Cash for Clunkers Far From Clunked Out

There's nothing like an achy perma-grin stretching from ear-to-ear, and after struggling through one of the roughest years in auto-making history, car manufacturers and dealers are finally enjoying some well-earned good news. Due to overwhelming demand, the House floored an emergency vote today, approving an additional $2 billion for the wildly popular Cash for Clunkers program, when original funding suddenly dissolved after only five days. The Senate will vote on the extra funding early next week.

Officially titled Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), the Cash for Clunkers program gives car buyers anywhere between $3,500 and $4,000 off the price of new car, as long as the car gets variably 2 to 10 miles better gas mileage than the trade-in. The only stipulations were that the trade-in vehicle has to be a 1984 or newer and has to get less than 18 miles per gallon. Using funds from the $787 billion stimulus package, the government originally earmarked $1 billion for the program. Within days of launching the program, 40,000 rebates had already been issued, with another 200,000 car sales in the pipeline, awaiting issuance of the rebate, and prompting a halt to the program.

With the auto industry in crawl mode for most of the year ad sales off 38 percent for the first half of the year, the program was created to help bolster car sales. But the double purpose of CARS was to get older gas guzzling polluters off the streets, replacing them with newer models and clean-burning motors. By all accounts, consumer purchases have been even more fuel efficient than originally expected. After rumors began flying that funds were exhausted, and with some dealers suspending the program, today's rush vote by congress with an overwhelming 316-109 approval, reassures buyers that the program is not only still up and running, but as attractive as ever.

See the rebate calculator at Edmunds.com if you're considering taking advantage of the program.

Photo courtesy of Daveseven, via Flickr.