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Sunday, September 5, 2010 | DeKalb County's Oldest Newspaper

Classifieds | Jobs | Homes | Autos

Cash for clunkers is boost locally

By Jared Felkins
The Times-Journal

Published August 3, 2009

Managers at Fort Payne’s auto dealerships are praising the government’s cash for clunkers program and don’t want to see it come to an early end.

The wildly popular program, offering $4,500 rebates to customers who trade in gas guzzling vehicles, is likely to end Friday if the Senate does not approve $2 billion more for it, the White House said.

"If it doesn't happen this week, it's unlikely that we'll make it to the weekend with a program that can continue," said President Barack Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs.

He said Monday the $2 billion would fund the program through September.

The House approved the money by a nearly 3-to-1 margin last Friday before recessing for the month of August.

But the legislation faces a tougher fight in the Senate, where conservatives deride it as the latest in a series of taxpayer bailouts for the auto industry and environmentalists want to wring out more fuel efficiency. The Senate plans to take a four-week recess beginning Friday, after it votes this week on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the average fuel economy of new vehicles purchased through the program is 9.6 miles per gallon higher than for the vehicles traded in for scrap. Buyers of new cars and trucks that get 10 mpg better than their trade-ins get the $4,500 rebate. People whose cars get between 4 mpg and 10 mpg better fuel efficiency qualify for a smaller $3,500 rebate.

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

At Carl Gregory Ford, general manager Doug Broaddus said the program has generated a lot of interest.

“I never realized it would generate this much activity,” Broaddus said. “It’s been pretty successful so far. It’s driven a lot of traffic to the dealership. It’s generated a lot of phone calls and inquiries from a lot of people.”

Broaddus said inventory is down significantly among the dealership’s new cars that qualify for the program. He said he hopes the Senate will continue the program.

Devan Lowe general manager Bobby Ledbetter said cash for clunkers has increased sales at both the Buick, Pontiac and GMC location and its Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep dealership.

“We’ve had the best month since the economic downturn,” Ledbetter said. “The recession is over here. Lots of people are buying cars. People have been coming in, and it’s really paid off for us.”

Ledbetter said he’s confident about the decision in Congress.

“We know the Senate is going to pass it,” Ledbetter said. “We’re going to continue to sell cars.”

Woodson Jones Chevrolet general manager Eddie Johnson said he’s also confident the Senate will allow the extra $2 billion to fund the program.

“I think they will,” Johnson said. “I think they are over their head and have to pass it at this point.”

Johnson said the dealership has seen big success from cash for clunkers.

“They are telling us to keep on doing it,” Johnson said. “If it keeps on like it has lately, it won’t last until November.”

The administration collected information on 80,500 vehicle transactions nationwide logged into the government's operating system through Saturday afternoon. An official 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, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the figures had not been released.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report

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