Cash for Clunkers

Unless you live under a rock, and maybe even then, you’ve probably heard about the Cash for Clunkers program in the last month. The program, which ran from June 22nd to August 24th, created a buzz that was hard to ignore. In fact, the government reports that their official Cash for Clunkers Web site had 16 million hit in that time alone. The endless news coverage and press only helped to add to the excitement.

In addition to grabbing headlines, Cash for Clunkers also brought significant business to auto dealerships. Customers flocked in, looking to trade their old cars and trucks for new ones, and maybe get a little incentive money in the process.

Now that the dust has settled, it is interesting to take a look at what the Cash for Clunkers program actually achieved. The official government Web site has a press release detailing the cars sold and traded in during the program.* Here are a few of the highlights:

• Around 700,000 cars were traded in as clunkers.
• 4% of the clunkers were trucks, and 59% of the people trading them in purchased passenger vehicles.
• Rebate applications were worth 2.877 Billion.
• The average fuel economy for the cars traded in was 15.8 MPG, the average fuel economy of their new car was 24.9 MPG.
• The Toyota Corolla was the most popular new vehicle with those taking advantage of the program.
• The Ford Explorer 4WD was the number one car traded in.

Whether or not you agree with the politics of the Cash for Clunkers program, there is no denying that it made a significant impact on the auto industry. It generated buzz and excitement for new vehicles and brought in consumers. According to the data above, it also appeared to achieve its goal of getting cars with poor fuel economy off the road. How the program’s impact lasts in the months to come remains to be seen.

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