Clunker trade-ins boost July U.S. auto sales

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

DETROIT (Reuters) - The punishing four-year decline in U.S. auto sales may have reached a turning point this week -- just as Michael Papa handed over the keys to his 1996 Ford Explorer for a government-sponsored trade-in.

Papa, a Detroit-area restaurant owner, and thousands of other Americans took advantage over the past week of the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" incentive of up to $4,500 to trade in older gas-guzzlers for newer, more fuel-efficient cars.

The sudden rush of demand at car dealerships long empty of customers quickly exhausted the $1 billion allocated for the program and drove U.S. auto sales to their highest level of 2009, analysts and industry executives said.

"I wasn't really looking for a new car, but that was a big incentive. That was the driving force to finally get rid of (the old car)," said Papa.

...

Barclays' Johnson said that, if the initial $1 billion was exhausted in the past week, July's annualized sales rate could reach the 12 to 13 million vehicle range.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Economy/idUSTRE5722J720090803

[slackmaster]

1. I'd like to know what benefit this brought to sales of US-made autos

Anyone have a clue?

[Divine Discontent]

2. small clue

I saw an early small sampling of the pre-start sales that had went through (in early July) before the official start a week ago, and it looked fine for US made cars, about 25-30% of the small sampling of a couple hundred sales were domestically owned companies, Ford fared the best by far. Many of the car manufactured overall were made in the USA (even if not from a domestically owned company). Honda has some big plants here in the US. Also, Ford stated that most trades were SUV/trucks, and most sales were of the 4 cylinder & Focus or Hybrid type - a true success. They need to do it again. So many positives environmentally from this, job creation, tax revenue over 200 million just from the first go-round, gas savings, lower needs for oil, etc.

[MNDemNY]

4. I think Honda is now the biggest car manufacturer in the US.

[icnorth]

6. More bad news for the GOP

retro club which is now about one isotope shy of a total melt down.

[Divine Discontent]

7. right!? they're about to self-combust!! ha jerks!

[Warpy]

3. The final figures aren't in, of course

but the figures that are in are showing the program is working exactly as it was designed to work, to get high mileage, low fuel efficiency clunkers off the road in favor of passenger sedans with higher efficiency.

Some interesting figures are at http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-29-2009/0005068374&EDATE=

The one that jumped out at me was that the average odometer reading on these heaps is 138,000!

Wow.

It's rare that any program works as near to the ideal as this one has so far. If it's continued, it's likely to bring out the chislers, but for now it looks like an amazing success.

[MNDemNY]

5. It works too well. Must be killed.

:sarcasm: