Cash For Clunkers

[Andrew]

Watch these:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjBilHH5z2A


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waj2KrKYTZo

Someone tell me what is wrong with those. Both look driveable and fine. But this program requires that all the trades have the engines destroyed. How wasteful is that? This disgusts me. I know the government doesn't want them re-sold by the dealers. But why not donate them to people or charities who need them?

All about getting rid of the cars with less MPG on the road. For what? I can buy a 10 year old Civic that gets gas mileage just as good as these new Fords that supposedly have such good MPG. BS! The auto industry has done NOTHIING when it comes to MPG. At least not near what could be done I am sure.

[WINKY]

i will never donate to any cash for clunkers now that i see this, i will find someone that needs a good running vehicle and sign the title over myself to them and donate it that way.

Makes no sense what these places are doing....:confused:

[gm4x4lover]

its a stupid program that we have to pay for in tax dollars. encouraging most people to take on more debt instead of being frugal and smart with their money. The thought process initially iirc was to help cure emission problems by taking the worst offenders off the road.

[Screweder]

its a stupid program that we have to pay for in tax dollars. encouraging most people to take on more debt instead of being frugal and smart with their money. The thought process initially iirc was to help cure emission problems by taking the worst offenders off the road.
If thats the case... It's having an adverse effect on me. I'm now half tempted to take my entire exhaust system back off just out of spite. Thats crap, ruining perfectly good vehicles in the name of "going green". I don't know, but there appears to be an even worse more sadistic agenda here than emissions control. Government Motors (GM) trying to get their own crap shoved down our throats... Brings to mind how ammunition supply is low because the manufactures can't get ahold of enough primers. All seems fishy, but I guess thats why I see the black hellicopters and guys talking to their wrists wherever I go.

[Hypoid]

I think it's realllllllllll nice that some folks can afford to buy new cars. Even with that $4500 incentive.

Since I'm a bottom-feeder kind of guy I have to ask: Can I combine this incentive with other coupons and/or promotions? If I were to save....say...$20,000 off a $21,000 car, I might be able to swing the payments and interest.

[Andrew]

I am afraid this is going to be a mini version of the housing issues.

People buying cars they cannot afford.

[ShutUpHippie]

Can I combine this incentive with other coupons and/or promotions? If I were to save....say...$20,000 off a $21,000 car, I might be able to swing the payments and interest.

:cheers:

[Funrover]

Don't get me started.. this is the dumbest BS I have seen.

[Andrew]

Seriously. If everyone else gets free money, where's mine?

[Funrover]

Seriously. If everyone else gets free money, where's mine?

Just get rid of your beautiful X-terra for some POS kia man! It's all the rage :mad:

[Andrew]

Screw that. As I said elsewhere, if it didn't cost me so much and didn't kill how far I can go on a tank, I'd make it run 5MPG out of spite.

[Funrover]

Screw that. As I said elsewhere, if it didn't cost me so much and didn't kill how far I can go on a tank, I'd make it run 5MPG out of spite.

I have a motor in my garage that can help you obtain that LOL

[Andrew]

Do you have some gas money to help me too? lol

Going up I-70 I get like 12MPG. The X doesn't like turning those 33x12.50's. If I can take it easy I get probably 16-17MPG, which for a trail rig is not that bad. But gotta keep it under 3K RPM to get that.

[DETN8R]

10MPG and loving it. Screw the environment.

[1freaky1]

I am getting 11-13 daily around town & 50 miles highway driving to & from work but let me up in the hills with the a/c on and it is getting 20mpgs. I know it sounds crazy but my lil 4.0 works a lot better when the engine is under a good load.

[Aaron]

They think they are taking guzzlers off the road and putting fuel efficient cars on the road in favor of the Al Gore-ist mentality. What they fail to take into account is the amount of energy it takes to build a new car (as opposed to using one which is already built) and the amount of energy it takes to crush a car (there is a lot of work, $$, fuel) that goes into transporting, preparing, crushing and recycling these vehicles.

The effects this is having? 53% of the new cars being bought are foreign which means better than a billion dollars is being shipped off shore. Charities which take old cars as donations are getting nothing now. Billions is being spent to stop a phenomenon which NO ONE can prove is not natural (the earth has warmed .3 degrees in the last 30 years, also read about all the money we spent in the 60s based upon the theory that the next ice age was coming to end the earth).

Assume that it is a good idea for uncle sam to be paying for these cars. Why crush them? Farms can use them. Give them to junk yards for parts. Sell them to Mexico.

How can this be environmentally friendly? This really pisses me off.

[edog]

They think they are taking guzzlers off the road and putting fuel efficient cars on the road in favor of the Al Gore-ist mentality. What they fail to take into account is the amount of energy it takes to build a new car (as opposed to using one which is already built) and the amount of energy it takes to crush a car (there is a lot of work, $$, fuel) that goes into transporting, preparing, crushing and recycling these vehicles.

The effects this is having? 53% of the new cars being bought are foreign which means better than a billion dollars is being shipped off shore. Charities which take old cars as donations are getting nothing now. Billions is being spent to stop a phenomenon which NO ONE can prove is not natural (the earth has warmed .3 degrees in the last 30 years, also read about all the money we spent in the 60s based upon the theory that the next ice age was coming to end the earth).

Assume that it is a good idea for uncle sam to be paying for these cars. Why crush them? Farms can use them. Give them to junk yards for parts. Sell them to Mexico.

