Published: Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Clunkers cash goes for SUVs, pickups
WASHINGTON — Pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles were big sellers under the Cash for Clunkers program despite the federal government’s focus on replacing gas guzzlers with more fuel-efficient cars.
Data released late last week by the Department of Transportation shows that tens of thousands of trucks, minivans and SUVs with relatively low gas mileage were among the nearly 700,000 vehicles sold under the program in late July and August.
The top five sellers were smaller efficient vehicles: Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Ford Focus and Ford Escape. In the top 10 were large trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F150. The clunker sales even included 15 Hummers, a hulking vehicle not usually associated with fuel economy.
A major goal of Cash for Clunkers was to remove older and polluting vehicles from the road. In order to cash in on rebates of $3,500 to $4,500, car buyers had to buy new vehicles with better gas mileage than their trade-ins that were scrapped by dealers. For passenger cars, that difference had to be at least 4 mpg. But for buyers of SUVs, pickups and minivans, that difference had to be only 2 mpg.
That meant buyers trading in vehicles that dated back to the mid-1980s, well before manufacturers put a priority on fuel economy, could qualify for the credits while buying trucks and SUVs that get less than 20 mpg.
The data was the first account of all the new cars sold through the program — prior to last week, the government had only released a list of top-10 sellers. Some crossovers and pickups were also among the best-selling vehicles in the program when different versions of the vehicle were accounted for. The government’s analysis had considered two-wheel and four-wheel-drive versions of a car or truck to be a different vehicle.
Data released late last week by the Department of Transportation shows that tens of thousands of trucks, minivans and SUVs with relatively low gas mileage were among the nearly 700,000 vehicles sold under the program in late July and August.
The top five sellers were smaller efficient vehicles: Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Ford Focus and Ford Escape. In the top 10 were large trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F150. The clunker sales even included 15 Hummers, a hulking vehicle not usually associated with fuel economy.
A major goal of Cash for Clunkers was to remove older and polluting vehicles from the road. In order to cash in on rebates of $3,500 to $4,500, car buyers had to buy new vehicles with better gas mileage than their trade-ins that were scrapped by dealers. For passenger cars, that difference had to be at least 4 mpg. But for buyers of SUVs, pickups and minivans, that difference had to be only 2 mpg.
That meant buyers trading in vehicles that dated back to the mid-1980s, well before manufacturers put a priority on fuel economy, could qualify for the credits while buying trucks and SUVs that get less than 20 mpg.
The data was the first account of all the new cars sold through the program — prior to last week, the government had only released a list of top-10 sellers. Some crossovers and pickups were also among the best-selling vehicles in the program when different versions of the vehicle were accounted for. The government’s analysis had considered two-wheel and four-wheel-drive versions of a car or truck to be a different vehicle.
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