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Cash for Clunkers Wraps up with Nearly 700,000 car sales and increased fuel efficiency, U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood declares program “wildly successful”
The CARS program came to a close Tuesday night with nearly 700,000 clunkers taken off the roads, replaced by far more fuel efficient vehicles. Rebate applications worth $2.877 billion were submitted by the 8 p.m. deadline, under the $3 billion provided by Congress to run the program.
Cars made in America topped the most-purchased list, from the Ford Focus to the Toyota Corolla to the Honda Civic.
“American consumers and workers were the clear winners thanks to the cash for clunkers program,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Manufacturing plants have added shifts and recalled workers. Moribund showrooms were brought back to life and consumers bought fuel efficient cars that will save them money and improve the environment.”
“This is one of the best economic news stories we’ve seen and I’m proud we were able to give consumers a helping hand,” Secretary LaHood said.
According to a preliminary analysis by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the CARS program will:
- Boost economic growth in the third quarter of 2009 by 0.3-0.4 percentage points at an annual rate thanks to increased auto sales in July and August.
- Will sustain the increase in GDP in the fourth quarter because of increased auto production to replace depleted inventories.
- Will create or save 42,000 jobs in the second half of 2009. Those jobs are expected to remain well after the program’s close.
Ford and General Motors recently announced production increases for both the third and fourth quarters as a result of the demand generated by the program. Honda also said it will be increasing production at its U.S. plants in East Liberty and Marysville, Ohio and in Lincoln, Alabama.
In addition, the program provides good news for the environment. That’s because 84 percent of consumers traded in trucks and 59 percent purchased passenger cars. The average fuel economy of the vehicles traded in was 15.8 miles per gallon and the average fuel economy of vehicles purchased is 24.9 mpg. - a 58 percent improvement.
“This is a win for the economy, a win for the environment and a win for American consumers,” Secretary LaHood said.
With the end of transactions under the program, the Department of Transportation is augmenting a team that already includes more than 2,000 people processing dealer applications for rebates.
C.A.R.S. Program Statistics
Dealer Transactions
Number Submitted: 690,114
Dollar Value: $2,877.9M
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
New Vehicles Manufacturers
- Toyota – 19.4%
- General Motors – 17.6%
- Ford – 14.4%
- Honda – 13.0%
- Nissan – 8.7%
- Hyundai – 7.2%
- Chrysler – 6.6%
- Kia – 4.3%
- Subaru – 2.5%
- Mazda – 2.4%
- Volkswagen – 2.0%
- Suzuki – 0.6%
- Mitsubishi – 0.5%
- MINI – 0.4%
- Smart – 0.2%
- Volvo – 0.1%
- All Other – <0.1%
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
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
84% of trade-ins under the program are trucks, and 59% of new vehicles purchased are cars. 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.
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
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