How can this be environmentally friendly? This really pisses me off.

This is a good post. My LC gets 12 at best in the city but I really need it-I have three kids and we also need a good snow car. I probably will never own a new car simply because they depreciate so much, and I feel like recycling used cars simply makes more sense from a resource point of view. Cash for clunkers seems to be really shortsided and not very well thought out. We are seeing a short term burst in the economy at car dealerships, but people are getting cars they can't afford, and the net result is that we are probably hurting the environment by buying up cars that get slightly better mpg. If this program were there to truly benefit the environment, I would like to the mpg requirement way more stringent to get everyone in really fuel efficient vehicles. As it reads now, you only need to get something slightly more fuel efficient which is bs.

Something like a tax credit for taking public transport, riding your bike, some alternative to driving to work would be great and it would get cars off the road. The solution is out there, they are just trying to pad too many pockets on the way.

[Chris]

We are seeing a short term burst in the economy at car dealerships

That's the goal IMHO, give the economy & dealerships a quick boost. The environmental benefits make people feel good about doing it.

[BlackRubi]

Did no one on the planning side of the program look at the study that was conducted that stated, in no uncertain terma, that buying an used gas-guzzling SUV was MUCH better for the environment that buying a brand new hybrid. I realize that the government is "trying" to boost the economy, but why didn't they think that once they acquire one of the "clunkers" they could probably auction them off or something like that?

[bskey]

I am afraid this is going to be a mini version of the housing issues.

People buying cars they cannot afford.

... Hmmm... I hadn't thought about that. Good point! I love that I drive a 1987 car that I cannot trade in because I get far superior gas mileage than most of the cars being bought with this deal, it was $1000, recycled car (going green, right?), and uses no new resources to build. I understand this will bring a short term blast of employment to Detroit, but what then? Oh, and yeah, it's a ridiculous practice of destroying perfectly good engines. Just plain dumb and a waste!

[Andrew]

Yeah manufacturing those batteries for hybrids is not green at all. Batteries deal with some very toxic stuff and eventually wear out and have to be replaced. The dead batteries don't just disappear.

[Mr6dwg]

I think there will be a noticeable number of defaults on car loans in six to nine months, just like the housing fiasco. The "Cash for clunkers" deal, the Health bill screwup, the bank buyouts, (next) it will be the "not good for you food" police are examples of our doomed society. I feel sorry for my kids and yours as well. Somebody needs to step up to the plate and say No Thanks. I would rather stand on my own two feet. We have a pill that meets the needs of almost any illness. I am an old fashioned person and I really take offense to this fact that I am losing my choices, freedoms, and beliefs. I go to the voting booth and vote NO!! And come Monday morning, I find out that the topic at hand passed anyway, Friday at 4:52. For example, in the 80's and 90's, it was really cool to see an old car running down the highway. My kids, AND YOURS, will not be able to experience that. All the cars will be new to 5 years old. The health bill is really for the 50 million Mexicans that migrated to America. That's what I think. I am not talking about whether or not it is good for you, but this is a matter of personal choices and freedoms,,,, If I want to eat Big Macs all day and die in my chair as a result of my eating habits, that is my choice. My father always said, "We are losing our freedoms, choices, and personal integrity and we don't even realize it".

[Aaron]

... Hmmm... I hadn't thought about that. Good point! I love that I drive a 1987 car that I cannot trade in because I get far superior gas mileage than most of the cars being bought with this deal, it was $1000, recycled car (going green, right?), and uses no new resources to build. I understand this will bring a short term blast of employment to Detroit, but what then? Oh, and yeah, it's a ridiculous practice of destroying perfectly good engines. Just plain dumb and a waste!

Well, I think the good news is that the program does help with the affording part and it doesn't require banks to give loans to people.

My real problem with it is this:

1. It hides more bailouts behind a veil of "environmentalism".
2. This time, however, half the bailout $$ goes foreign.
3. Crushing perfectly good cars is dumb.

Why not have a "Cash for fixing clunkers" program where it gives money to individuals to help fix their old cars, convert to methanol or CNG, etc? That would be a program which would be environmentally friendly and would help the average american and would give lots of business to the blue collar auto mechanics of the world.

[Aaron]

Yeah manufacturing those batteries for hybrids is not green at all. Batteries deal with some very toxic stuff and eventually wear out and have to be replaced. The dead batteries don't just disappear.

Oh, and don't forget that we don't produce much lithium in the US. It mostly comes from South America. So we are trading our reliance on foreign oil for reliance on foreign batteries.

[1freaky1]

Why not have a "Cash for fixing clunkers" program where it gives money to individuals to help fix their old cars, convert to methanol or CNG, etc? That would be a program which would be environmentally friendly and would help the average american and would give lots of business to the blue collar auto mechanics of the world.

If that would have been the case I definitely would be getting the ranger converted over to CNG or Propane! Either one does really good when wheeling.

[WINKY]

im doing my part on saving myself money, i brought home a 1998 chevy metro, 35+mpg for $960 and it is cherry. as far as the earth warming up, its done this over and over again-nothing new we just happen to be in the middle of the change. we as a race of humans can make a impact but it is miniscule compared to what the planet will do on its own.

[Chris]

I'm indifferent to it all.

I won't sell my clunker and I haven't lost any choices, freedoms or beliefs I've held for the last 50+ years.

:cheers: