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Breaking News: That Was Quick! Cash for Clunkers Program So Successful it’s Broke and Will be Halted Tomorrow


Breaking News: That Was Quick! Cash for Clunkers Program So Successful it’s Broke and Will be Halted Tomorrow

The Department of Transportation has directed dealers to stop taking “Cash for Clunkers” applications at midnight on Thursday, July 30th, as the program was so well received it has run out of money. The Feds had put aside one billion dollars of funding.

So now is when we start to think one of two things. Thing one, this is good. The program is over and obviously the demand is so great that the governmemt will not be able to fund it and have it continue. Thing two. This really sucks. The demand is so great that the government is going to see this and pour billions more into the program to sustain it.

As of right now no one knows what the future hold for the program. Manufacturers and dealers cannot be happy because they have invested millions in advertising to promote the program and stimulate sales. The program supposedly spurred the sales of 250,000 cars. Of course, it also means it spurred the destruction of 250,000 cars with no hope of recovering any drivetrain components.

According to a New York Times story, the Transportation Secretary was burning up the phones for more money before the Congressional recess which starts on Friday.

Meanwhile, the official goverment web site says there’s still $770M-plus bucks left in the cash register, which is leading to widespread confusion.

Here are some stories following the action:

From the NY Times

From Bloomberg

From Business Week


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