$5,000 voucher pushed for new fuel-efficient vehicles

[Bozita]

Source: Detroit News

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
$5,000 voucher pushed for new fuel-efficient vehicles

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON -- An Ohio congresswoman has proposed a wide-ranging program to give consumers up to a $5,000 cash voucher to buy new, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, proposes giving consumers vouchers in exchange for turning in vehicles at least eight years old, dubbed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save bill, or CARS Act.

"The CARS Act will achieve many goals: consumers will finally get a break to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles; we will all benefit from a reduction of CO2; and the auto industry will get a jumpstart to spur sales," Sutton said. "This legislation will help consumers, stimulate our economy, improve our environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and help our domestic auto and related industries, upon which millions of American families depend for employment."

Consumers would have to buy a more efficient vehicle than their current model to qualify.

Read more: http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090317/AUTO01/903170442/1148

[DS1]

1. I'm in!

[Hawkeye-X]

2. I'd trade my 2004 Honda Accord to Toyota Prius in a heartbeat

if this was offered.

Oh darn. That means I have to wait *at least* 2012 before I can get the voucher.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. One more thing to add - much better proposal than the fucking ton loophole that people

use to buy Hummers in the early 21st century.

Hawkeye-X

[Bozita]

5. Amen!

[Deja Q]

4. W00t!!!!!!!!!!

[imdjh]

6. I disapprove

Both for economic and selfish reasons.

The selfish reason is that no one gave me $5000 when I replaced my 20 year old vehicle last year with a new one that get over twice the mileage.

The economic reason is that we're in the middle of digging out from the effect of cheap and easy money on the real estate market. What exactly do you think the car companies will do if all of a sudden there are people running around with $5000 car vouchers in their pockets? They will boost the prices, and they will find money to lend to everyone who has one, regardless of ability to repay. You will be able to measure in seconds the amount of time before news and talk programs are featuring people on welfare, people who just completed bankruptcy, and people who walked away from mortgages out there buying new cars.

There will be a war over what constitutes an American car. There will be wars over people buying a new car that despite being more fuel efficient than the one it's replacing, is still a hog. There will be screeching at people who want to buy cars with seating for six, or cargo space, or towing ability that they should all be buying Ford Focus and Toyota Yaris. There will be wars of accounting, as smart people point out to impulsive people that many of the hybrids are not a better value than some of the gasoline powered vehicles in a cost-to-own comparison.

If they want to stimulate car sales, then make deals with the car companies and credit companies that the US taxpayer now own to loan money to qualified people at a good rate for automobiles that are truly priced to sell and require no negotiation. None of this "no haggle price" bullshit, where there is no haggling and the price sucks (can you say Scion?). Also require that the term of the warranty equal the term of the loan.

[Booster]

7. Alright then; fuck the environment - we'll do nothing just

because of you.

[imdjh]

12. It isn't that urgent, it will happen anyway, and this is a collection of bad ideas (in my opinion)

Consumers would have to buy a more efficient vehicle than their current model to qualify.

Not very specific. This means that you could trade in a nine year old bad ass truck that get's 9MPG for a new bad ass truck that gets 11 MPG. Big deal. You probably didn't need either of those trucks to be so powerful, but that's what some people actually need.


The vehicles would also have to have a price-tag of $35,000 or less. It would also give higher-value vouchers for vehicles assembled in North America -- up to $5,000 -- versus up to $4,000 vouchers for vehicles assembled outside North America.

Notice that it says "North America" and not The United States.

GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner told reporters today in Washington that a bill to offer cash for older cars could benefit the industry.

And what will they do with the older cars?

"These kind of programs can have a huge impact," Wagoner said, adding that it could boost consumer confidence. "It would be very helpful to have something like that here in the United States."

Helpful to whom?

He pointed to a roughly 15 percent increase in auto sales in Germany last month over the same period a year ago after they introduced a similar program.

48% of which were foreign cars. The German program scraps the "old" cars. Now explain to me how it's good for the environment to scrap a car that is halfway through its functional lifespan and generate demand for new cars in a bubble market created by an artificial stimulus?

Consumers could also turn in their vehicles in exchange for a mass transit voucher.

