Family Life

07.15.09 | FL News Team

Americans will be noticing advertising soon for the federal Cash for Clunkers program.  It isn't the federal government sponsoring the campaign, "The Wall Street Journal" reports it's individual car dealers hoping to spark a sales revival.  The Cash for Clunkers program will use about one-billion dollars in federal funds as incentive for drivers with older vehicles to trade them in on something shiny and new.  While the government hasn't published a final set of rules, the early guidelines indicate clunkers have to be less than 25-years old and must get an average of 18-miles-per-gallon or less.  Owners of the vehicles can receive rebates of as much as 45-hundred dollars that must be used to buy or lease a new, more fuel-efficient car or truck.  

The "Journal" quotes IHS Global Insight analyst Rebecca Lindland as saying the program could boost sales by 175-thousand units in 2009.  That won't go far toward plugging the four million vehicle sales shortfall expected in the first six months of this year compared to the same time period last year.  The clunkers program is expected to run through November first or until the funds run out.