sucks,thats a fact!Later,BO

2blu442

Joeypete, sorry this has turned into a political bashing thread for you. But Oldsmobile lovers from both sides of the aisle and the independents in the middle should be offended with this action IMHO. I'm sorry the people pushing this are all in one party which may be the political party your in. If it were the Republicans or Independents behind this act I'd be just as vocal. Maybe more so if it were pushed by someone I voted for. So I'm talking with co-workers, family and friends telling them what I think about this. And the representatives from my state have heard from me. I believe we all need to educate the voters around us when things go awry and this seems to be a forum to reach other car lovers. So I'm sorry if you or any other Oldsmobile lovers have been offended, but I feel the need to get the word out. John

wolfman98

I guess it goes toward that old saying that you can't please all of the people all of the time and this policy does not sit well with classic car people.Whether it's Olds or Chevy , Ford or Chrysler-Dodge people we all willlose some cars and parts that will make the hobby more difficult in the future. It is everyone's right to disagree with any policy that congress implements and express that to their representatives. that is the fundamental right of everyone within a Democracy.That being said we should limit comments to how it will affect us and our hobby without too much party bashing.The part of the policy that I really have issue with is the scrapping of all the cars when there could be a lot more jobs saved and income created by salvaging the cars and not scapping them.It should be left to the salvage yards what they do with any vehicle that comes to them. If they can make way more money parting a car out would they destroy it?

agtw31

that video was neat.

Auroras are actually just a Cadillac with an Olds emblem.

ent72olds

I didn't read this anywhere in the thread, but guess where the steel is going after these cars are scrapped and processed? That's right.....CHINA! Might be used to pay off some of that debt we owe them.....hard to believe the amount of jobs we provide over there, and amount of "sub-quality" products we buy from them that we are in such great debt with them!