Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
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In an effort to take gas-guzzling vehicles off the road, the government has initiated a program that will give new car buyers a monetary incentive to trade in their older, less fuel efficient cars and trucks. Known affectionately in the media as the Cash for Clunkers program, the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS incentive program, will allow a $3500 to $4500 payday to be put into the pockets of those who wish to help the government make traveling greener. By reducing the number of less fuel efficient vehicles on the road, we can save money and help the environment in general by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels.
This program was started a week ago, but due to its popularity, seems to be slightly underfunded. Initially, it was to last until November, but the money allotted for the program is just not enough to cover the overwhelming demand for the rebates as well as the number of dealerships eligible to offer these incentives for customers. Overall, officials are looking for an additional $2 billion to keep the program running as more than 23,000 dealerships are vying for the rebates as consumers are quickly taking advantage of the program. They estimate that the first $1 billion is spoken for by over 25,000 vehicles turned in. The House of Representatives has passed the increase, but it will be difficult to make it through the Senate vote.
The program is used only for vehicles made after 1984 with combined gas mileage of less than 18 mpg, although some larger trucks and conversion vans have different requirements. This makes millions of cars eligible, but you cannot just go out and buy a “clunker” to get the rebate, as you must have had the vehicle insured and in your name for the past twelve months to qualify. This will cut down on fraud as well as assure that no one tries to take advantage of the government’s generosity.
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Economy & Business News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
