Clunkers To Cash

cph

Well-Known Member
I hope for all our sakes that it works... And that we live in the same type of society when it's done.
 

hanimmal

Well-Known Member
I hope for all our sakes that it works... And that we live in the same type of society when it's done.
Same here, with the hopes that we learn from our mistakes like the people that experienced the great depression did and actually buy stuff with money that we have and not just borrow borrow borrow.


But I think that it is more likely that we just go back to the way we have been living for the last 30 years.
 

jrh72582

Well-Known Member
Same here, with the hopes that we learn from our mistakes like the people that experienced the great depression did and actually buy stuff with money that we have and not just borrow borrow borrow.


But I think that it is more likely that we just go back to the way we have been living for the last 30 years.
Human nature being what it is, history will repeat itself.
 

ViRedd

New Member
So, with all of the "clunkers" being squashed and recycled, aren't teenagers and the poor people going to suffer the most? This is just more ideas of the "Do-Gooders" gone awry.

Vi
 

kappainf

Well-Known Member
So, with all of the "clunkers" being squashed and recycled, aren't teenagers and the poor people going to suffer the most? This is just more ideas of the "Do-Gooders" gone awry.

Vi
These old cars are not being recycled. Also, the parts from the old cars can not be re used or re sold. The government is retarded, both parties!
 

Johnnyorganic

Well-Known Member
More effecient cars = good. Government meddling in business and increased debt = bad.

The Japanese cars seem to be selling the best.
The program seems to be doing wonders for the economy - The Japanese Economy.

According to the Department of Transportation, the top ten new vehicles sold under the CFC program are:

1. Toyota Corolla
2. Ford Focus FWD
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Prius
5. Toyota Camry
6. Ford Escape FWD
7. Hyndai Elantra
8. Dodge Caliber
9. Honda Fit
10. Chevrolet Cobalt

All of the turned-in Clunkers in the top ten are American.
 

Operation 420

Well-Known Member
The program seems to be doing wonders for the economy - The Japanese Economy.

According to the Department of Transportation, the top ten new vehicles sold under the CFC program are:

1. Toyota Corolla
2. Ford Focus FWD
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Prius
5. Toyota Camry
6. Ford Escape FWD
7. Hyndai Elantra
8. Dodge Caliber
9. Honda Fit
10. Chevrolet Cobalt

All of the turned-in Clunkers in the top ten are American.
Yes, our "Clunkers for Yen" program rocks doesn't it? I bet those Japanese car manufacturer's are very happy.
 

TheBrutalTruth

Well-Known Member
Yes, our "Clunkers for Yen" program rocks doesn't it? I bet those Japanese car manufacturer's are very happy.
It was a flawed program, we could have at least exported those vehicles to third world countries and derived additional economic benefit.

Of course, as it is, even with those vehicles being destroyed we are still going to see some economic benefit.

The average car is made out of 80% recycled material. All those clunkers being "destroyed" are still ripe with electronics (gold), cat. converters (platinum), structural materials, engine materials (steel, aluminum), tires (rubber), bumpers (plastic) and other items of such value that even destroyed the vehicles still retain some value. Of course that value is not nearly as much as the whole vehicles had, and neither of those compare to the absurd payment levels being offered by government.

Will this make things better?

I doubt it. The market in scrap metals is going to floor out due to government interference in the market. Policies such as this, no matter how virtouos and noble they appear, rarely do any good.

Consider the fact that the vehicles had to be insured for a year. I know people that are driving with out insurance, because they can't afford it. This does not benefit them, because they are not able to take advantage of it.

The only group that benefits from it is the lower middle class, working class and lower affluent, and perhaps some of the affluent that weren't so brain dead as to just trade in vehicles every 2 - 3 years. It then deprives the used market of the cheap cars that so many people rely upon for transportation outside of the public transportation systems, which due to the immense size and scope of the United States are not comparable to those of any other developed nation.

It was bad policy, and the results are going to be worse.
 

mexiblunt

Well-Known Member
The program seems to be doing wonders for the economy - The Japanese Economy.

According to the Department of Transportation, the top ten new vehicles sold under the CFC program are:

1. Toyota Corolla
2. Ford Focus FWD
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Prius
5. Toyota Camry
6. Ford Escape FWD
7. Hyndai Elantra
8. Dodge Caliber
9. Honda Fit
10. Chevrolet Cobalt

All of the turned-in Clunkers in the top ten are American.
I guess the cars speak for themselves. My old 81 civic great car never a problem. 82 accord same thing they won't die. I payed less than 1200 bucks for them together. I also just scraped my 1993 grand am GT that cost me 10 times the money those 2 hondas did and as much as them for the garage to tell me it's finished.
 

Johnnyorganic

Well-Known Member
Looks like that 'rebate' on your clunker is taxable. Oops.

