U.S. Senate passes Cash for Clunckers bill, Obama to sign it

Posted: Jun 19, 2009

Car Scrappage

Following the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate passed a scaled-back $1 billion Cash for Clunkers bill and has sent it to President Barack Obama for his signature. According to Automotive News, the 91-5 vote took place after 5 p.m., after Republicans attempted to strip the auto proposal from a $106 billion war bill aimed to aid U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“This program will provide a much-needed boost to the struggling auto industry, including manufacturers, dealers, suppliers and other related industries,” Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said. “It also will “encourage consumers to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles,” he said.

The program would go into effect a month after the president signs the bill.

Refresher: Under the program, owners that get 18 mpg or less in combined highway and city mileage can turn their cars in for a cash voucher. If the new car gets at least 4 mpg higher, the voucher would be good for $3,500; a 10 mpg improvement would earn a $4,500 voucher.

- By: Omar Rana

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zermatt

I will be interested to see how this goes. People I have spoken to are under the mistaken impression that the taxpayer funded voucher is on top of the trade in value of the vehicle. The other misconception if what mileage rating will be used. Many are hoping that it will be actual as opposed to EPA rating - and they will be wrong.

It is my generalized belief that people that own cars that are worth less than $4,500 are not likely to finance $15 -20,000 for a new car.