This might not be a bad idea, but you would have to find a way to keep people from buying a $300 junk car to turn in for a $4000 transit pass.

"By providing a transit voucher option, this bill will also encourage the use of mass transit, which will similarly benefit our economy and environment," Sutton said.

That's great, but most places in the US do not have functioning mass transit systems which are good enough to replace personal transportation. They might consider a "get a scooter" option.

Ford Motor Co. praised the bill.

Of course they did.

"The 'CARS Act' legislation is a win-win-win for consumers, the environment and energy independence. By providing incentives to purchase a new vehicle, the legislation would help reduce consumer costs,

The replacement of older less efficient cars with newer more efficient cars is inevitable. It doesn't require a program. Cars wear out all by themselves. Cars become too expensive to operate all by themselves.

[rocktivity]

20. FOO-KIN-BEE-YOO-TEE-FUL! Imdjh, you're our grand prize winner!

Couldn't have said it better. And it should apply to cars made in the U.S. only!!!

:applause:
rocktivity

[Scout]

25. kicking for THIS POST--excellent reply n/t

[lutefisk]

27. "higher-value vouchers for vehicles assembled in North America"

So a VW or Ford made in Mexico gets the same voucher as a USA made Honda or Chevy? That's not right.

[Scout]

26. 'cuz those are the only two alternatives, this plan or nothing

uh huh

:eyes:

[customerserviceguy]

8. I can see the potential for abuses

somebody will go buy a two hundred dollar beater on Craigslist to have $5,000 in car vouchers, then will sell the four or five year old car on their own. Of course, if every eight year old car will get you $5K off of a new car, I guess there might not be any cars to be found for $200 that you can barely drive to the dealership...

[imdjh]

13. i hadn't thought about the Junker Bubble

[customerserviceguy]

18. It's just that I remember thirty years ago

when President Carter was talking about gasoline rationing, every car in America would be assigned a set of coupons, and we figured that beaters would stay registered. Back then, fewer places required proof of insurance to get a set of license plate tags.

[jaksavage]

23. definate liability

But getting the worst polluters off the road is a worthy goal.
They produce untold carbon emmisions.
Graduate the coupon downward for junkers.
$1000 each or 5 for $5000. then crush them.

[defendandprotect]

11. What did you buy . . .. ????

[jkappy]

28. totally unfair as stated here.

like the housing bail-out this too will anger people. specifically those who own a car that is less than 8 years old. if you bought a honda civic over the past several years, you're out 4,000 bucks... etc. stupid as stated.

[djp2]

9. Get everyone a voucher...

towards any American made car, say $2500, for every man woman and child (max 4 credits per family) and freeze car prices. That would be up to $10,000 per family. Talk about a REAL stimulus...every family could buy a new car. I think that runs to about $725 Billion unless I've slipped a digit! A better use than Bailouts for AIG...

[defendandprotect]

10. Good --- and start building electric cars -- government should subsidize it .....

and we should also be working on converting gas-guzzlers to hybrids, at least!

[L. Coyote]

14. Arizona did this. It was a huge giveaway for the rich who can buy cars.

More transfer of wealth to the wealthy!!

[Abq_Sarah]

15. I own my own vehicles now

What good is a 5K voucher going to do me if I'm saddled with a car payment in THIS economy?

Congresspeople need to think before they propose.

[Child_Of_Isis]

17. Better read the fine print folks

Better read the fine print folks,(all 9000 pages of it) when you go signing on that dotted line. Companies are so desperate for money who knows what kind of shady practices they will pull.

Surely people will not fall for this. They didn't learn anything from the credit cards & the McMansions?

[Javaman]

22. Shush you! With your brand of reality based thinking! Just shush now!

:)

[OwnedByFerrets]

16. We (our government) could have bought one for every eligible

American had we spent the money on electric/hybrid cars rather than greedy wall streeters.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

19. Instead of for SUV's, as under Chimp?

Times have changed.

[Javaman]

21. can I use it instead for solar panels? I can dream. nt

[Scout]

24. so i still can't afford the payments for a new car, doesn't help me any

plus, just because a car may be more fuel efficient than another one, what about all the raw materials and energy used to produce the new car?

i'll just keep driving my 1994 Cherokee Sport until it actually wears out.