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Aug 27, 2009 - Carometric Pressure

Whether Cash For Clunkers was a success, or whether it even was a good idea is another topic for another day. Today I'm interested in (and isn't that the self-centered point of a blog, what interests me?) the makeup of the most purchased and most clunkerized vehicles.

What we're looking at is a population of buyers who suddenly were pushed over the edge into buying (almost) any new car of their choosing. Highlights from the Washington Post:

Eight of the top 10 new cars purchased through the program came from Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota, which claimed the top spot with its Corolla.

The only vehicles produced by U.S. automakers in the top 10 were the Ford Escape and Focus.

By contrast, all of the top 10 clunkers turned in were made by a Detroit company, with the four-wheel-drive Ford Explorer SUV, Ford F-150 pickup and the four-wheel-drive Jeep Grand Cherokee taking the top three spots.

 I don't think it's any coincidence that Fords were the only vehicles in the top ten from the "manufacturer's formerly known as the Big Three" and that Ford was the only one not bailed out to prevent a bankruptcy. The way that worked so well is why I have doubts that C4C was a good idea. Government meddling in markets and unitended consequences go hand in hand.

The Import Wars, which started with some minor skirmishing about 40 years ago and turned into a full-fledged invasion when Detroit was throwing K-cars at the beaches to try and stop the landings, seem to have a winner.

3:03 am | Categories: automotive news, legislation Permalink | Alert Administrator

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