Huh. And there I was thinking that The New York Times was pro-Cash for Clunkers. Now that all#8217;s said and done (well, done), the paper slates the government program as . . . wait for it . . . inefficient. (Well, they did call for a #8220;well-designed#8221; program.) Post-mortem, the Gray Lady does the math. [...]

divpa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e20120a582c9ff970c-pi style=display:inline;img alt=FordEscape border=0 class=at-xid-6a00d83451b3c669e20120a582c9ff970c src=http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e20120a582c9ff970c-800wi title=FordEscape//aAfter receiving the final numbers from the Cash For Clunkers program, we decided to see how our suggestions for replacement cars fared against what Americans bought in the program. Unfortunately, not well. Only two of the a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2009/08/feds-release-final-cash-for-clunkers-numbers.html#moreTop 10 cars/a bought with the government incentive were a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=buyamp;story=cash-for-clunkers-picksamp;subject=clunkersamp;referer=amp;aff=nationalour picks/a: the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape. /pp Even though the government offered to cut up to $4,500 from the selling price, it seems that our picks were a little too expensive to make the list. Our top five cars had an average MSRP of $19,050, while the top five cars the nation bought under the Clunkers program averaged around $15,900. /pp Although more expensive, the Prius seems to make up for its higher price with its fuel efficiency, boasting 48/45 mpg city/highway. At least we suggested the only SUV on the top 10 list, the Ford Excape scraped by at No. 10. /ppemEditor’s Note: On her last day in the office, intern Lauren Makholm authored this post on Cars.com’s Cash for Clunkers advice./em/p/div

Wednesday the NHTSA released the final statistics from the popular Cash for Clunkers program that showed Toyota as the top manufacturer of new car sales under the rebate program. In second place was GM. Regardless of this short term success from the automotive stimulus program Toyota has decided to close its production facility in Fremont California.
The [...]

The NHTSA issued a press release with the final numbers from the Cash for Clunkers program which is showing that the number of transaction did not exceed the $3 billion in funding.. This is good new for car dealers and consumers since the possibility of needing additional funding was discussed.
C.A.R.S. Program Statistics (PDF)
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Dealer [...]

