US 'Cash for Clunkers' Scheme = Automotive Genocide

[James A]

A wonderful example of the American 'Cash for Clunkers' program at work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waj2KrKYTZo

To try to help the economy by boosting new car sales, the US government has decided to bring in a similar scheme to our 'scrappage' scheme, whereby people who turn in old cars get money off new ones. One of the rules of the scheme is that the dealers who take in the cars have to make their engines inoperative. The process is to drain all of its oil and replace it with a corrosive compound that results in catastrophic internal engine damage, rendering it useless, though this 'clunker' still puts up a fight with a lot of life left in it. So, by destroying a perfectly good luxury car - I mean clunker - it's going to help the economy in the long run?

Even though I don't like the Ford-era Volvos very much, it's plain disturbing that Americans are destroying decent cars like that to get just a little bit of money off a new car, mostly likely an SUV, or a Toyota Pious if they live in California. It's a pity that the guy with the fire extinguisher didn't cop all that hot oil/corrosive stuff in his face, although I can't help thinking that the clip was put up to show the public how wasteful the scheme is.

How far is America going to run backwards before it moves forward?

[Moosejaw]

Unbelievable!

I love the fact that they only have to trade it in for a car or truck that does 18mpg or more to qualify.

[James A]

I was alerted to what happens to the cars submitted under the 'CFC' scheme by someone I know on an US-based automotive community that I contribute Volvoish/British things to. Everyone who has replied to the post on the community so far is hopping mad about the scheme and the fact that the S80 had to die like that- the poor thing looked mint.

Surely, cars like that would be better used to mobilise less well-off people and those affected by disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, as another member touches upon:

I watch my neighbor, who is trying to get rid of her clunker. It's an '86 Buick Century that barely runs. It leaks, the paint is shot and it's front end is smashed up. She's trying to sell it for $450. She is a working single mom with three kids and going to school to try and better herself. As if the Buick was bad enough, she bought a used Pontiac Grand Prix that is in better shape, not a huge amount better though.

I talked with her about the scrappage program and it does her no good. She can't afford a car payment on what she brings in. So the program is useless to her and she's stuck with what is truly a clunker. The program doesn't do anything to help people that actually need it. It angers me to see her have to drive her kids around in a P.O.S. like she does when the government is taking something as nice as that Volvo and destroying it. It makes absolutely no sense.

[Laney760]

What gets me with these scrappage schemes is that I've been told by those in the know in Greenpeace that it's less environmentally damaging for me to run my Volvo diseasel to the end of it's days than it is to have a new eco friendly car produced for me......

[James A]

Originally Posted by Laneystrider

What gets me with these scrappage schemes is that I've been told by those in the know in Greenpeace that it's less environmentally damaging for me to run my Volvo diseasel to the end of it's days than it is to have a new eco friendly car produced for me......

It's a pity that so many other envirofreaks and the cretins in the NuLab government don't give a damn about this fact.

[dados]

what a set of d**ks,a good motor with years left in it ruined by a clown,in a land full of clowns.

[Guru]

You can actually hear that poor Volvo crying... very sad indeed.

Btw, wouldn't be more envirofriendly to just crush the engine, instead of burning so much fuel until it seizes?!

[willv70]

The Uk scrappage scheme is a load of B******s. Most people driving a 10yo car or older cant afford to buy the cheapest new car at the best of economic times!!

I just px'd a w reg(2000)mint Nissan primera sport with a geniune 56k on the clock,full history etc.It would have quallified for the scheme but I just could'nt see a dealer scrapping it somehow.Im sure it would have ended up with the underwriters just like all the cars over 3yrs old or with more than 30k clock do.........

I cant stand all this envoirment stuff and being made to feel guilty for owning a car..Im of an age where i can remember when all our homes were heated by coal and parafin .The gas we cooked with was coal gas.The electricity we used was produced by coal fired power stations.. i can just remember the end of coal fired steam trains. we ran our "un catted" 3.0L Capri's,xr4's on 4 star petrol...

My point? .........The air has never been cleaner!

[Laney760]

Lots of evidence on the net that Greenpeace and many other environmental groups say that the scrappage schemes will not benefit the environment

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-G...5383LB20090409

[James A]

I agree with you, Will. The air is notably cleaner than it was in 1989, especially in London.

I can't help thinking that much of the 'green' stuff is simply part of the WorldGov ruse conjured up to keep the populace in a perpetual state of fear and to raise more taxes to spend on pointless stuff like foreign wars.