Cash for Clunkers Boosts Foreign Car Sales

[BloodEclipse]

What will be even funnier, is if the majority of that money went to purchase foreign cars.

That is what I said in another thread. This is the facts:




August 04, 2009 2:51 PM



ABC's Jonathan Karl reports from Washington:
The Cash for Clunkers program has been widely credited with boosting auto sales in July, but most of the sales boost is benefitting foreign car companies.
In fact, four of the top five cars bought through the program as of today have been Japanese cars. Here’s the top the five, according to the Department of Transportation:
1. Ford Focus
2. Toyota Corolla
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Prius
5. Toyota Camry
The Ford Escape is number six, followed by Hyundai Elantra, Dodge Caliber and the Honda Fit. The only car from General Motors to make the Top 10 list is the Chevrolet Cobalt, coming in at number 10.

The Senate will likely vote to pump another $2 billion into the Cash for Clunkers program before money runs out on Friday, but it is taking a big push from President Obama to get it done.
“We are going to pass cash for clunkers,” declared Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said after leaving today’s White House meeting with President Obama.
But Senator Reid’s newfound confidence that the program will be extended comes only after a big push from the White House.
The program is popular, has been credited with boosting auto sales and passed overwhelming the House, but there hasn’t been much enthusiasm for it in the Senate.
For one, this was never a Senate program. The first $1 billion for the Cash for Clunkers was added by the House of Representatives to the emergency war spending bill in June. It never actually passed as a stand-alone measure in the Senate. The Senate went along with it but never had a separate vote.
Senator Diane Feinstein is now willing to vote for an extension of the program, but like many other Democratic Senators she thinks the program’s fuel efficiency standards are way too low – you can $3500 credit for buying a car that gets a mere 4 miles per gallon better mileage than your clunker.
But Feinstein dropped her objection to continuing the program only after sales figures showed that the first 250,000 who have taken advantage of it have traded clunkers for cars that get, on average, nine miles per gallon better mileage.
Not all Democrats are on board yet, however. Senator Clair McCaskill (D-MO) told ABC News that she still has a lot of questions, including: How will the program end? How much of the money is going to buy foreign cars? And more fundamentally, why is the government subsidizing the purchase of cars?
“Why not $4500 for old refrigerators why not $4500 dollars in other small businesses around my state that are struggling? So I just think that we have to be careful that we don’t go too far with this program that we don’t spend too much money on this program,” McCaskill told ABC News.
The majority of Senate Republicans oppose the program, but while they will vote against it, Republican leaders say they will not attempt to use procedural maneuvers to block the bill.

 

[rambone]

The government subsidizes the companies to make the cars, then subsidizes consumers to buy the cars. This is straight up socialism.

 

[BloodEclipse]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MSNBC.com[/FONT]

White House withholds data on car sales
No way to verify the success — or not — of the ‘cash-for-clunkers’ program
The Associated Press
updated 4:43 p.m. ET, Tues., Aug 4, 2009

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is refusing to quickly release U.S. government records on its "cash-for-clunkers" rebate program that would substantiate — or undercut — White House claims of the program's success, even as the president presses the Senate for a quick vote for $2 billion to boost car sales.
The Transportation Department said it will provide the data as soon as possible but did not specify a time frame or promise release of the data before the Senate votes whether to spend $2 billion more on the program.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Sunday the government would release electronic records about the program, and President Barack Obama has pledged greater transparency for his administration. But the Transportation Department, which has collected details on about 157,000 rebate requests, will not release sales data that dealers provided showing how much U.S. car manufacturers are benefiting from the $1 billion initially pumped into the program.
The Associated Press has sought release of the data since last week. Rae Tyson, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the agency will provide the data requested as soon as possible.
Electronic details of each transaction
Department officials already have received electronic details from car dealers of each trade-in transaction. The agency receives regular analyses of the sales data, producing helpful talking points for LaHood, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs and other officials to use when urging more funding.
LaHood said in an interview Sunday he would make the electronic records available. "I can't think of any reason why we wouldn't do it," he said.
LaHood, the program's chief salesman, has pitched the rebates as good for America, good for car buyers, good for the environment, good for the economy. But it's difficult to determine whether the administration is overselling the claim without seeing what's being sold, what's being traded in and where the cars are being sold.
LaHood, for example, promotes the fact that the Ford Focus so far is at the top of the list of new cars purchased under the program. But the limited information released so far shows most buyers are not picking Ford, Chrysler or General Motors vehicles, and six of the top 10 vehicles purchased are Honda, Toyota and Hyundai.
LaHood has called the popular rebates to car buyers "the lifeline that will bring back the automobile industry in America." He and other advocates are citing program data to promote passage of another $2 billion for the incentives -- claiming dealers sold cars that are 61 percent more fuel efficient than trade-ins.
No way to verify claims without data
LaHood also said this week that even if buyers are not choosing cars made by U.S. automobile manufacturers, many of the Honda, Toyota and Hyundai cars sold were made in those companies' American plants.

