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AUTOS: Senate Passes Scaled-Back Clunkers Bill
Written by: SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com   
06/18/2009
Washingtom, D.C.
 
A scaled-back version of the cash-for-clunkers bill, designed to spur auto sales and clean the environment, was passed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday and sent to President Obama for signing.

Cars and trucks traded in for the Clunkers program will be off the road for good, most of them crushed. (Photo: Getty Images) ยป More Photos
The House approved the bill Tuesday after the spending plan was lowered to $1 billion from a maximum $4.5 billion to be paid out to owners of gas-guzzling vehicles who trade them in on cleaner, more economical cars and light trucks.

The Senate version was attached to a $106 billion package of legislation mainly to assist U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The action could spark sales of 250,000 new vehicles while lowering those drivers’ fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions, according to its backers. If Obama signs the legislation, the program would go into effect one month later and continue until Nov. 1.

Similar actions have had good effect on auto sales in some European countries, and the plan has the strong support of automakers and the Obama administration.

But critics say the plan would be a costly flop having little positive effect for either the struggling automakers or the national air quality.

“A program intended to stimulate car sales should target people in the market for a car, but the
proposed program does not,” said Jeremy Anwyl, Edmunds.com CEO. “The only people who qualify are those willing to take no more than $4,500 for their current car and immediately buy a new one – quite a narrow profile.”

Car collectors and hobbyists have been strenuously opposed to such measures because the vehicles that are traded in would immediately be sent to scrap-yard crushers, taking them and their gas guzzling off the road permanently. They fear the loss of hard-to-get parts or losing vehicles that could be collectable now or in the future.

SEMA the national organization of aftermarket parts suppliers, auto-repair people and collector-car clubs, convinced Congress to insert the requirement that a trade-in vehicle must be model year 1984 or newer, somewhat mitigating the feared loss of collector vehicles and parts. The measure also allows parts to be recycled, except for the engine, which must be destroyed.

But despite easing some of the fears of car hobbyists, SEMA members still have strong doubts about any benefits gained from the plan.

“It’s not going to dramatically reduce emissions or reduce our dependence on foreign oil.” said Stuart Gosswein, a SEMA spokesman.
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