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We Still Have Our Clunker

Well, it's done and over and the stats are in on the CARS program. We still have our clunker, an old 1998 Ford Explorer with 61K miles. Its been paid for since 2001 - so we've been free of car payments for 8 years. But our old clunker keeps clunking - towing that big boat, hauling firewood, furniture, towing trailers and moving appliances. But lots of Americans don't. Personally, I wonder how many of them will end up being repo'd when the person they brought along to co-sign the loan loses their job and says "I can't pay for your car now".
 
Number Rebates Submitted: 690,114
 
Dollar Value: $2.87 billion. That means about $100 million was not spent and up to 28,500 car buyers had the door shut prematurely, but they probably procrastinated, and besides that old clunker they ended up keeping doesn't have payments.

Top 10 New Vehicles Purchased

  • Toyota Corolla
  • Honda Civic
  • Toyota Camry
  • Ford Focus FWD
  • Hyundai Elantra
  • Nissan Versa
  • Toyota Prius
  • Honda Accord
  • Honda Fit
  • Ford Escape FWD
All car companies were suffering from poor sales, but I would have to say the real winners in Cash for Clunkers were Toyota and Honda. The Hyundai is a crappy car and it won't even last until the next CARS deal comes along. We have a Ford and it's been a great vehicle so its good to know there are going to be more Ford Focuses on the road.

Top 10 Trade-in Vehicles

  • Ford Explorer 4WD
  • Ford F150 Pickup 2WD
  • Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD
  • Ford Explorer 2WD
  • Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan 2WD
  • Jeep Cherokee 4WD
  • Chevrolet Blazer 4WD
  • Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2WD
  • Ford F150 Pickup 4WD
  • Ford Windstar FWD Van
All American down the line, which is too bad, because that is that fewer American cars on the road. Our Ford Explorer 2WD is the 4th highest vehicle traded it, but ours isn't a clunker. Our 1998 vehicle only has 61,800 miles and is going strong. I think there were plenty of foreign clunkers out there that could have been traded without the mileage restrictions.

Vehicles Purchased by Category

  • Passenger Cars: 404,046
  • Category 1 Truck: 231,651
  • Category 2 Truck: 46,836
  • Category 3 Truck: 2,408

Vehicle Trade-in by Category

  • Passenger Cars: 109,380
  • Category 1 Truck: 450,778
  • Category 2 Truck: 116,909
  • Category 3 Truck: 8,134
The government reports that 84% of trade-ins under the program are trucks, and 59% of new vehicles purchased are cars. I'll allow them this little bit of hyperbole because the facts seem to support it, "The program worked far better than anyone anticipated at moving consumers out of old, dirty trucks and SUVs and into new more fuel-efficient cars."

Average Fuel Economy

  • New vehicles Mileage: 24.9 MPG
  • Trade-in Mileage: 15.8 MPG
  • Overall increase: 9.2 MPG, or a 58% improvement
Cars purchased under the program are, on average, 19% above the average fuel economy of all new cars currently available, and 59% above the average fuel economy of cars that were traded in. This means the program raised the average fuel economy of the fleet, while getting the dirtiest and most polluting vehicles off the road, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported.

Requested Voucher Dollar Amount by State:

  • ALABAMA - $31,251,500
  • ALASKA - $4,868,500
  • ARIZONA - $39,542,500
  • ARKANSAS - $23,402,500
  • CALIFORNIA - $326,822,000
  • COLORADO - $37,676,500
  • CONNECTICUT - $40,114,000
  • DELAWARE - $11,235,000
  • DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - $67,500
  • FLORIDA - $146,565,000
  • GEORGIA - $70,496,000
  • GUAM - $675,000
  • HAWAII - $7,333,500
  • IDAHO - $11,655,000
  • ILLINOIS - $143,613,000
  • INDIANA - $65,797,000
  • IOWA - $37,728,000
  • KANSAS - $31,496,500
  • KENTUCKY - $40,246,500
  • LOUISIANA - $33,376,500
  • MAINE - $16,579,500
  • MARYLAND - $74,903,000
  • MASSACHUSETTS - $64,855,000
  • MICHIGAN - $132,407,500
  • MINNESOTA - $73,160,500
  • MISSISSIPPI - $12,463,500
  • MISSOURI - $61,271,500
  • MONTANA - $6,461,000
  • NEBRASKA - $21,784,500
  • NEVADA - $14,582,000
  • NEW HAMPSHIRE - $23,045,500
  • NEW JERSEY - $103,375,500
  • NEW MEXICO - $13,941,500
  • NEW YORK - $156,292,000
  • NORTH CAROLINA - $78,601,500
  • NORTH DAKOTA - $8,938,000
  • OHIO - $136,267,000
  • OKLAHOMA - $37,422,000
  • OREGON - $37,531,500
  • PENNSYLVANIA - $138,651,500
  • PUERTO RICO - $2,252,000
  • RHODE ISLAND - $10,690,500
  • SOUTH CAROLINA - $37,207,500
  • SOUTH DAKOTA - $10,367,500
  • TENNESSEE - $50,949,000
  • TEXAS - $183,776,500
  • UTAH - $24,102,500
  • VERMONT - $9,879,000
  • VIRGIN ISLANDS - $1,553,000
  • VIRGINIA - $98,523,500
  • WASHINGTON - $55,927,500
  • WEST VIRGINIA - $13,477,000
  • WISCONSIN - $70,165,000
  • WYOMING - $2,513,000
Who knew they even sold new cars on the Virgin Islands and Guam?