Auto Trends

Photo of old Ford Explorer appropriately taken with the background of a cemetery, originally uploaded by jimmerbond

Last week we reported on how the Cash for Clunkers Program has done so well, that it had darn near depleted its funds just as it was getting out of the gate. The original $1 billion alloted has been said to have been slurped dry, leaving quite possibly several million unaccounted for.

Automotive News (subscription needed to make the jump) reported that approximately 250,000 deals went through just this last week. Some of the most popular models being purchased are the Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Prius/Camry, and Ford Escape (in that order). The nations fuel economy rating has already improved slightly, according to most reports.

The Senate is now hard at work to replenish the program to the tune of an additional $2 billion, which should hold it over at least through September (at least they hope). Senate leaders have said that the decision to extend the clunkers program should be made within the week.

The prognosis that the bill will pass looks pretty darn good considering that there are only a handful of Republicans left to put a squelch on it. By the slight chance that the extension does not pass, Senate representatives have refused to comment on where they would come up with the addition millions to compensate dealers for traded-in’s beyond the billion dollar allotment.

This is of course after last week, when they were telling everybody not to worry and to keep buying cars… But we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

In the meantime, the U.S. Transportation Department has released the most popular “clunkers” that have been being pulled in since the start of the program, and the Top 10 list goes predictably like this:

1. Ford Explorer (4-wheel drive)
2. Ford F-150 (2-wheel drive)
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee
4. Jeep Cherokee
5. Dodge/Grand Carovan
6. Chevrolet Blazer
7. Ford Explorer (2-wheel drive)- May not be any left on the road by the time this program is through
8. Ford F-150 (4-wheel drive)
9. Chevrolet C1500
10. Ford Windstar Minivan

No better place than on this list does it show the improvement Ford has made over the past few years. They obviously are topping the list for having the most vehicles being shipped off to that great big junkyard in the sky. However, their new Ford Focus and Escape are on top of many buyers lists to replenish their old junker with. Even the quintessential favorites, Toyota and Honda, have had to step aside to make room for the Focus to take the lead.