Hi Rybold,

Does the senate have to OK this as well before it takes effect ?

Yes, then the President needs to sign it.

Oversized dumpsters with 1 or 2 vehicles inside seem to be the universal ad at dealerships around here where the containers are yellow.

"Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the average mileage of new vehicles purchased through the program is 9.6 miles per gallon higher than for the vehicles traded in for scrap."

"LaHood said some 80 percent of the traded-in vehicles are pickups or SUVs, meaning many gas-guzzlers are being taken off the road. The Ford Focus is a leading replacement vehicle."

"Making its case for more funding, the administration collected information on 80,500 vehicle transactions logged into the government's operating system through Saturday afternoon. Gibbs said the fuel efficiency improvements would save a typical customer $700 to $1,000 a year in fuel costs. The new vehicles were getting 25.4 miles per gallon on average, a 61 percent increase over the models traded in."

Doing the math, 25.4mpg - 9.6mpg = 15.8mpg avg on clunkers.

'Clunker' sales nearing quarter-million; what now? - Yahoo! News
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"Through early Tuesday, the clunkers program had recorded 157,000 transactions worth $664 million. Eighty-three percent of the vehicles traded in were trucks or SUVs,
while 60 percent of the vehicles purchased were passengers cars, for an average increase in fuel efficiency of 61 percent, he said."
Dem leader says Senate will extend 'clunkers' - Yahoo! News

The Top Ten Cash for Clunkers Trade-Ins:

1. 1998 Ford Explorer

2. 1997 Ford Explorer

3. 1996 Ford Explorer

4. 1999 Ford Explorer

5. Jeep Grand Cherokee

6. Jeep Cherokee

7. 1995 Ford Explorer

8. 1994 Ford Explorer

9. 1997 Ford Windstar

10. 1999 Dodge Caravan

The Top Ten Cash for Clunkers New Cars:

1. Ford Focus

2. Honda Civic

3. Toyota Corolla

4. Toyota Prius

5. Ford Escape

6. Toyota Camry

7. Dodge Caliber

8. Hyundai Elantra

9. Honda Fit

10. Chevy Cobalt


Top Cash for Clunkers Trade-Ins and New Cars- Yahoo! Autos Article Page

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"Toyota Chairman and President Akio Toyoda said that the supply of the company's Prius model is running tight because of the Cash-for-Clunker program."

Toyota Exec: Prius Supply Low Due To Clunker Program - Automotive * US * News * Story - CNBC.com

(this article also reveals a new Toyota sports car, and plug-in and EV plans)

I'm glad to see so many of those guzzling Explorers being traded in for F.E. cars.

Technically the cars aren't being traded in as they can't be resold. They are being scrapped and the dealer has to damage the engine before sending it to mthe junkyard which reduces its salvage value. When I visited a Toyota dealer last weekend I saw 12 CARS vehicles & 1 lemon (I presume) buy back sitting on the lot.

anyone know when the senate will start voting?

Love seeing the death of those gas guzzling POS Exploders. I hated those damned things from the start back in the early 90's and they had much less comfortable seating than the much maligned G2 Prius driver's seat. They can follow their "Eddie Bauer Edition" legacy into the scrap heap.

This program is looking much more successful than I had anticipated. I'm glad that it appears that it will be renewed.

Sometime before the end of the day on Friday. Senate goes to recess for one month beginning this Friday. Several key republican senators were quoted yesterday and today casually implying that it will likely be approved. Originally, several republican senators were planning on delaying, filibustering, or blocking the vote. Now, they are saying they will allow the bill to go to vote but they will vote "no" on it. This is okay because the democrats say they have enough votes to pass the additional $2bill (essentially, the same votes that passed the original $1bill.

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Senate Approves Additional $2 Bill Cash For Clunkers by 60-37 Vote.

Good Article, Lots of Data:
Senate Adds $2 Billion to 'Clunkers' Plan - WSJ.com

Reality check: Trucks win in Cash for Clunkers game - Aug. 7, 2009

An independent analysis by Edmunds.com using traditional sales measurements, tallying sales by make and model, disputed the government's results which showed small cars as the top choice for shoppers looking for Clunker deals.

For example, the Ford Escape crossover SUV, instead of being the seventh-most popular vehicle under the program, as the government ranked it, was actually the best seller, according to Edmunds.com.

The government uses a more arcane measurement method that subdivides models according to engine and transmission types, counting them as separate models.

...

Edmunds.com's "Top Ten Clunker Buys" list is based on transaction data collected directly from dealers.

NHTSA, the agency responsible for running Cash for Clunkers, was not immediately able to respond to a request for official Clunker sales tallies of several vehicles, including all their variations. When presented with Edmund's analysis, the agency didn't dispute that the way in which it counted the vehicles would tend to reduce the totals of vehicles with many variations.

Even Edmund's list doesn't show the whole picture. They show the Escape as number one and the Focus as number two, but how many of each were sold? Did the Escape outsell the Focus by one car or by 50% ? We don't know. I think if the two are close, meaning the Escape only outsold the Focus by a few vehicles, then the Cash For Clunkers program was a success. Sure, I would rather see a requirement saying the new vehicle must get a minimum of 31mpg, but this is better than having all of those old Explorers still on the road. You could make the case that Explorer drivers are SUV drivers and would choose the Escape naturally, but I'm sure there are just as many Explorer drivers that are fed up with spending such a huge chunk of their paycheck on gasoline.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The popular U.S. government "cash-for-clunkers" program, offering rebates of up to $4,500 to car buyers trading in older, fuel-thirsty vehicles, will end on Monday, the Transportation Department said.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement that the program, aimed at boosting vehicle sales while helping the environment, has recorded more than 457,000 dealer transactions worth $1.9 billion in rebates as of Thursday.

U.S. "cash-for-clunkers" program to end Monday - Yahoo! Finance

Toyota and GM both announced they will send money to dealers now for Clunkers program, so that dealers won't immediately have to worry about getting reimbursement from the Fed so they can pay their bills for this month. GM, Toyota to Give Cash to Dealers for 'Clunkers' Deals - FOXBusiness.com

I went to my local Toyota dealer tonight (When I went out to go for my evening walk tonight, I decided to go to the Toyota dealer and walk around and look at cars. ). Power Toyota in Irvine, CA is a HUGE dealer. As a result of this, they had about 200 clunkers (I counted and estimated, this is an systematic estimate). About 70% of the clunkers were SUVs or trucks and about 30% were cars. I snapped a few photos. I'll attach them here. (The last photo is not a clunker. It was a Camry that I really, really like. Now, if I can just find it in a hybrid. But, I'm still going to wait and maybe get the 2010 Prius. I can dream about the Camry and Prius, right? )