cash for clunkers
 

I know this has been discussed before but there are new developments on this

https://money.cnn.com/2009/06/09/news...kers/index.htm

I am not sure if it has to go further or pass the senate (maybe it already has). I need to freshen up on my government knowledge.


Clunkers eligible for the program must get 18 miles per gallon, or less, in combined city and highway driving. The subsidy ends up benefiting more owners of light trucks, SUVs and mini-vans more than it would owners of regular old passenger cars, auto experts say.

A $3,500 subsidy can be used toward purchasing cars and vans that are more fuel efficient than the older clunkers by four miles per gallon. A $4,500 subsidy can be used toward purchasing cars and vans that are more fuel efficient than older cars by 10 miles per gallon.

However, cars that have not been insured for the past year or those that are older than 25 years are not eligible to be traded in for vouchers.

some of the stipulations here.

I like the stipulation that cars over 25 years are not eligible. Our antique vehicles are safe. I remember when California first started such a program. Popular Mechanics did an article on it, and bought a car from someone waiting to send their car to the crusher... It was a good condition 60's model Camaro that the owner just didn't want to deal with selling in the classifieds. They also noted that there were some rare cars being scrapped in the program.

-Jay

The 25 year thing protects against antiques now, but doesn't protect tomorrow's antiques.

Sounds like the used market for SUVs is about to get pretty nice. Good luck finding one under 4k but this should make those at 10k+ a little cheaper.

I'm glad they have that thing on there about the vahicle not being insured for the last year. That'll take like 50% of the group this is aimed at off the eligibility list.

In Vermont if you have your land designated as limited use (can't be developed I believe, but I'm unclear on the details), you get a property tax break. Since the point is to get inefficient vehicles off the roads, I wonder if there could be an incentive for them to be classified with very limited miles per year. That way you can still get a better vehicle, but they don't have to scrap the old one. Requires odometer checks, but that's part of inspection anyway.

Odometers can be easily disconnected, and often times on older vehicles they're broken.

Tamper proof retrofit odometer sounds difficult to design. Oh well.

Tamper resistant retrofit odometers are currently being used, at least as part of pilot projects, by insurance companies and states...they're GPS-based.

I thought about that, but I worried the GPS antenna could be interfered with. Shielding it so it can't get signal is what I was thinking (assuming integrated antenna). Maybe there's a way around that.

I was under the impression that they were also plugged into the obd-2 port which would tell you if they had been disconnected and also if the car has been started without the GPS noticing it moving. you can also get speed info from the obd-2.