Car Blog » Automotive News

Cash for Clunkers Helps Who?

kevin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:49:58 +0000

A recent news story reveals the true story of the cash for clunkers program.

While the headline reads Auto Industry Posts Best US Sales of Year and the cash for clunkers program is attributed to the boost, as always, the devil is in the details…

Fords Sales were up 17%

GM was down 20%

and Chrysler was down 15%

Hyundai and most Japanese Car Makers (except Nissan) we also reporting growth in sales.

So where did the cash for clunkers money go? It appears it went to Ford and Imports.

Why isnt the headline Obama fails to capitalize on Cash For Clunkers Program since its clear that GM did not gain from the program?

Are people turning away from GM since they are now government run?

All questions I would like to hear your opinion on.

Kevin

Cash For Clunkers Ending Again ?

kevin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:09:09 +0000

Its been reported that on Monday August 24th the cash for clunkers program will end. Seems they have succeeded in giving out almost $3 Billion in rebates. Now if only the dealers could get their money!

If you are in the market for a new car, and you have a clunker, this is the weekend to act on this free money. Just remember to thank your neighbor for it ! (it is tax payer funded)

Kevin

Free Gas Cards? Fact or Myth?

kevin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:15:51 +0000

We have all seen the free gas card offers floating around the internet, here is the low-down on these cards.

Is it really free? Yes, if you feel your time is worth nothing. The way these cards work is that you have to answer surveys, fill out forms or purchase some items you may already be shopping for. So it takes some effort on your part, and may or may not be worth the hassle. I personally put a high dollar per hour value on my time, and for me, its not worth it. However if you have time to kill, and dont mind spending it online filling out forms, and getting $250 in Free Gas check out the offers.

Good Luck,

Kevin Schappell

www.AutoEducation.com

Cash For Clunkers Ending?

kevin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:36:40 +0000

Seems like the cash for clunkers program may be ending earlier than many had thought. Many dealers have been having problems getting paid, and there have been stories of people not qualifying after being told they qualified due to changes in EPA mileage ratings. I guess it only stands to reason that a program which takes over 100+ pages to explain would run into a few issues .

Full Story… http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D99P2U9G1&show_article=1

Operation Yellow Jacket Hoax or True?

kevin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:59:06 +0000

I got this email forwarded to me this morning…

Watch your speed. New State Trooper Vehicles…
KDKA and WDVE & CBS3 confirmed this. in PA.

Look out for Penn dot trucks parked along the road or appearing beh ind you pacing you, it could be a Trooper driving the truck, it is called Operation Yellow Jacket and will be off and on all summer, each district h as a truck cleaned up and ready to go!

Watch Your Speed In PA!
USE CRUISE CONTROL -NO MORE THAN 2 MILES ABOVE POSTED SPEED LIMIT.

Starting today, Pennsylvania will launch a 30 day speeding ticket frenzy. The state estimates that 9 million dollars will be generated in speeding tickets. 1 million will go to pay state troopersovertime. There will be 50 state troopers on duty at all times patrolling
the 9 main intersections and highways. They are the following:

Rte. 1 north and south
PA-220
I-99 north and south
I-95 north and south
I-279 north and south
I-276 east and west
I-376 east and w est
I-76 east and west
I-80 east and west
I-79 north and south
I-70 east and west
PA-60
PA-66
US-22 & 322

5 mph above the limit can justify a ticket and every state trooper is supposed to pull
a car over and write a ticke t every 10 to 20 minutes. They have issued 30 brand new unmarked Dodge Charger Police cruisers and are bringing in all of their part timers on full time. If you work in Pennsylvania, you will probably take one of these highways. Its up to you how fast you are going then they clock you < /b>
KDKA and WDVE & CBS3 confirmed all of this in PA.

Starting on August 15th, the price of a ticket for violation of PA Law 39:3-29 (failure to show your drivers license, registration, or insurance card at the time you are stopped) is going from $44.00 to $173.00.
Make sure your vehicles have the proper documents in them. And the fine for not having all three documents is $519!!!

End Email Quote….

Now the first thing I thought was to check snopes.com for a report… so I found this…

http://www.snopes.com/politics/traffic/speeding.asp

The email has all the classic signs of an urban legend… No real dates, or links to the supposed stories on the radio/tv stations listed. Also the email plays to the common story of the city/state using speeding tickets to boost revenue. I then dug a little further and found this…

http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Penndot/Districts/district12.nsf/Operation%20Yellow%20Jacket?OpenPage

Which seems to be a legitimate page on Penndots website. So basically this is a semi-myth. The 30 day push and increasing revenues to the state are the urban legend part, but it appears that PA has been using PennDot trucks for speed traps for quite some time. Its always good to slow down in work zones anyway, and remember to turn your headlights on as well.