Car Throttle

Like it or not, the "Cash for Clunkers" legislation is being rammed through Congress, and word came today that the U.S House of Representatives has passed the bill 298-119. The bill passed would offer up to $4,500 maximum for your "clunker". Here are the exact requirements to even be considered as eligible for the program: the vehicle must be less then 25 years old (MY 1984), insured in the last year and there is no trade in value outside of the voucher ($4,500 is all you're getting). Pretty restrictive. In terms of how much for what,  if the vehicle being traded in gets 18 mpg or less and you trade in for a new vehicle getting 22 mpg, you receive $3,500 voucher. If the mileage is 10 mpg higher (28

I've been covering the whole "Cash for Clunkers" program as it began to take form in the United States and more recently as the U.K implemented a revised version of the plan. Now it seems the two representatives that created the two competing bills in the House might be nearing a compromise.

The two bills being discussed were Rep. Betty Sutton's (D-Ohio) HR. 1550, the Customer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Act. The other is HR. 520, The Accelerated Retirement of Inefficient Vehicles Act of 2009 introduced by Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY). The two sides have some key differences in their bills. Rep. Sutton's bill gives the largest subsidies to American made vehicles, smaller subsidies to North American vehicles and nothing for foreign made vehicles. Rep. Israel's bill is