But there's no way to verify his claims without access to the Department of Transportation's data.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has argued against quick approval of $2 billion for the program because little is known about the first round of $3,500 and $4,500 rebates.
"We don't have the results of the first $1 billion," McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said. "You don't have them. We don't have them. DOT doesn't have all of it. We'd hate to make a mistake on something like that.

"Nothing to see here, move along smartly."
So much for being Transparent.

 

[fireball168]

The definition of "foreign" might look a little funny after seeing where most are (or will be) built.

1. Ford Focus - Sedan and wagon built in Wayne, MI - 3 door in Hermosillo Mexico

2. Toyota Corolla - Built in Fremont, CA and 15 other countries around the world. North America gets mostly California but some Japan made vehicles.

3. Honda Civic - North American consumption vehicles built in Ohio and Canada with all Hybrids built in Japan.

4. Toyota Prius - Built in Japan, new assembly plant built and waiting for the economy to pick up to put into production in Mississippi.

5. Toyota Camry - Built in Kentucky and right here in Lafayette with some production coming from Japan. Also built in Australia, China and Russia for their individual markets

 

[Paco Bedejo]

Just because a car doesn't have a Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler emblem on the grill doesn't mean it's any more foreign than what you perceive as a "domestic vehicle". Most parts & sub-assemblies are made in other countries, shipped to the states, then assembled into the final product.

 

[hookedonjeep]

You would think that they would have limited the program to rebates for GM (Government Motors), since that is what Obamatard had the Gub-ment take over!

 

[BloodEclipse]

You would think that they would have limited the program to rebates for GM (Government Motors), since that is what Obamatard had the Gub-ment take over!

I would like to have thought the program never existed. What a waste of tax dollars, even if they all went to only American made vehicles.

 

[Catmanjoe]

This is a stupid program they are using mine and your tax dollars to help with other peoples car purchases.... I have a 2002 Chevy Pickup 160,000+ miles runs great 22 mpg paid for.... Why are they doing this don\'t people understand WE are paying for this it is not some magical free money..

 

[Phil502]

Just because a car doesn't have a Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler emblem on the grill doesn't mean it's any more foreign than what you perceive as a "domestic vehicle". Most parts & sub-assemblies are made in other countries, shipped to the states, then assembled into the final product.

Who gets the profits, the American company we bailed out or the Foreign company we didn't? That's enough of a point for me.

 

[Dryden]

The most ironic thing about this whole issue...

The Democrats are touting it as one of the most successful government programs EVER.
(Well, under their definition, it is... buy a bankrupt company for billions more than it's worth, pay the employees excessive salaries to build products nobody buys, give those products away, repeat as necessary.)

 

[jedi]

@ those saying foreign cars are selling more
The intend of the rebate program was to get people to buy **MORE FUEL EFFICENT CARS** thus why not all trade-ins qualify. No where in the law or discussion was tak about BUY USA ONLY was included.

Since the US owns GM it would have made biz since to pass the program with a GM ONLY item in it in which the GMcar most be majority built/assmeble in the US. But alas congress does not know to run a biz. So lets allow them to run national health.

This is a stupid program they are using mine and your tax dollars to help with other peoples car purchases.... I have a 2002 Chevy Pickup 160,000+ miles runs great 22 mpg paid for.... Why are they doing this don\'t people understand WE are paying for this it is not some magical free money..

Incorrec to a certain point. Yes YOU and I and anyone else that works is paying for this. But at this time we don't know the break down of who pays TAXES is buying these cars and who DOES NOT pay taxes is buying these cars. Plus do not forget that I6BO is all about spreading the wealth. This is one way of doing it under the covers so to speak.

Now camanjoe is you continue to bash I6BO I'm afriad that BoR is going to have to send an email to the White House to report you. I would send it myself but I already have enough I6BO cookies to last me a lifetime.

