HS Dent | Cash For Clunkers Redux

Cash For Clunkers Redux

By Rodney Johnson⋅ August 4, 2009 ⋅ ⋅ Post a comment

The NYT reports that July car sales were up, proving the value of the Cash For Clunkers program. Look a little bit deeper and you find the joy wasn’t so evenly spread.

Of the 10 most popular cars purchased under the program, the distribution goes like this:

3 Toyota

3 Ford

2 Honda

1 Nissan

1 Chevy

So what do we know? That 6 of ten were Japanese, confirming my suspicion that the fruits of the program are in large part going to Japanese car companies (although many of their cars are made in the US), but we also see that GM, w/ what was 20% of market share, is getting crowded out. Chrysler didn’t make the top 10 cut.

It seems that there are people like me out there who are looking at GM and Chrysler in a different light after their bailout binge, and it’s not very flattering.

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Discussion

4 comments for “Cash For Clunkers Redux”

A personal anecdote to your comments, Rodney. I have an 8 year old Chevy minivan with 160K miles on it, and I have spent the last 3 months actively looking for a new van.

I love my Chevy van, and a year ago, I would have bought another one. However, I am instead buying a Nissan. Part of that decision is idealogical; I just don’t like the idea of the government running a car company. But much is practical. This car will likely last me 10 years, and I question whether GM will provide support for these big SUVs and minivans 10 years afrom now. Will Government Motors will be too focused on their “green” midget-cars to care about supporting my very “ungreen”, 8-passenger, minivan? When politicians discover that Americans aren’t buywant shoeboxes on wheels, it certainly wouldn’t be out of character for them to start taking away other choices. One of the best ways to do that is to refuse to support the existing larger SUVs. At least, it’s real enough to get me to pay an extra 20% to buy the Nissan, and therefore not take that risk.

Posted by bdvillanueva | August 4, 2009, 2:56 pm
A friend of mine, a Ford salesman, is very upset that Obama rushes through all legislation. In the case of Cash4Clunkers, he neglected to allow higher benefits for people looking to buy American versus foreign cars. As a result, the foreign manufacturers are benefitting more than the Americans. Also not thought through is the fact that American manufacturers have a much more difficult time delivering vehicles since many of their suppliers are now out of business.

Posted by barrylynn7 | August 4, 2009, 4:25 pm
I drive a Dodge, 3500, 4×4 5.9 litre diesel turbo. I love it. I will keep it and pray that there is always someone to work on it!
Paying people my money to buy cars is not my idea of a stimulating experience. Let’s just go deeper into debt. That sounds like a very bad plan.
As a “Boomer” dad I still instill the mantra of spend less than you earn on my kids. It is working on 2 out of 3.

Posted by rankin.douglas | August 4, 2009, 10:38 pm
I have a Dodge Ram 1500 (2006) and l love it. I looked into buying a small car for around town driving and figured it would cost me more to have two vehicles, than just one gas hog. I am one of those investment advisors who does home building and remodeling on the side for fun and need a tuck you can put a loader bucket into on occasion. My next truck probably won’t be a Chrysler as they probably won’t be around in a few years.

Posted by danielj@nestlerode.com | August 31, 2009, 9:04 pm