The Average Clunker Traded in for C4C Was 15 Years Old
The government has released final Cash for Clunkers numbers–so far I’ve glanced through the summary and additional statistics. And one stat I did not know was that the average age for the Clunkers turned in was almost 15 years, and the average odometer reading was over 160,000 miles. (Click the graphic below to be able to read it.)
In other words, these really were Clunkers.
The summary data breaks out total voucher amounts issued by state. And there’s even a spreadsheet of which individual models were purchased (which we can use to figure out how many of these cars were actually built in the US). More than 14,000 people bought Priuses under C4C, for example.
And the overwhelming majority were trucks which were traded in for cars. That seems to mean that gas savings were actually a big part of the deal.
I got a chance to see Loudon Wainright and Richard Thompson in a combined show when they came through Austin this last weekend. Wainright has a new song out–“Cash for Clunkers”. Its a sing-along–had a few hundred people joining in. It’s not up on youtube as far as I can tell, but you gotta hear it.
So glad Senators Feinstein and others held up this bill’s Phase II to ensure it met targets it had already exceeded!
Didn’t you know you were supposed to focus on the fact that Ford trucks were traded in on – gasp – Ford trucks? You must have missed yer GOP talking points….
I’m actually looking forward to laying out which states used the benefit the most, proportionally.
Oh boy (or girl in this case *g*)!
An EW sooper-dooper spreadsheet with tons of pie charts, bar graphs, and perhaps even a timeline or two.
Can’t wait!
I have some Vermonters bow hunting on my land right now.(fatter deer in this neck of the woods) One guy has a used car lot up near Burlington Vermont. He, was not happy about how the “cash for clunkers” hurt his business. He had some other complaints. Maybe I can get him to visit your site with his complaints
And yet, my clunker ’92 Ford Escort with 123K miles on it would not have qualified even if I could have afforded to get something new since it still gets around 30mph.
That, and short of buying a Prius, you wouldn’t get the mileage improvement needed for a full benefit. They really haven’t improved mileage that much, not even with the smaller B-platforms.
well, I’m late to the thread but I would really like to know the final cost of the program since we sold the cars that were traded in, the payout is going to be more then the cost
knowing that figure would be nice
The cars were scrapped by mandate of the program – no sales.
every car made in America after 1972 was a clunker
I grew up driving some of the finest muscle cars Detroit ever built, and I never owned a new car in my life
Mustangs, Firebirds, GTOs
kids today got no clue
now they can’t even buy an older car and hop it up a bit
life sux when ya care bout the planet …
(wink)