Better read the fine print next time
Some Surprised By 'Clunker' Tax

The Cash For Clunkers program is adding to the activity at treasurers' offices all around South Dakota. First, people were asking for proof of ownership, so they could show they owned their vehicle for a full year, allowing them to cash it in. Now, they'll be returning to register their new vehicle. And when they do, new owners need to bring every bit of paperwork provided to them by their dealer.

"That means they need their title, their damage disclosure, their bill of sale and the dealers have 30 days to get that to them," Minnehaha County Treasurer Pam Nelson said.

But many of those cashing in on the clunkers program are surprised when they get to the treasurer's office windows. That's because the government's rebate of up to $4500 dollars for every clunker is taxable.

"They didn't realize that would be taxable. A lot of people don't realize that. So they're not happy and kind of surprised when they find that out," Nelson said.

For now, the biggest impact of the program hasn't hit this office yet, as most of the paperwork is still in the hands of the dealers. But Nelson expects to see move activity in her office in the next month.

"I'm anxious to see what it's going to be like. I have no idea how many people we're going to see. Hopefully the dealers can process their paperwork in 30 days," Nelson said.

And that's when the line at this office will give some indication of how many cars the government program moved off of local lots.

Nelson adds that if you did recently purchase a vehicle, ensure your dealer gets you the paperwork in time because if they don't you could pay extra interest and penalties.
http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=0,89084
 

Anjinsan

Well-Known Member
So they take the clunker money from our taxes...then they get to tax it again...and Japan made out better than America by a looooong shot as they saw a spike in sales and yet their citizens didn't have to lose a dime in tax monies.

Did I get that right?
 

Johnny Retro

Well-Known Member
Im sorry i havent read every post in this thread..
But has anyone mentioned the environment in this discussion?
I think this program is great..look at the top 10 cars bought off the clunker program and look at their gas mileage
Global warming is REAL and needs to be acted upon
 

Anjinsan

Well-Known Member
Im sorry i havent read every post in this thread..
But has anyone mentioned the environment in this discussion?
I think this program is great..look at the top 10 cars bought off the clunker program and look at their gas mileage
Global warming is REAL and needs to be acted upon
Making cars produces pollutants too.
 

NoDrama

Well-Known Member
Im sorry i havent read every post in this thread..
But has anyone mentioned the environment in this discussion?
I think this program is great..look at the top 10 cars bought off the clunker program and look at their gas mileage
Global warming is REAL and needs to be acted upon

Yes its going to save almost 4 hours worth of USA daily fuel, a really great program, it will reduce our dependence on foreign energy by nothing and the reduction in carbon emission will be so small as to not be measurable. A win win all around for no one!
 

Johnny Retro

Well-Known Member
Yes its going to save almost 4 hours worth of USA daily fuel, a really great program, it will reduce our dependence on foreign energy by nothing and the reduction in carbon emission will be so small as to not be measurable. A win win all around for no one!

You gotta start somewhere.

"On average each year, they will save 287 gallons (1086 liters) of gas, more than $700 in fuel costs and close to 3 tons in carbon dioxide pollution."

"Likewise, America will be using nearly 72 million fewer gallons (272.5 million liters) of gasoline a year because of the program"

Theres a start..

Dont be so narrow minded brah.
 

Johnnyorganic

Well-Known Member
So they take the clunker money from our taxes...then they get to tax it again...and Japan made out better than America by a looooong shot as they saw a spike in sales and yet their citizens didn't have to lose a dime in tax monies.

Did I get that right?
Don't forget about South Korea.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Autos/idUSTRE57P5C220090826
You gotta start somewhere.

"On average each year, they will save 287 gallons (1086 liters) of gas, more than $700 in fuel costs and close to 3 tons in carbon dioxide pollution."

"Likewise, America will be using nearly 72 million fewer gallons (272.5 million liters) of gasoline a year because of the program"

Theres a start..

Dont be so narrow minded brah.
As a conservationist who thinks who fervently believes we should be moving away from conventional energy sources, yet who also believes global warming is a scam; I am sightly conflicted about this program.

True, it did reduce the amount of gas guzzlers on the road. But, and it's a big but, is the effect of the program on our economy (cost versus benefit) truly worth it?

I think not, but as JohnnyR says, "You gotta start somewhere."
 

Johnny Retro

Well-Known Member
True, its effect on the economy is less than sub par.

But now greed plays a factor into this. Do we worry about our money, or do we worry about our environment?

Dont get me wrong, i know this one program wont save our environment and is doing more harm than helping us..

But the way i look at it is, atleast we got somthing good out of it.
 

Johnnyorganic

Well-Known Member
True, its effect on the economy is less than sub par.

But now greed plays a factor into this. Do we worry about our money, or do we worry about our environment?
I worry about both.

There is room for each POV in this conversation.

At least, I believe it to be so.
 
Top