House clunker plan extended, then what…?

After the initial money ran out for the cash for clunkers program, an additional 2 billion were just approved by the house. The rebate program is a great concept to trade in the big clunkers and replace them with more efficient cars. The industry is getting a much needed kick start and consumer spending is going up, at least for this industry. Yet the efficient cars are still nowhere near where they ought to be. Just take a look across the big lake to Europe. Fuel efficiency is being pushed to the one liter car. The measurement is reverse, measured by liters used for 100 kilometers. So a 30 mpg car is about a 9 liter car in Metric calculations. Most efficient cars are operating in the 4-6 liter range. A standard that this country is still far behind. Also, more cars mean less attention to alternative and mass transportation.

In the overall scheme of saving this planet and reducing carbon emissions, this program fails to achieve its mission, in my opinion.

And finally, what happens to the old cars? Are filling up more landfills with crushed clunkers? How is the leaking of toxic materials from these cars measured and remedied? Is the idea not reducing landfill?

What if they make their way right back on the streets. Backdoors are common and cars are a commodity after all…

I am thrilled to see a government program working so well. The concept of driving change through monetary issues, is something that is essential to lasting change in the building industry and the people of this country. So now that a precedent is established, lets really get creative with the programs.

Send me your suggestions for even better programs for posting, or link it to this post. Looking forward to the next steps.

Village Green Man