car_guy

Cash for Clunkers: A Wildly Expensive Way to Cut Emissions

Your understanding is very wrong. The average buyer increased the fuel economy of their vehicle by over 60% and top selling vehicles have been the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla. To qualify for the $4500 you have to increase mpg by 10 which which is a minimum of 26-28 mpg. Increasing the requirement to 32 mpg eliminates all of the vehicles at 30 mpg combined, including the Corolla and Focus, and leaves only 1 vehicle, the Ford Fusion hybrid, that is manufactured in the US. Eliminates the incentive to preserve remaining jobs at US plants (Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Nissan, etc) and destroys the payback in taxes and reduced unemployment comp.


On Aug 16 10:43 AM Kodi wrote:

> Let's face it, CFC is an expensive vote buying program that should
> have been applied to electric or alternative energy vehicles. Don't
> forget, that to produce a new vehicle, there are environmental costs
> as well. Add up the carbon footprint required to produce a new car
> in steel production, petroleum based plastics, electrical components,
> tires, paint, commuting workers, shipment of a new vehicle, visiting
> showrooms, waste produced, etc. It appears that no one considered
> all the ancillary activities associated with the production of a
> new product. This whole thing stinks of political pandering that
> those of us who did not participate, get stuck with the tab. <br/>
>
> Additionally, my guess is that those who could truly afford a new
> car loan, are not the needy, but likely the son or daughter driving
> the old clunker back and forth to college or work. I see a lot
> of truly poor people still driving clunkers who are unable to purchase
> even a worthy used vehicle. So what does our government do, increase
> personal debt load to satiate a chosen few and increase the prices
> in the used car market.
>
> My understanding is that pick up trucks have been the major purchase
> through this program. What kind of incremental improvement is that?
> It seems to me to truly make an improvement in the environment, the
> minimum mpg for a new vehicle should be set at 32 mpg.