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Cash for Clunkers Wraps Up with Nearly 700,000 Car Sales and Increased Fuel Efficiency, U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Declares Program “Wildly Successful”


American Government Topics:  Ray LaHood, Ray LaHood, Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS)

Cash for Clunkers Wraps Up with Nearly 700,000 Car Sales and Increased Fuel Efficiency, U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Declares Program “Wildly Successful”

U.S. Department of Transportation
August 26, 2009

DOT 133-09
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Contact: Eric Bolton
Tel: 202-366-9550

The CARS program came to a close Tuesday night with nearly 700,000 clunkers taken off the roads, replaced by far more fuel efficient vehicles. Rebate applications worth $2.877 billion were submitted by the 8 p.m. deadline, under the $3 billion provided by Congress to run the program.

Cars made in America topped the most-purchased list, from the Ford Focus to the Toyota Corolla to the Honda Civic.

"American consumers and workers were the clear winners thanks to the cash for clunkers program," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Manufacturing plants have added shifts and recalled workers. Moribund showrooms were brought back to life and consumers bought fuel efficient cars that will save them money and improve the environment."

"This is one of the best economic news stories we've seen and I'm proud we were able to give consumers a helping hand," Secretary LaHood said.

According to a preliminary analysis by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the CARS program will:

  • Boost economic growth in the third quarter of 2009 by 0.3-0.4 percentage points at an annual rate thanks to increased auto sales in July and August.
  • Will sustain the increase in GDP in the fourth quarter because of increased auto production to replace depleted inventories.
  • Will create or save 42,000 jobs in the second half of 2009. Those jobs are expected to remain well after the program's close.

    Ford and General Motors recently announced production increases for both the third and fourth quarters as a result of the demand generated by the program. Honda also said it will be increasing production at its U.S. plants in East Liberty and Marysville, Ohio and in Lincoln, Alabama.

    In addition, the program provides good news for the environment. That's because 84 percent of consumers traded in trucks and 59 percent purchased passenger cars. The average fuel economy of the vehicles traded in was 15.8 miles per gallon and the average fuel economy of vehicles purchased is 24.9 mpg. ? a 58 percent improvement.

    "This is a win for the economy, a win for the environment and a win for American consumers," Secretary LaHood said.

    With the end of transactions under the program, the Department of Transportation is augmenting a team that already includes more than 2,000 people processing dealer applications for rebates.

    C.A.R.S. Program Statistics
    Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

    Dealer Transactions
    Number Submitted: 690,114
    Dollar Value: $2,877.9M

    Top 10 New Vehicles Purchased

    1. Toyota Corolla
    2. Honda Civic
    3. Toyota Camry
    4. Ford Focus FWD
    5. Hyundai Elantra
    6. Nissan Versa
    7. Toyota Prius
    8. Honda Accord
    9. Honda Fit
    10. Ford Escape FWD

    New Vehicles Manufacturers


    Toyota - 19.4%
    General Motors - 17.6%
    Ford - 14.4%
    Honda - 13.0%
    Nissan - 8.7%
    Hyundai - 7.2%
    Chrysler - 6.6%
    Kia - 4.3%
    Subaru - 2.5%
    Mazda - 2.4%
    Volkswagen - 2.0%
    Suzuki - 0.6%
    Mitsubishi - 0.5%
    MINI - 0.4%
    Smart - 0.2%
    Volvo - 0.1%
    All Other - <0.1%

    Top 10 Trade-in Vehicles

    1. Ford Explorer 4WD
    2. Ford F150 Pickup 2WD
    3. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD
    4. Ford Explorer 2WD
    5. Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan 2WD
    6. Jeep Cherokee 4WD
    7. Chevrolet Blazer 4WD
    8. Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2WD
    9. Ford F150 Pickup 4WD
    10. Ford Windstar FWD Van

    Vehicles Purchased by Category

    Passenger Cars: 404,046
    Category 1 Truck: 231,651
    Category 2 Truck: 46,836
    Category 3 Truck: 2,408

    Vehicle Trade-in by Category

    Passenger Cars: 109,380
    Category 1 Truck: 450,778
    Category 2 Truck: 116,909
    Category 3 Truck: 8,134

    84% of trade-ins under the program are trucks, and 59% of new vehicles purchased are cars. The program worked far better than anyone anticipated at moving consumers out of old, dirty trucks and SUVs and into new more fuel-efficient cars.

    Average Fuel Economy

    New vehicles Mileage: 24.9 MPG
    Trade-in Mileage: 15.8 MPG
    Overall increase: 9.2 MPG, or a 58% improvement

    Cars purchased under the program are, on average, 19% above the average fuel economy of all new cars currently available, and 59% above the average fuel economy of cars that were traded in. This means the program raised the average fuel economy of the fleet, while getting the dirtiest and most polluting vehicles off the road.

    Requested Voucher Dollar Amount by State:


    ALABAMA $31,251,500
    ALASKA $4,868,500
    ARIZONA $39,542,500
    ARKANSAS $23,402,500
    CALIFORNIA $326,822,000
    COLORADO $37,676,500
    CONNECTICUT $40,114,000
    DELAWARE $11,235,000
    DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA $67,500
    FLORIDA $146,565,000
    GEORGIA $70,496,000
    GUAM $675,000
    HAWAII $7,333,500
    IDAHO $11,655,000
    ILLINOIS $143,613,000
    INDIANA $65,797,000
    IOWA $37,728,000
    KANSAS $31,496,500
    KENTUCKY $40,246,500
    LOUISIANA $33,376,500
    MAINE $16,579,500
    MARYLAND $74,903,000
    MASSACHUSETTS $64,855,000
    MICHIGAN $132,407,500
    MINNESOTA $73,160,500
    MISSISSIPPI $12,463,500
    MISSOURI $61,271,500
    MONTANA $6,461,000
    NEBRASKA $21,784,500
    NEVADA $14,582,000
    NEW HAMPSHIRE $23,045,500
    NEW JERSEY $103,375,500
    NEW MEXICO $13,941,500
    NEW YORK $156,292,000
    NORTH CAROLINA $78,601,500
    NORTH DAKOTA $8,938,000
    OHIO $136,267,000
    OKLAHOMA $37,422,000
    OREGON $37,531,500
    PENNSYLVANIA $138,651,500
    PUERTO RICO $2,252,000
    RHODE ISLAND $10,690,500
    SOUTH CAROLINA $37,207,500
    SOUTH DAKOTA $10,367,500
    TENNESSEE $50,949,000
    TEXAS $183,776,500
    UTAH $24,102,500
    VERMONT $9,879,000
    VIRGIN ISLANDS $1,553,000
    VIRGINIA $98,523,500
    WASHINGTON $55,927,500
    WEST VIRGINIA $13,477,000
    WISCONSIN $70,165,000
    WYOMING $2,513,000

    Additional Information

    Website Visits:1/

    Latest day (August 24): 524,794
    Cumulative (June 22-August 24): 16,558,873

    Hotline Contacts:

    Latest day (August 24)1/: 12,924

    1/ Hotline and Website statistics generally run 2-3 days behind current day




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