 

[melduagun]

THERES NO UNDERSTANDING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE! wE JUST LET OUR STOCK BROKERS ( CURRENT ADMINISTRATION) INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN COMPANYS THAT ARE AMERICAN OWNED OPERATED AND TAXED (WHICH MONEYS ARE KEPT IN AMERICA IN TOTAL) AND THE ONLY WAY TO SEE ANY PROFIT OR PAY BACK TO US (THE INVESTORS) IS TO BE AMERICAN BUY AMERICAN. FOREIGN AUTOS ARE NOT AMERICAN IF THEY WERE THE PROFIT FROM THESE AUTOS (FOREIGN) WOULD BE KEPT IN AMERICA, THEN YOU MIGHT SEE A REAL TAX ABATEMENT.bUY FORD, GM, CHRYSLER. THEN WE MAY SEE EVEN A PROFIT. BUYING ANYTHING OTHER IS LIKE INVESTING YOUR MONEY IN A COMPANY THEN HELPING TO BANKRUPT IT, THEREBY DESTROYING OUR INVESTMENT. WHEN AMERICA HAS NO MORE INDUSTRIAL BASE THAT SERVES AMERICA. THEN WE ARE AT THE MERCY OF OTHERS!

 

[indykid]

So with all the yelling above, a car made in Indiana (Honda Civic) that supports the local economy is no good, but a General Motors Pontiac G8 made in Australia is ok?

How about a Chevy Camaro made in Canada less foreign than a Toyota Camry made in Lafayette Indiana?

How much profit in true dollars goes overseas to foreign nameplate when the cars are made by Americans paying tax to the US and state, part manufactured in the US by Americans paying tax to the US and state?

How much is our economy helped by cars made in foreign countrys by non-Americans paying no taxes nor supporting our economy, but a small percent of the sale price goes to some American corperate board of directors?

 

[Denny347]

Heck, the dealers are reporting that they are selling more than they have in stock. Car companies cannot keep up with demand. Ford is posting a profit rather than a loss. If car factories are making cars, if people are working, then this is a good thing. This might actually be something the gov is not totally messing up.

 

[Bill of Rights]

Now camanjoe is you continue to bash I6BO I'm afriad that BoR is going to have to send an email to the White House to report you. I would send it myself but I already have enough I6BO cookies to last me a lifetime.

Obama cookies? Keep that up and you'll be getting a red rep from me, Jedi.

 

[El Cazador]

Heck, the dealers are reporting that they are selling more than they have in stock. Car companies cannot keep up with demand. Ford is posting a profit rather than a loss. If car factories are making cars, if people are working, then this is a good thing. This might actually be something the gov is not totally messing up.

Well, good for you. I'd like to step away from this game of three card Monte, and have them quit using my tax dollars to help buy someone else a car.

 

[BloodEclipse]

Heck, the dealers are reporting that they are selling more than they have in stock. Car companies cannot keep up with demand. Ford is posting a profit rather than a loss. If car factories are making cars, if people are working, then this is a good thing. This might actually be something the gov is not totally messing up.

This is artificial demand and like any other bubble it will soon burst and we will all be worse off from government intrusion.

 

[BloodEclipse]

‘Cash for Clunkers’ Puts the Brakes on Donations



Charities, which offer a tax write-off as little as $500 next spring, are having a hard time competing with the "cash for clunkers" program, which offers car buyers rebates of between $3,500 and $4,500 for trading in their gas-guzzlers for new, higher-mileage models.


Riteway Charity Services in Sun Valley, Calif. turns thousands of donated cars into money for local food banks, homeless shelters and Boys and Girls clubs. They say the recession put a dent in donations; they're down 30 percent from last year.
"It's pretty bleak, pretty bleak," said Teresa Deutsch, co-owner of the charity. "People are very leery to donate their vehicle. They are holding on to what they have, fixing the cars that they have and so the charities are really affected by that. It really hurts us."
Now the car rebate program has really put the brakes on, leaving charities third in line. Charities can offer a tax write-off as little as $500 next spring. But that just can't compete with the program handing car buyers rebates of between $3,500 and $4,500 for trading in their gas-guzzlers for new, higher-mileage models.
"In this tight economic time, I thought I might as well get as much help as I can," said Debbie Chang, a car buyer. "So yeah, I have thought about donating but unfortunately I do need a vehicle for myself."
The Senate is likely to extend the wildly popular program with a $2 billion injection before leaving for a month-long recess this week. The funding would triple the cost of $1 billion rebate program and give as many as a half-million more Americans the chance to grab the new car incentives through September.
Car companies have credited the clunkers program with driving up sales in late July. Most consumers are buying smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles under the program, according to a list of the top-10 selling cars released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
But repair shops and parts stores are hurting as some customers trade in their clunkers instead of fixing them.
The latest IRS figures show 300,000 cars were donated in 2005. And while the program may be a shot in the arm for dealers, charities that rely on donated cars say Uncle Sam has put them on life support.
Some economists worry the program may be a drop in the bucket.
"My only concern is what happens when the program expires, which is going to be soon," said Jack Kyser, an economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. "Do sales go back down, which they very well could. This is sort of an artificial stimulus."

Oh it just gets better all the time. I just read where
the Toyota Corolla has overtaken the Ford Focus as top seller.