"Clunkers" Program gone???
Founding Member
Joined: 11-23-2007
Posts: 8,210
From: Texas
Our Government SUCKS!
Funny how the government spun Toyota Corolla into the number one selling car, when in fact that is a lie.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- What are people trading their clunkers in for? It depends on who you ask.
The government's results showed small cars as the top choice for shoppers looking for Cash for Clunker deals. But an independent analysis by Edmunds.com disputed those results, and showed that two full-size trucks and a small crossover SUV were actually among the top-ten buys.
The discrepancy is a result of the methods used. Edmunds.com uses traditional sales measurements, tallying sales by make and model. The government uses a more arcane measurement method that subdivides models according to engine and transmission types, counting them as separate models.
For example, the Ford Escape is available in six different versions including two- and four-wheel drive and hybrid versions. The government counts each version as a different vehicle using guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency. Only the front wheel drive, non-hybrid version made the government's top ten list.
The Ford Escape crossover SUV, instead of being the seventh-most popular vehicle under the program, as the government ranked it, was actually the best seller, according to Edmunds.com. The government pegged the Ford Focus as the top seller.
Trucks tend to be available in more variations than cars. That's because truck buyers have a wider variety of needs than car buyers, General Motors spokesman Brian Goebel said.
"There's just so many different uses for the truck, both retail and commercial, than with car purchasers," he said.
Sales of truck models would tend to be heavily diluted using the government's method because practically each version counts as a different vehicle. The difference in tallying methods would not affect the overall totals of trucks, as opposed to cars purchased under the program, only the sales rankings of individual models.
Sales of GM's Silverado truck, under the government's counting method, were divided among five different versions. So were the Ford F-150s. If the different versions of these trucks were considered the same vehicle, as auto sales are normally reported, sales of these trucks would look much heftier.
In the Cash for Clunkers program, trucks are actually subject to lower fuel economy requirements than cars, so it surprised many analysts that trucks weren't more popular.
Edmunds.com's "Top Ten Clunker Buys" list is based on transaction data collected directly from dealers.
NHTSA, the agency responsible for running Cash for Clunkers, was not immediately able to respond to a request for official Clunker sales tallies of several vehicles, including all their variations. When presented with Edmund's analysis, the agency didn't dispute that the way in which it counted the vehicles would tend to reduce the totals of vehicles with many variations.
1 Ford Escape
2 Ford Focus
3 Jeep Patriot
4 Dodge Caliber
5 Ford F-150
6 Honda Civic
7 Chevrolet Silverado
8 Chevrolet Cobalt
9 Toyota Corolla
10 Ford Fusion
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- What are people trading their clunkers in for? It depends on who you ask.
The government's results showed small cars as the top choice for shoppers looking for Cash for Clunker deals. But an independent analysis by Edmunds.com disputed those results, and showed that two full-size trucks and a small crossover SUV were actually among the top-ten buys.
The discrepancy is a result of the methods used. Edmunds.com uses traditional sales measurements, tallying sales by make and model. The government uses a more arcane measurement method that subdivides models according to engine and transmission types, counting them as separate models.
For example, the Ford Escape is available in six different versions including two- and four-wheel drive and hybrid versions. The government counts each version as a different vehicle using guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency. Only the front wheel drive, non-hybrid version made the government's top ten list.
The Ford Escape crossover SUV, instead of being the seventh-most popular vehicle under the program, as the government ranked it, was actually the best seller, according to Edmunds.com. The government pegged the Ford Focus as the top seller.
Trucks tend to be available in more variations than cars. That's because truck buyers have a wider variety of needs than car buyers, General Motors spokesman Brian Goebel said.
"There's just so many different uses for the truck, both retail and commercial, than with car purchasers," he said.
Sales of truck models would tend to be heavily diluted using the government's method because practically each version counts as a different vehicle. The difference in tallying methods would not affect the overall totals of trucks, as opposed to cars purchased under the program, only the sales rankings of individual models.
Sales of GM's Silverado truck, under the government's counting method, were divided among five different versions. So were the Ford F-150s. If the different versions of these trucks were considered the same vehicle, as auto sales are normally reported, sales of these trucks would look much heftier.
In the Cash for Clunkers program, trucks are actually subject to lower fuel economy requirements than cars, so it surprised many analysts that trucks weren't more popular.
Edmunds.com's "Top Ten Clunker Buys" list is based on transaction data collected directly from dealers.
NHTSA, the agency responsible for running Cash for Clunkers, was not immediately able to respond to a request for official Clunker sales tallies of several vehicles, including all their variations. When presented with Edmund's analysis, the agency didn't dispute that the way in which it counted the vehicles would tend to reduce the totals of vehicles with many variations.
1 Ford Escape
2 Ford Focus
3 Jeep Patriot
4 Dodge Caliber
5 Ford F-150
6 Honda Civic
7 Chevrolet Silverado
8 Chevrolet Cobalt
9 Toyota Corolla
10 Ford Fusion
New Member
Joined: 03-07-2009
Posts: 24
From: Texas
Read on one news story there was an Caprice from the late 80's that was in prestine condition and only had 32,000 miles. The dealer gave them the $4,500 credit, but no paperwork on the car has been completed yet for the clunkers program. It is setting out on the lot for sale, in hopes someone will give them approximately $4,500 for it.
Senior Member
Joined: 02-16-2009
Posts: 6,038
From: Frankenmuth/Flint, MI
Read on one news story there was an Caprice from the late 80's that was in prestine condition and only had 32,000 miles. The dealer gave them the $4,500 credit, but no paperwork on the car has been completed yet for the clunkers program. It is setting out on the lot for sale, in hopes someone will give them approximately $4,500 for it.
But you know dealers, I'm sure they're asking more for it...
Senior Member
Joined: 03-16-2008
Posts: 662
From: Cleveland, Ohio
I appreciate the opportunity this is presenting for car buyers and persons employed in the auto industry. My sister did the Dodge "double up" deal and got $9000 for a Chevy pickup with a bad engine. However, I fear that after it's over, they will have wrung the market dry.
Only in Obamerica does a program to use taxpayer's money to bribe people to buy a car get hailed as a "success."
Hmmm.....we gave away money and people lined up for it. Wow. What a triumph!
Only in Obamerica does a program to use taxpayer's money to bribe people to buy a car get hailed as a "success."
Hmmm.....we gave away money and people lined up for it. Wow. What a triumph!
Senior Member
Joined: 02-16-2009
Posts: 6,038
From: Frankenmuth/Flint, MI
Senior Member
Joined: 02-09-2009
Posts: 3,169
From: Downtown Saint Petersburg, Florida
Senior Member
Joined: 02-16-2009
Posts: 6,038
From: Frankenmuth/Flint, MI
Senior Member
Joined: 07-03-2009
Posts: 748
From: Blo-hio Transplant
at least the CARS program is giving people more money towards a new car/truck then a regular trade-in probably would have gotten them.
