Cash for Clunkers a Wild Success ?
Susanna Murley on July 31st, 2009
Over the last 7 days, the Cash for Clunkers program has run through it’s $1 billion budget. So many people participated in the program, which was expected to last until November 1st, that house lawmakers had to scramble today to find more money to fund it. The Senate is expected to approve the additional funds this week. Whether it can be considered a success is still debated, and one can ask the viability of it as a solution for the long-term.
From a press release sent out by Rep. Waxman:
Preliminary statistics show that consumers who have participated in the program have received a 69 percent improvement in miles per gallon average from their trade-in vehicles, and will reap an average annual gasoline savings of $750. These preliminary statistics, from www.CashForClunkersInformation.org, also show that 79 percent of trade-ins are SUVs, trucks and vans with over 100,000 miles and most are being replaced with new passenger cars.
Here are some preliminary statistics:
- 79% of clunkers being traded in so far are SUVs, trucks and vans with over 100,000 miles
- 84% of the new vehicles purchased are passenger cars
- Clunker consumers are getting an average 69% MPG improvement, which will result in an average savings of $750 in gas bills per year
- During the week that the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program was launched, GM’s small car sales increased 54.8 percent over the preceding week
- The leading Ford vehicle being purchased under the program is the 28 mpg Ford Focus at nearly 30 percent of all Ford sales
- Toyota reports that 78% of their Cash for Clunkers volume were the Corolla, Prius, Camry, RAV 4 and Tacoma, with a resulting average of 30 mpg
- Hyundai is reporting a 59 percent increase in fuel economy compared to the old vehicle—which averaged 140,000 miles
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