U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will kick off the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), commonly referred to as Cash for Clunkers, on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. The buyer incentive program is designed to help consumers purchase new fuel efficient vehicles and boost the economy. Secretary LaHood will be joined by Representatives John Dingell and Betty Sutton.
The program gives buyers of new, more fuel-efficient vehicles up to $4,500 in government rebates to turn in cars and trucks up to 25 years old that in most instances get less than a combined highway/city fuel efficiency of 18 miles per gallon.
While the government has developed the requirements for eligibility for the program, the used car needs to be less than 25 years old and not newer than a 2001. The car also has to be in a drivable condition and have a combined city/highway fuel economy of less than 18 miles per gallon.
Qualified consumers may participate in the CARS Program between July 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009, until authorized funds are no longer available. The government has put aside some $1 billion to fund the program and it is not clear if additional funds will be budget when this is exhausted.
The new “Cash for Clunkers” program has started to create much excitement say local car dealerships, as more people are coming into car showrooms. This could only be good for the ailing US car industry.
UPDATE: For more information, check out this article that chronicles the history of Cars.gov, Tesla, and the US government’s attempts to encourage better fuel efficiency: https://www.partcatalog.com/page/cars-gov-and-tesla
[…] than one week after the U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood kicked off the Cash for Clunkers program on Monday, July 27, the Administration and House are scrambling to keep it […]