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With its awful name and convoluted rules, the cash-for-clunkers program might well have been a flop, yet it turned into a surprising success, even inspiring many of its critics to call for an additional $2 billion in funding. One big reason: the program boosted July 2009 sales of new cars and trucks, giving the economy a bit of a lift...
...foreign carmakers such as Subaru, Hyundai and Kia, whose sales jumped 34%, 22% and 9%, respectively. Hyundai in particular was well prepared for the program from a marketing standpoint, having encouraged dealers to accept qualifying trade-ins nearly two weeks before the U.S. Department of Transportation launched its official cash-for-clunkers website. The payoff is already filtering through to workers. "Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama is now increasing production by returning to a five-day workweek in July after being on a shortened workweek since mid-October," said Dave Zuchowski, vice president of national sales. (See the 50 worst cars...
...first time in months, at the expense of German and Japanese competitors. Ford emerged as one the program's biggest winners, posting a genuine sales increase for July over the same period last year; the automaker could also lay claim to the top vehicle purchased with clunker cash: the compact Ford Focus...
...Czubay, Ford vice president for U.S. marketing, sales and service, said Ford already had a relatively strong month in progress before the cash-for-clunkers program started, but it certainly helped. "We achieved a sales increase even though we decreased incentive spending in an increasingly competitive environment," he said. (See the most important cars of all time...
...Japanese automakers fared less well. Toyota reported that its sales tumbled 11% year over year in July, while Nissan's fell nearly 25% and Honda's fell 17%, despite the government incentive program. However, Jim Lentz, Toyota Motor Sales president, said the cash-for-clunkers program reduced the recessionary drag on sales and offered a nice dividend for the environment. "Clunker-related Toyota sales over the seven days alone will save customers an estimated 8 million gal. of gas and $20 million in gas spending over the next year," he said. (See the best cars from the 2009 Detroit Auto...