Rep. Markey, Colleagues Salvage “Cash for Clunkers”

A government program meant to encourage people to trade in their old gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient vehicles has been so popular it was about to run out of cash- but then Congress and the White House stepped in.

On Friday the House of Representatives acted swiftly to approve an additional $2 billion for the program. US Representative Edward Markey (D-Malden), one of the authors of the “Cash for Clunkers” program, praised his colleagues for rescuing the program in a statement released Friday:

“This program has proven to be the ultimate triple play: It is good for the economy, good for energy independence and great for consumers,” said Rep. Markey.

“Here in Congress, creating a successful program usually takes a while to get up to speed, but the Cash for Clunkers program is like a race car that went from zero to 60 in three seconds,” Rep. Markey continued.

According to information released by Markey’s office, the Cash for Clunkers program has provided a serious boost to automakers:

– During the week that the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program was launched, GM’s small car sales increased 54.8 percent over the preceding week.

– The leading Ford vehicle being purchased under the program is the 28 mpg Ford Focus, at nearly 30 percent of all Ford sales.

– Toyota reports that 78% of their Cash for Clunkers volume were the Corolla, Prius, Camry, RAV 4 and Tacoma, with a resulting average of 30 mpg.

– Hyundai is reporting a 59 percent increase in fuel economy compared to the old vehicle, which averaged 140,000 miles.

Rep. Markey also pushed to ensure that the additional $2 billion to fund Cash for Clunkers, which will be taken from a clean energy fund from the Recovery Act, would be replenished to further America ’s clean energy goals.

– InsideMedford.com