pAs you may have noticed, the Federal Reserve not only fueled the housing bubble, but then also transformed from central banker into a central planning agency, specializing in corporate welfare. Since the onset of the financial crisis the government has become the nation’s biggest mortgage lender, guaranteed nearly $3 trillion in money-market assets, and took in some $600 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities. It has also taken equity stakes in nearly 600 banks, numerous insurance companies and both car companies. /ppMost obscene is the rescue of financial firms that behaved recklessly. AIG alone received about $180 billion; that is almost $2,000 for every American household. Normally, profits encourage risk-taking and losses encourage caution. By removing profit and loss motivations, the government also removed the incentive for those financial institutions to restrain themselves, and in effect teed up the next financial crisis. /ppAs if all that was not enough, Washington is experimenting with bogus stimulus, such as the cash for clunkers program. Taxing Peter to subsidize Paul’s new car is not a recipe for sound economic growth. And there is never a free subsidy. Resources used to subsidize one industry always come at the expense of another. Such subsidies might enable their recipient to produce more and sell at lower prices than they otherwise would, but they artificially raise the costs for other industries. As businesses are hindered from developing skills that would make them more productive, the welfare and wealth of the entire country is reduced. br /br /
Another recent knee jerk reaction has been the rise of protectionism. However, subsidies are wrong even if they come to the aid of an industry exposed to unfair competition from abroad, such as one supported by a foreign government.br /br /
Protectionists typically rely on casuistry to defend their position. The idea of comparative advantage is lost on them. Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations to explain that free trade expands the size of markets, making capital investments possible and improving skills of specialized workers. Confining economic activity to the local level keeps the market artificially small and reduces opportunities for investment and specialization. It also curtails personal freedom.br /br /
If I had the choice, I would prefer we had a trade surplus with China. The world would be much better off if everyone engaged in free trade (and the Chinese would benefit the most, as their misguided trade policy is most damaging to themselves). But responding with protectionism and subsidies is not in our best interests. /ppIf your neighbors saved more you’d be better off, because their added capital would generate productivity. But you can’t control your neighbors’ saving habits. Would you reduce your own savings in response to your neighbors squandering? That makes no sense.br /br /
After all, the purpose of economic activity is not to sell as much as possible in exchange for as few goods and services as possible. It doesn’t matter how many pieces of paper money are being moved, but what they buy. Voluntary exchanges are not zero sum. Both sides benefit from them, or they would not freely choose to engage in them. br /br /
And our trade deficit is not tantamount to debt. Foreigners often use the cash they get from us to hold dollars or buy dollar-denominated equities or real estate, thus increasing our current-account deficit without any increase in debt./ppIn fact, U.S. current account deficit has actually halved from $829 billion is June 2005 to $409 billion in the first quarter of 2009. At the end of May, China held $801 billion in treasury debt, but domestic savings are increasingly replacing foreign lenders, and treasuries are still only about 1% of total household assets.br /br /
So instead of fretting about the policies of other countries, we should avoid making our own blunders. Transferring wealth from tax payers and consumers to large corporations, as the cash for clunkers program did, we are compounding the situation to the detriment of all involved, except the special interests and lobbyists. br /br /br /emAlan Schram is the Managing Partner of Wellcap Partners, a Los Angeles based investment firm. Email at aschram@wellcappartners.com.br //em/p More on China pa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/v7B5gAbJEy8_cgnuN37vyACpJ_w/0/daimg src=http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/v7B5gAbJEy8_cgnuN37vyACpJ_w/0/di border=0 ismap/abr/a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/v7B5gAbJEy8_cgnuN37vyACpJ_w/1/daimg src=http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/v7B5gAbJEy8_cgnuN37vyACpJ_w/1/di border=0 ismap/a/pdiv class=feedflarea rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?a=MK1NLY8rCTY:YlK5de1AoNc:yIl2AUoC8zAimg src=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA border=0/aa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?a=MK1NLY8rCTY:YlK5de1AoNc:F7zBnMyn0Loimg src=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?i=MK1NLY8rCTY:YlK5de1AoNc:F7zBnMyn0Lo border=0/aa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?a=MK1NLY8rCTY:YlK5de1AoNc:V_sGLiPBpWUimg src=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?i=MK1NLY8rCTY:YlK5de1AoNc:V_sGLiPBpWU border=0/a/divimg src=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/huffingtonpost/raw_feed/~4/MK1NLY8rCTY height=1 width=1/

Cash for Clunkers may be over, but its swath of confusion rolls on unabated. Keloland reports that South Dakotans are being told that their clunker rebates are taxable as income. #8220;They didn#8217;t realize that would be taxable. A lot of people don#8217;t realize that. So they#8217;re not happy and kind of surprised when they find [...]

pFiled under: a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/category/economy/Economy/a/pp align=leftimg vspace=4 hspace=4 border=1 align=right alt= src=http://www.blogcdn.com/www.dailyfinance.com/media/2009/08/car-lot-200,-scott-olson,-getty-images.jpg/In a blustering press release touting the success of cash-for-clunkers, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood commented that the program was a win for the economy, a win for the environment, and a win for American consumers./pp align=leftWe interrupt this fantasy for a brief return to Planet Earth. Yes, cash-for-clunkers was a big win for certain segments of the economy: car dealerships and people who build cars (in Asia mostly, but hey). It was a big loss for mechanics, who lobbied heavily against the bill but were outmuscled by the car dealers. And in the long run, it really may have just frontloaded car sales./pp align=left/ppa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/27/cash-for-clunkers-a-win-win-win-think-again/Continue reading emCash for clunkers, a win-win-win? Think again/em/a/pp style=padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/27/cash-for-clunkers-a-win-win-win-think-again/Cash for clunkers, a win-win-win? Think again/a originally appeared on a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.comDailyFinance/a on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/terms for use of feeds/a./ppa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/27/cash-for-clunkers-a-win-win-win-think-again/ title=Permanent link to this entryPermalink/a | a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/forward/19142801/ title=Send this entry to a friend via emailEmail this/a | a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/27/cash-for-clunkers-a-win-win-win-think-again/#comments title=View reader comments on this entryComments/a/p

GM, Chrysler market share slips.

