This Jam Factor Goes to 11

Jul 28, 2009 - Deception is 9/10 of the law - C4C

Cash for Clunkers - sure, it is doing something to stimulate the sale of new automobiles short-term, but is that really enough? Even up to the official start date, both consumers & dealers were still unclear on some of the program details. The program was so hastily- and poorly-written that it failed to address many common scenarios. And, of course, it was reportedly written almost entirely by the domestic automotive industry.

And apart from economic stimulus, some of the purported goals don't seem to make sense - you can take a vehicle that gets poor fuel economy and trade it in for brand spankin' new vehicle that gets... poor fuel economy.  Huh?  What about the environment?  Many of us thought, in supporting this program, that we were helping take gas guzzlers off the road.

But here's the huge kicker - the program was announced, oh, sometime in early June, I believe. A "clunker" was defined as a vehicle rated as having 18 MPG or lower fuel economy on fueleconomy.gov. Upon the announcement, millions visited the website to determine whether their vehicle qualified.

Based on the vehicles & numbers listed, Hyundai began offering the program several weeks prior to the official start date, and a couple other manufacturers started a few days early. On Sunday, the day before the official start date, the EPA changed how they calculate combined MPG. Guess what? A LOAD of vehicles that had previously qualified at 18 MPG were re-rated at exactly 19 MPG.

So consumers who were counting on the deal are screwed. Dealerships who made deals early are screwed - I can't really blame them, as NO ONE knew about the 11th-hour recalculation, since calculations were static for months.  However, it is kind of like touching a hot stove one more time - and this time they made us believe... really believe... that this time it wouldn't burn.

IMO, that is like the "bait & switch" tactic that consumers complain about dealers using, and doesn't go very far in instilling or restoring trust in the government.  

8:31 am | Categories: Permalink | Alert Administrator

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