Auto Trends

cars in a dumpster, originally uploaded by rx8wej

Well folks, we’ve got some good news and some bad news…

First the good news. The Cash for Clunkers program has been a runaway success. The program shot off with a bang earlier in the month, and the government deserves a little praise for doing such a bang-up job of putting everything together. It has offered some much needed relief to the struggling automotive dealers and manufactures, and brought more than just a few clunker wielding consumers out of the woodwork. But there can be problems when you do a bang-up job of anything…

This is where the good news stops and the bad news starts. Yes, the Cash for Clunkers maybe a success, but it has been a little too much of a success, according to the Automotive News (subscription required to make the jump). The word on the street is that the program may have already run its course. In other words, it may have used up its allocated $1 billion (or coming close to it), and dealers and manufacturers are still pumping out the frothy deals like there was no end to this beer tap.

While some say the program is closer to only having used about $250 million of it funds, NADA is warning dealers that they sure better start to care, because as the funds dwindle, it just maybe them who is left with the check when the last congressman burps and gets up from the table. A survey taken by NADA has hinted to the possibility of a backlog of claims, which already exceeds $1 billion.

Dealerships might think the government is made of money with the way they’ve been pumping dollar bills into Chevrolet and Chrysler, but once the Cash for Clunkers reservoir dries up, there are no guarantees of reimbursement. NADA is recommending that dealers cool down on the hubbub of balloons, clowns, and dumpsters filled with subcompacts sitting outside their lots, and wait to make sure the funds will be reassured.

With that said, government spokesman Robert Gibbs has offered consumer’s the confidence to go ahead and purchase a new vehicle under the plan this weekend. He stressed that there was no need to panic, and consumers should just enjoy the great deals. The dealerships on the other hand…

yeah, you should worry!

Cash For Clunkers 2, originally uploaded by 1bluecanoe

It goes without saying, you should never give personal information over the Internet, unless you are absolutely 100 percent sure you are dealing with an accredited website. With that said, there have been reports of a number of new websites having hung a business sign off the back of their computer and are busy collecting personal information from unwary ‘Cash For Clunkers’ consumers.

The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has issued a warning to consumers, stating that there have been a startling number of Cash For Clunkers websites popping up. These websites are claiming that in order to get dibs on the program, interested consumers have to first register. Well, let’s set a few things straight here in case there is any confusion about the program…

Rule 1:
There is only one official Cash For Clunkers Website. If you are looking for official information on the program, this is probably the first place from which you will want to start! Everything else is just opinion.

Rule 2:
There is no registration necessary to take advantage of the Cash For Clunkers Program. This is pretty much a BYOC (Bring Your Own Clunker) program, which necessitates nothing more than you showing up at your preferred dealership, presenting your clunker, and making the deal.

Rule 3:
If you are at all unsure whether or not your vehicle qualifies by its average combined mpg rating, then visit the official www.fueleconomy website, as these are the only qualified ratings the program will be accepting.

There are a lot of websites offering unofficial information and criticisms about the program, but if you run across one asking for your social security and other personal information to pre-register, report them immediately, as there is no such thing!

Balloons Sell Cars, originally uploaded by manotron

Dealerships have to work hard to bring new buyers onto their lot. They give away key chains, food, gas, free test drives in fancy cars, and anything else they think will bring in a crowd. Since the recession started back in December of 2007, they have become even more desperate. They would practically do anything to get you in the door, and that is exactly what one dealership in Greeley, Colorado did.

The Weld County Garage is your typical GMC, Pontiac, and Buick dealer. They came up with a rather creative gimmick designed to help them sell a few extra cars through the month of may. What they did was tell each customer that for every vehicle sold through the month of May, if it rained one inch through the hours of 7AM through 7PM on Memorial Day, those vehicles would be free.

Now we all know how hard it can be to get a free vehicle. You could go through the rigmarole of the television game show The Price is Right, you could lose your shorts in Las Vegas, or play every sweepstakes known to man… But you will still probably never in your life experience the triumph of receiving a free vehicle.

Well, the gimmick worked, the dealership sold over $700,000 worth of vehicles. As Memorial Day came the forecast called for lots and lots of rain. The day started off with heavy rain. Then it rained, and rained, and then rained some more. By the time the late afternoon hit, the owner of the dealership must have been sweating bullets. I’d say Mustang Bullitt’s, but that’d be a whole other dealership.

The day produced well over one inch of rain, but there was one bit of saving grace. They had mentioned that the rain would have to come from the airport. While the dealership itself received bucketfuls of rain, the airport was just shy of an inch total rainfall. Thankfully, the dealership had taken out an insurance policy prior to making the deal, so they were covered even if they did have to shell out the $700,00 in new vehicles.

A Moral to this Story?
Moral 1- Insurance is your friend!
This includes car insurance, house insurance, life insurance, and health insurance. You can never have too much insurance.

Moral 2- Murphy’s Law (Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong) is not your friend!
If there is anything in life you can always count on, it is not to count on anything!