Post-clunker mortem, CNNMoney says 700,000 clunker-traders #8220;probably got a good deal.#8221; The rest, not so much. #8220;If you bought a car without a clunker in the last month, you#8217;ve overpaid.#8221; Ya think? #8221;During the weeks the Clunkers program was in effect, buyers of the Toyota Corolla paid 29% closer to the full sticker price than before [...]

pThe final scorecard is out on the cash for clunkers program: In return for taking on $2.88 billion in additional debt, Uncle Sam helped the auto industry sell 690,000 new vehicles. Whether this was a winning trade is debatable, as a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/article/cash-for-clunkers-did-it-work/333886/this MoneyWatch story /apoints out and this post a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2009/08/how-would-we-figure-out-whether-cash-for-clunkers-makes-sense.htmlHow Would We Figure Out Whether Cash For Clunkers Makes Sense?/a by economist Brad DeLong. But as a morale builder, it was hard to fault./ppEconomists note that almost all transactions that happened under Cash for Clunkers would eventually have happened anyway. Maybe the program converted some used-car sales into new-car sales, which means a little more use for the car makers’ factory capacity and a few more laid off autoworkers put back to work. And as White House economic adviser Brian Deese puts it in a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/this WSJ interview/a, there may be some stimulus value to drawing some sales from the future when (we hope) the economy won’t need juicing, into the present, when it desperately does. But all that is at least equally offset by the increased budget deficit, the destruction of usable cars, and the heavier debt burden on new car owners./ppFor my money, though, the uncounted benefit of the program has been its effect on the intangible economic force a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://moneywatch.bnet.com/topic/keynesian-economics/John Maynard Keynes /acalls animal spirits. For weeks, the news and blogosphere have been loaded with images of busy car salespeople explaining that they were a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/video/cash-for-clunkers-how-to-make-it-work-for-you/324243/selling out of the Ford Focus/a (when did you think you’d hear that?). Car shoppers appeared on camera with an acquisitive gleam in their eyes that has been in hiding since 2007. And we were treated to the vision of a federal stimulus program that actually seemed to be working. If you wanted to persuade consumers that the economy really is starting to recover, you couldn’t buy more convincing advertising./ppAnimal spirits, by their nature, aren’t easily measured. But Tuesday’s a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.conference-board.org/economics/ConsumerConfidence.cfmconsumer confidence survey results/a did register a far greater rebound in optimism than economists expected. (The survey was taken in early to mid-August, when it was becoming clear that Cash for Clunkers would burn through another $2 billion, easy.) Interestingly, consumers say they believe that the economy is still in terrible shape. But their faith in the future has risen to levels not seen since before the recession began. Faith doesn’t easily yield to a cost-benefit analysis, but It’s hard to overstate its economic importance, as Nobel prize-winning economist a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/video/george-akerlof-on-how-to-fix-the-economy/302151/George Akerlof points out in this MoneyWatch.com video/a./ppObviously, Cash for Clunkers didn’t account entirely for the jump in consumer confidence, and there’s no guarantee that it won’t fade again, especially if unemployment refuses to fall. And while confidence can’t cause a recovery, a recovery can’t happen without it. So to the extent that the clunkers program gave Americans a reason to believe that things can eventually return to normal and to have some faith that government has a handle on recovery, it was a pretty good investment./ppContinue reading on a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://moneywatch.bnet.com/CBS MoneyWatch.com/a/ppa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/byh17Nxfuh8XMN7ETLm-RGlkAcs/0/daimg src=http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/byh17Nxfuh8XMN7ETLm-RGlkAcs/0/di border=0 ismap/abr/a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/byh17Nxfuh8XMN7ETLm-RGlkAcs/1/daimg src=http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/byh17Nxfuh8XMN7ETLm-RGlkAcs/1/di border=0 ismap/a/pdiv class=feedflarea rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?a=xovpGWGRzcQ:nIMUOiNnD6s:yIl2AUoC8zAimg src=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA border=0/aa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?a=xovpGWGRzcQ:nIMUOiNnD6s:F7zBnMyn0Loimg src=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?i=xovpGWGRzcQ:nIMUOiNnD6s:F7zBnMyn0Lo border=0/aa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?a=xovpGWGRzcQ:nIMUOiNnD6s:V_sGLiPBpWUimg src=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/huffingtonpost/raw_feed?i=xovpGWGRzcQ:nIMUOiNnD6s:V_sGLiPBpWU border=0/a/divimg src=http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/huffingtonpost/raw_feed/~4/xovpGWGRzcQ height=1 width=1/

