No criticism of Cash for Clunkers says LaHood

"This was the most wildly successful program ever, selling 800,000 cars in less than 30 days, You see no criticism of Cash for Clunkers in America." - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

Ya right.

"It [Cash for Clunkers] has proved to be a highly successful vehicle marketing tool," said Tim Evans, energy analyst for Citi Futures Perspective in New York. "But you would need a microscope to see the demand impact for gasoline from this program because it involves a relatively small number of vehicles."

But the DoE loans in question were approved to encourage the development of alternative energy and biofuels, two "green job" creators that have influential allies on Capitol Hill. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) is already criticizing the shift [to Cash for Clunkers] as a raid on the clean-energy pot, and Renewable Fuels Association chief Bob Dineen said he wants Congress to promptly put the $2 billion back home at the DoE:

& By Jeff Jacoby - Boston Globe

Q: CONGRESSMAN, was “Cash for Clunkers’’ a success?
....
A: I have to go, but let me say this: If Cash for Clunkers were as dubious as you suggest, it wouldn’t have had so many takers.

Q: Oh, for heaven’s sake, congressman: If you give away money, won’t people always line up to take it?
Lahood: <a href="http://blogs.motortrend.com/6627723/auto-shows/will-cash-for-clunkers-return-transportation-secretary-says-its-up-to-congress/index.html#ixzz0cRwODzAY">http://blogs.motortrend.com/6627723/auto-shows/will-cash-for-clunkers-return-transportation-secretary-says-its-up-to-congress/index.html#ixzz0cRwODzAY</a>;

Tim Evans &amp; Jeff Bingaman <a href="http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/08/03/separating-fact-from-fiction-on-%E2%80%9Ccash-for-clunkers%E2%80%9D/">http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/08/03/separating-fact-from-fiction-on-%E2%80%9Ccash-for-clunkers%E2%80%9D/</a>;

Boston Globe: <a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/08/26/the_truth_about_cash_for_clunkers/">http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/08/26/the_truth_about_cash_for_clunkers/</a>;

by B' Spokes

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  • No criticism of Cash for Clunkers says LaHood
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More criticism:

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In other words, CARS just didn't generate that many new sales. Much of the subsidy went to buyers who would have purchased anyway.

As it turns out, much of the subsidy also went to people who weren't interested in purchasing GM or Chrysler vehicles. While year-over-year sales figures rose in August for Ford, Honda, and Toyota, sales declined by 15 percent and 20 percent respectively for Chrysler and GM. To the extent that CARS was designed to help struggling American automakers, it doesn't seem to have had the desired effect.

Particularly worrisome is today's report that sales fell precipitously in the last week of August -- after the CARS program ended. Rather than generate momentum for the automobile industry, CARS may have primarily moved sales around. To a certain extent, it might also have been counterproductive. How so?
...
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/09/02/a-last-word-on-cash-for-clunkers/

& here:

...
But does the nation really want it? It's normal and expected for politicians to minimize the concerns of their critics, but LaHood seems to want to deny that the critics of Cash for Clunkers even exist. A 2009 Rasmussen Reports survey found that 54% of Americans oppose Cash for Clunkers, compared with just 35% who support it.

It's not just the "peasants with pitchforks" tea party crowd that questions the merit of the program. Many academics have judged the program as something other than "the most wildly successful program ever." Economists have complained the program merely shifted sales from the future to the present, and hurt the lower- and middle-class by trashing perfectly usable cars.

Edmunds.com estimated that the program ended up costing taxpayers about $24,000 for every car sale that it stimulated. And other economists have raised doubts about the supposed environmental benefits of the program: People with new, fuel-efficient cars drive more (10 miles at 20 MPG is just as bad for the environment as 5 miles 10 MPG). What's more, a considerable amount of carbon is emitted to make all those new fuel-efficient cars.
...
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/is-cash-for-clunkers-gearing-up-for-a-comeback/19320062/