Government Decision Imminent on How To Handle Cash for Clunkers Mileage Glitch
July 29, 2009
The U.S. Transportation Department will decide by the end of today how to handle a glitch that caused
vehicles once qualified as clunkers under the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program but then deemed ineligible when fuel economy ratings were udpated on the eve of the program's launch.
Edmunds.com brought the glitch to the government's and public's attention after visitors to the car-shopping Web site raised it. Some consumers reported to Edmunds that their vehicles qualified as a clunker on Thursday, but when they double-checked or were at the dealership, they discovered they no longer were eligible.
As it turned out, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had updated the critical combined fuel economy numbers Thursday night, disqualifying about 50 vehicles and qualifying about 50 models that previously were not eligible.
Rae Tyson, spokesman for the Transportation Department that administers the Cash for Clunkers program, told Edmunds' AutoObserver.com early Wednesday afternoon the number of qualified-then-not qualified transactions is not known.
But, he added, the DOT expects to have a decision by the end of Wednesday on how to handle transactions that were done based on the old numbers. "We're evaluating our options," Tyson told Edmunds.com. "The mandate is clear; it is based on fuel economy ratings."
What wasn't clear was that the EPA's update of those numbers would change vehicle eligiblity.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:23 AM under Companies , Featured , News | Comments (5) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
any updates?
Posted by: pat87 | July 30, 2009 at 4:16 AM
And how about models that still qualify but changed? Our '93 Trooper moved from 15 to 16 mpg, so now we'll only qualify for $3,500 instead of $4,500 (the mpg difference for the car we want went from 10 to 9). Not that I not happy with $3,500....
Posted by: lucasatakros | July 30, 2009 at 6:04 AM
O.K., what did DOT decide? They were supposed to come to a conclusion by yesterday afternoon.
Thanks to AutoObserver for looking into this, because the government seems to be trying to give this issue as little publicity as possible.
Posted by: poderman | July 30, 2009 at 7:49 AM
Ahh, Auotblog is apparently on the west coast, based on the timestamp on my comment. No wonder there hasn't been an update yet. It isn't even 8:00 in the morning west coast time.
Posted by: poderman | July 30, 2009 at 7:51 AM
I had a 1987 Dodge Caravan 3.0 ltr. 3 speed auto that said 18 MPG, which they cjanged to 19 after I put down a $5,000 deposit to hold a 2009 Altima Hybrid that gets 34 MPG. The site now has a compare to the old number, and that says 21 mpg--wrong. The 4cylinder, same trans was rated at 19mpg, now it is at 18 mpg. So the bigger V-6 now gets more than the 4! So the EPA was wrong all these years, bigger engine, more horsepower means better mileage. The plan says to get old, low milage cars off the road. These changes do the opposite. Where did they get the numbers< did they drive 22 year old cars to find out? Also, I suspect most 22 year old cars get less now than when new. The site sais some models that did not qualify might come down, so check back. They never said they might go up. The Federal Register doc on 7/24/2009 said that those who committed early and might still be eligible if they complyed wirth the final version, but that does not say including revised mpg, so you do not know. All those who relied on numbers an committed, should not be so disadvantaged by these arbitrary last minute changes.
Posted by: tom241 | July 30, 2009 at 7:58 AM