Cash for Clunkers
Dealerships are making deals on new cars when you bring your clunker in. Photo from mlive.com and by Katy Batdorff of The Grand Rapids Press
If you haven’t heard of the new government program CARS, then you must really be out of the loop. No worries though, because I am here to give you a little more insight. The Car Allowance Rebate System or CARS is a government funded and dealership operated program where people can take their cars into certain dealerships and get a $3,500 to $4,500 rebate if they trade in their gas guzzlers for a more fuel efficient vehicle.
It is one of the many steps that the government is taking in trying to support a more eco-friendly culture, but they never thought it would be as popular as it has proven. The government put $1 billion into the budget for this program expecting that amount to last for at least a month. What really happened is far more shocking. The money was gone is just seven days. This occurred just this month and now the government is rushing to put $2 billion into the budget so as to keep the program going. Many dealerships had to cancel transactions because they were afraid there would be no more money for customers and the government would cut the program.
The junk yard will be filled with many junkers that dealerships will have to despose of themselves. Photo from japanesenostalgiccar.com.
It hasn’t been all grins and giggles though. This program has caused a lot of hassle for the dealerships. They have more paperwork that they have to fill out and they are responsible for the disposal of all the clunkers. The only aid that the government is giving is the rebates to the people who trade in their cars.
Dealerships have, though, seen a major boost in sales since the program started, which is the whole goal in the first place. This was supposed to be a program that would help to stimulate the transportation market as well as help stimulate people’s involvement in going green. It seems that this has been accomplished.
I am still undecided on whether this program is a benefit or a not. I don’t think this is the best way to make people more energy efficient. Just by giving them money to buy a more fuel efficient car doesn’t mean we are going to help the earth. There are still those junk cars that will need to be dealt with. I only hope that the majority of the parts can be scrapped and recycled. Those are large items that don’t need to be occupying the landfills. I also think that giving more money in the promotion of public transportation and no-fuel methods of transit would be a better way to help the environment. Put some money into the development of better sidewalks and bike paths. Give people free bus passes if they only use public transportation as their means of travel. These are the types of things that will help the environment more than more fuel efficient cars on the roads. What do you think? Tell us your thoughts.