divpa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e20120a521727e970b-pi style=display:inline;img alt=Cars border=0 class=at-xid-6a00d83451b3c669e20120a521727e970b src=http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e20120a521727e970b-800wi title=Cars//aThe government’s Cash for Clunkers program resulted in 690,114 transactions worth $2.88 billion, according to the Department of Transportation. The DOT released its a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/dot13309.htmfinal numbers/a today./pp Toyota was the big winner, accounting for 19.4% of sales through the program. GM was responsible for 17.6% of sales and Ford 14.4%. The best-selling cars were the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry and Ford Focus, in that order./pp U.S. automakers accounted for every one of the Top 10 traded-in vehicles, the most popular being the Ford Explorer four-wheel drive, Ford F-150 two-wheel drive, Jeep Grand Cherokee four-wheel drive and Ford Explorer two-wheel drive./pp The White House Council of Economic Advisors said the increase in car sales for July and August boosted third quarter economic growth by as much as 0.4 percentage points. The program also created or saved an estimated 42,000 jobs during the second half of the year, according to the White House./pp Officials said 84% of the traded-in vehicles were trucks, and 59% of the vehicles purchased were passenger cars. The average clunker was rated at 15.8 mpg, while the new vehicles purchased averaged 24.9 mpg, for a 58% improvement in fuel efficiency. /pp Check out more numbers after the jump./pp/ppstrongTop 10 Trade-Ins/strongbr /
10. Ford Windstar (front-wheel drive)br /
9. Ford F-150 (four-wheel drive)br /
8. Chevrolet C1500 (two-wheel drive)br /
7. Chevrolet Blazer (four-wheel drive)br /
6. Jeep Cherokee (four-wheel drive)br /
5. Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan (two-wheel drive)br /
4. Ford Explorer (two-wheel drive)br /
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee (four-wheel drive)br /
2. Ford F-150 (two-wheel drive)br /
1. Ford Explorer (four-wheel drive)/ppstrongTop 10 New Vehicles Purchased/strongbr /
10. Ford Escape (front-wheel drive)br /
9. Honda Fitbr /
8. Honda Accordbr /
7. Toyota Priusbr /
6. Nissan Versabr /
5. Hyundai Elantrabr /
4. Ford Focus (front-wheel drive)br /
3. Toyota Camrybr /
2. Honda Civicbr /
1. Toyota Corolla/ppstrongHow the Automakers Did/strongbr /
Toyota: 19.4%br /
GM: 17.6%br /
Ford: 14.4%br /
Honda: 13.0%br /
Nissan: 8.7%br /
Hyundai: 7.2%br /
Chrysler: 6.6%br /
Kia: 4.3%br /
Subaru: 2.5%br /
Mazda: 2.4%br /
Volkswagen: 2.0%br /
Suzuki: 0.6%br /
Mitsubishi: 0.5%br /
Mini: 0.4%br /
Smart: 0.2%br /
Volvo: 0.1%
/p/div

The Freep reports that final cash for clunker numbers show the program coming in under its $3bn budget. $2.877bn was spent on 690,114 deals, according to government data. The bad news? C4C did a mediocre job stimulating the domestic firms; according to the Detroit News. GM, Ford and Chrysler captured just 38.6 percent of all [...]

pFiled under: a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/category/company-news/Company News/a/pimg hspace=4 border=1 align=right vspace=4 alt= src=http://www.blogcdn.com/www.dailyfinance.com/media/2009/08/toddlers-playing-200a070207.jpg/Retailers keep going back to basics during the recession, sometimes in surprising ways. First, they brought back layaway, then the Christmas Club. And now a toy store is offering trade-ins. br /br /a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www4.toysrus.com/Investor/pr/082609.htmlToys R Us announced/a Wednesday that it will take back used baby products between Aug. 28 and Sept. 20 in exchange for 20 percent off new ones. Like the federal government’s cash for clunkers program, the Great Trade-In, as the toy chain is calling it, will enable consumers to replace old, potentially dangerous items with safe, new ones at Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.pa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/26/cash-for-kiddie-clunkers-toys-r-us-offers-trade-ins/Continue reading emCash for kiddie clunkers? Toys R Us offers trade-ins /em/a/pp style=padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/26/cash-for-kiddie-clunkers-toys-r-us-offers-trade-ins/Cash for kiddie clunkers? Toys R Us offers trade-ins /a originally appeared on a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.comDailyFinance/a on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/terms for use of feeds/a./ppa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/26/cash-for-kiddie-clunkers-toys-r-us-offers-trade-ins/ title=Permanent link to this entryPermalink/a | a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/forward/19141070/ title=Send this entry to a friend via emailEmail this/a | a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/26/cash-for-kiddie-clunkers-toys-r-us-offers-trade-ins/#comments title=View reader comments on this entryComments/a/p

Wow, indeed.

The hugely popular Cash for Clunkers or CARS program ended Monday night at 8:00 pm. Though the rebate system resulted in over 700,000 old, gas-hungry vehicles being traded in for an equal number of efficient, brand-new cars and trucks, many dealers are still scrambling to file the proper paperwork involved in getting their deals approved. [...]

Our UK readers my be interested to learn that the Obama administration has introduced a rival to Postman Pat: Preliminary Pat. #8220;The White House Council of Economic Advisers gave the [Cash for Clunkers] program a preliminary pat on the back Monday,#8221; The Detroit News reports. #8220;Saying it created or saved 21,000 jobs in its short, four-week life [...]

pFiled under: a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.com/category/carbuying/Car Buying/a, a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/Government/Legal/a/pimg vspace=4 hspace=4 border=1 src=http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/08/89994349-620op.jpg alt=/br /br /
Conventional wisdom says that Cash for Clunkers provided a big-time boost to dealers. After all, before Clunkers, most showroom floors were bereft of customers, and scores of dealerships were closing their doors. As good as C4C has been for customers, many dealers are all too happy it’s over. br /br /
A recent (admittedly unscientific) survey conducted by emAutomotive News/em shows that 44% of the 800 dealers polled wouldn’t want C4C to be extended again, even if the program was modified. Only 3% felt that the program should have been extended without being modified. The biggest issue dealers have with C4C is, unsurprisingly, its a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/14/report-some-dealers-making-c4c-shoppers-sign-rebate-payback-con/lack of timely payment/a. Some multi-store dealers have millions invested in the program, while little or no money has come in yet. An alarming 23% of dealers say they have had to borrow money to cover the cash crunch left in the wake of the Clunkers program, while an additional 10% say the program has actually sucked enough cash from the coffers that it has put the dealership at risk. br /br /
The Transportation Department and the Obama Administration have stated that every eligible C4C transaction will result in payment, but the federal guarantee isn’t boosting many dealers’ confidence. emAN/em says that 43% of dealers surveyed aren’t very confident that they’ll receive all of their C4C dollars, while an additional 18% are not at all confident that they’ll be paid in full.br /br /
Some dealers say that C4C has also hurt their repair, finance, used car and parts businesses, but that’s okay if they collect from the feds. Even with the considerable downside of C4C, 74% of dealers say that if they’re paid in full by the federal government, the program will positively affect their bottom line, while 5% say they somehow managed to lose money. br /br /
Cash for Clunkers a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/20/breaking-cash-for-clunkers-ends-8pm-monday-night/officially ended/a last night at 8 pm.br /br /
[Source: a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autonews.com/article/20090824/ANA06/308249966/1197Automotive News/a - Sub. Req. | Image Source: Ethan Miller/Getty]p style=padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/25/dealer-poll-calls-cash-for-clunkers-a-nightmare-4-out-of-10-d/Dealer poll calls Cash for Clunkers a ‘Nightmare,’ four out of 10 didn’t want program extended/a originally appeared on a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.comAutoblog/a on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/terms for use of feeds/a./ph6 style=clear:both;padding:8px 0 0 0;height:2px;font-size:1px;border:0;margin:0;padding:0;/h6a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autonews.com/article/20090824/ANA06/308249966/1197Read/anbsp;|nbsp;a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/25/dealer-poll-calls-cash-for-clunkers-a-nightmare-4-out-of-10-d/ title=Permanent link to this entryPermalink/anbsp;|nbsp;a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19138429/ title=Send this entry to a friend via emailEmail this/anbsp;|nbsp;a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/25/dealer-poll-calls-cash-for-clunkers-a-nightmare-4-out-of-10-d/#comments title=View reader comments on this entryComments/a

Just kidding. No zombie watch for the Cash for Clunkers (a.k.a. C.A.R.S.) program, even though it#8217;s already burned through one life and two dealer deadlines. Automotive News [AN, sub] reports that Uncle Sam#8217;s extended the dealer deadline again, thanks to ongoing computer problems. Transportation spokeswoman Jill Zuckman #8221;didn#8217;t specify a particular time for the deadline, and said it [...]

divpa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e20120a4d2c014970b-pi style=display:inline;img alt=Cars border=0 class=at-xid-6a00d83451b3c669e20120a4d2c014970b src=http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e20120a4d2c014970b-800wi title=Cars//a/ppLast night, the Cash for Clunkers program officially ended at 8 p.m. EST. However, the Department of Transportation has extended the deadline for dealers to file paperwork a second time; they have until 8 p.m. EST tonight to get their forms in order./ppAs of this morning, the government said that 665,000 deals — totaling $2.77 billion — had been registered. After the $100 million set aside for administrative costs that leaves only $130 million in the pot for the backlog of orders. That’s roughly 32,500 more vehicles at an average of $4,000 per clunker credit./ppLeading up to this weekend, the average number of sales in a day hovered in the 20,000 range, but an onslaught of last-minute shoppers might mean there could be more deals than money./ppa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://freep.com/article/20090825/BUSINESS01/90825030/1331/Clunker-paperwork-deadline-extended-againClunker paperwork deadline extended again/aspan style=color:#8b8b8b;font-family:Arial;(Detroit Free Press)/span/p/div

pFiled under: a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/category/technology/Technology/a, a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/category/economy/Economy/a, a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/category/f/Ford Motor Co./a/pimg hspace=4 border=1 align=right vspace=4 alt= src=http://www.blogcdn.com/www.dailyfinance.com/media/2009/08/rsz_clunk.jpg/As the CARS program — aka cash for clunkersa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/08/cash_for_clunkers_ends_today_a.htmlfinishes up today/a, it marks the end of a very short, yet exceedingly contentious government stimulus program. As the most visible of the government’s economic growth moves, it has spent roughly $3 billion, inspired the purchase of millions of cars, and has offered a shot in the arm to an industry that many considered moribund. In the process, it has also provided some vital lessons for policymaker preparing future programs.br /br /emDailyFinance/em’s Peter Cohan attributes much of CARS’ success to a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/06/nudgenomics-why-cash-for-clunkers-works/nudgenomics/a, or the act of creating policies that nudge consumers to spend their money in the most productive way. In this case, he argues, the program wedded environmental improvement, economic stimulus, and customers’ self-interest in a way that drove people to pour money back into the economy.pa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/24/as-curtain-closes-on-cash-for-clunkers-what-did-we-learn/Continue reading emAs curtain closes on ‘cash for clunkers’ what did we learn?/em/a/pp style=padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/24/as-curtain-closes-on-cash-for-clunkers-what-did-we-learn/As curtain closes on ‘cash for clunkers’ what did we learn?/a originally appeared on a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.comDailyFinance/a on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/terms for use of feeds/a./ppa rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/24/as-curtain-closes-on-cash-for-clunkers-what-did-we-learn/ title=Permanent link to this entryPermalink/a | a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/forward/19138546/ title=Send this entry to a friend via emailEmail this/a | a rel=nofollow target=_blank href=http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/24/as-curtain-closes-on-cash-for-clunkers-what-did-we-learn/#comments title=View reader comments on this entryComments/a/p