TRANSPORTATION
Dollars For Demolition Out Of Gas And Out Of Money
The Car Allowance Rebate System, better known as Cash For Clunkers, was just about to run out of gas when Congress topped off the tank with a healthy $2 billion infusion of federal funds to keep the program alive due to its popularity with car buying consumers. Just days later, 457,000 dealer transactions worth $1.9 billion put the brakes on the program and brought it to a grinding halt, reminiscent of the silica solution used to seize the engines of traded-in clunkers. Cash For Clunkers had economists happy, since the $3,500 to $4,500 rebate stimulated consumers to spend their hard-earned dollars in the terminallyill automobile industry. The rebate capitalized on the feel-good theory that trading in an out-dated gas-guzzler for a new fuel-efficient car is better for the environment. Some critics feel it was just another way to stall the implementation of electric vehicles into the public sphere while others say that producing a new vehicle takes more energy and resources than driving around that old beater. Hey, if your decades-old SUV didn’t sound so good, why not take advantage if you were planning on purchasing another vehicle anyway, otherwise, just go buy a bike. —Kevin Whitton cars.gov 52
GREENMAG AZINEHAWAI I . COM