Cash for Clunkers cars: Small wins big

List of 10 best-selling cars in rebate program reveals show consumers maxing out on mileage. Pressure grows on Senate to OK $2 billion.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com senior writer

Top Ten Clunker Buys
The most popular vehicles purchased under the Cash for Clunkers program.
Rank Vehicle Includes Hybrid Combined City/Hwy mileage
1 Ford Focus No 27-28
2 Toyota Corolla No 25-30
3 Honda Civic Yes 24-42
4 Toyota Prius Yes 46
5 Toyota Camry Yes 23-34
6 Ford Escape Yes 20-32
7 Hyundai Elantra NO 26-28
8 Dodge Caliber No 22-27
9 Honda Fit No 29-31
10 Chevy Cobalt No 25-30
Source:National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration

Find your next Car


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The results from Cash for Clunkers are in: Compact cars and hybrids were top sellers under the government's trade-in program, according to government data.

The top-selling car was the Ford Focus, and the top three -- including the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla -- were compacts. The list also includes three vehicles that are available as hybrids. One, the Ford Escape, is a small crossover SUV also available as a hybrid.

The list indicates that consumers are buying more fuel-efficient vehicles than most people expected.

The average combined city and highway fuel economy of the 10 cars ranges from at 27 to 33 miles per gallon, depending on which versions people choose.

Under the plan as enacted, vehicles purchased after July 1 are eligible for refund vouchers worth $3,500 to $4,500 on traded-in gas guzzlers. The trade-in vehicle has to get a combined city and highway fuel economy rating of 18 miles per gallon or less.

The list was compiled by the National Transportation Safety Administration, which operates the program.

The news of the top sellers comes as the debate is heating up in the Senate over whether to extend funding for the program. Some lawmakers have argued that the rules for the program aren't strict enough when it comes to fuel economy.

While critics had feared that car shoppers would use the program mostly to buy trucks, in fact 83% of the vehicles traded in have been trucks and SUVs while 60% of vehicles purchased were passenger cars, according to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

The broad category of SUVs includes many small car-like crossover SUVs, including the Escape, which get much better fuel economy than large, truck-based vehicles.

Last month, many of the vehicles with the biggest reported year-over-year sales gains were small crossovers, a fact that several of the top automakers attributed to the Cash for Clunkers program.

The average fuel economy of new vehicles being purchased under Cash for Clunkers is 25.4 mpg, LaHood said, and the average fuel economy increase from the old vehicle to the new is about 61%.

"It's crazy, but we're seeing trucks -- full-size pick-up trucks -- traded in for compact cars," said Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation, the country's largest auto dealer chain, in interview late last week.

The popular Clunkers program faces extinction unless the Senate passes a bill approving additional funding.

The House on Friday passed a bill authorizing an additional $2 billion for the program after it burned through its original $1 billion budget.

And on Tuesday, it appeared likely that the Senate will vote for the funding before it breaks for summer recess on Friday.

"We'll pass cash for clunkers ... before we leave here," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Even senators who have been critical of the program conceded they can't stop it.

"In the end, we know where the numbers are," acknowledged the third-ranking Senate Republican, Sen. John Thune, S.D., who said he expects all Democrats and several Republicans to vote for additional funding.

For his part, LaHood said he was confident the Senate would approve the additional funds.

"We are not discontinuing the program," LaHood said.

CNN's Ted Barrett and Jeremy Harlan contributed to this report.

Are you part of a Detroit-area family with a tradition of working in the automotive industry? Send an email to gmannes@moneymail.com and you could be included in an upcoming Money magazine story.
 To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.