Cash for Clunkers Nonsense.

[wrightme43]

August 03, 2009
Obama channels Robert A. Heinlein

Michael Geer
[FONT=times new roman,times]The dean of science fiction writers anticipated the arrival of Barack Obama and his cash for clunkers nonsense. As instructional videos teach people [/FONT][ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waj2KrKYTZo"][FONT=times new roman,times]how to disable a perfectly fine Volvo[/FONT][/ame][FONT=times new roman,times] to qualify to be scrapped in exchange for cash, here is what Heinlein wrote in his sci-fi novel The Door Into Summer more than half a century ago:

[/FONT]

[FONT=times new roman,times]The job I found was crushing new ground limousines so that they could be shipped back to Pittsburgh as scrap. Cadillacs, Chryslers, Eisenhowers, Lincolns - all sort of great big, new powerful turbobuggies without a kilometer on their clocks. Drive'em between the jaws, then crunch! smash! crash! - scrap iron for blast furnaces.[/FONT]

[FONT=times new roman,times]It hurt me at first since I was riding the ways to work and didn't own so much as a Grav-Jumper. I expressed my opinion of it almost lost my job....until the shift boss remembered I was a Sleeper and really didn't understand.[/FONT]

[FONT=times new roman,times]"It's a simple matter of economics, son. These are surplus cars the government has accepted as security against price-support loans. They're two years old now and then can never be sold....so the government junks them and sells them back to the steel industry.[/FONT]

[FONT=times new roman,times]You can't run a blast furnace just on ore; you have to scrap iron as well. You ought to know that even if you are a Sleeper. Matter of fact with high-grade ore so scarce, there's more and more demand for scrap. The steel industry needs these cars."[/FONT]

[FONT=times new roman,times]"But why build them in the first place if they can't be sold? It seems wasteful."[/FONT]

[FONT=times new roman,times]"It just seems wasteful. You want to throw people out of work? You want to run down their standard of living?"[/FONT]

[FONT=times new roman,times]"Well why not ship them abroad? It seems to me they could get more for them on the open market abroad then they are worth as scrap."[/FONT]

[FONT=times new roman,times]"What! and ruin the export market? Besides, if we started dumping cars abroad everybody we'd get everyone sore at us - Japan, France, Germany, Great Asia, everybody. What are you aiming to do? Start a war?"[/FONT]




What A Waste (Cash For Clunkers) - The Market Ticker



Putting one of the sectors of the economy that is doing ok, (auto repair and used cars) at a huge disadvantage is just stupid. Par for the course for these idiots though.
​

 

[Cuba]

I've heard the administration is refusing to release the clunkers sales data (at least until the vote is complete to triple the cost of the program) because people aren't buying American cars. There was no incentive to buy American in the plan, so most bought Japanese or Korean. Pretty embarassing since they own GM and Chrysler, are literally printing money and handing it out to car buyers, and STILL can't get people to buy their products. We obviously don't have all the facts yet but it seems like this could and should have been planned better, but that's what you get from a rush job. We shall see.

 

[Hellgate]

I heard on NPR today that 50% of total clunkers were traded towards domestic cars. The most popular was the Ford Focus, I think. Ford moved several MONTHS worth of inventory in a week, amazing.

Texas has had a similar program for several years but it is for a vehicle that is 10 years older or older, can't pass emissions and required more than $1,200 in repairs to do so. The program is only in the big city counties, Dallas/ Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.

My wife used the program to get rid of her '98 Mazda Protoge with two hail storms worth of damage, and 157,000 miles, two minor fender benders, and a value of about zero. She got $3,500 from the State and bought an '09 Mazda 6 with 9,200 miles.

Now under the Obama program she wouldn't have gotten a penny because the smoke belching Protoge got better mileage than the super smog free 6, hummm....

 

[wrightme43]

[FONT=times new roman,times]According to a source inside the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , the top 10 new vehicles purchased (total of 157,000) are:[/FONT]


[FONT=times new roman,times]1.Ford Focus[/FONT]
2.[FONT=times new roman,times]Toyota Corolla[/FONT]
3.[FONT=times new roman,times]Honda Civic[/FONT]
4.[FONT=times new roman,times]Toyota Prius[/FONT]
5.[FONT=times new roman,times]Toyota Camry[/FONT]
6.[FONT=times new roman,times]Ford Escape[/FONT]
7.[FONT=times new roman,times]Hyundai Elantra[/FONT]
8.[FONT=times new roman,times]Dodge Caliber [/FONT]
9.Honda Fit
10.Chevrolet Cobalt

Dont look so hot for GM or Chrysler.
Ford didnt take any bailout money.