Faster than you could say the words "cash for clunkers" it appears the program has run out of funds. The Obama administration over-ruled the congress' statement and stated the program will be STUDIED, not suspended. All transaction that have taken place up to date WILL BE HONORED.

Senate Approval

Latest reports state that the Senate will approve further funding for the clunkers program no later than Friday August 7. The plan is to allow the program to continue running until Labor Day with 2 billion dollars in extra funding.

The Department of Transportation fears that the billion dollars set aside for incentives, has already been spent. Until it knows for sure it planned to temporarily suspend the program. Congress was notified on Thursday, July 30. The program was reportedly to close up shop at midnight on July 30. Now the Obama administration and congress have worked together to find more ways to keep it going.

Needless to say, car dealerships are hoping the program will still have some of the billion dollars left, additionally they hope the same type of incentive program will be continued and offered again, later on this year. With car sales up by as much as 30 percent in some areas many dealerships and manufacturers began advertising on television again for the first time in months.

It was strange to see so many automobile commercials all offering selected models for buyers hoping to use the vouchers and dealer incentives to purchase a new car.

DID YOU ACT IN TIME?

This will no doubt come as a kick in the pants for those who were planning to purchase a more economical car but thought they had closer to November than just one week into the program to do so. Hopefully the new plan that will be worked out will allow buyers to take their time in purchasing the vehicle.

Many who acted swiftly did so to avoid expensive car repairs on an already aging car. A car they would have paid to fix, had there been no vouchers from the government as well as incentives from the dealership now seemed like good money being thrown after bad. The decision to scrap the old car was a no brain-er to many interviewed after their purchase.

Truly Good for the Environment?

It is questionable to some that the environment is really being aided by the purchase of cars that consume less fuel. Why? The savings will encourage more people to drive more often, some have claimed. If that is true emission levels may worsen or at the least stay the same. Time will tell if that fear is legitimate.

If reports from unidentified NHTSA representatives are to be believed, many dealers did not file their paperwork correctly which could pose a problem as the cars have already been sold. Will the dealerships still receive the payment from the government or will they be forced to try to redeem as much money as possible from the trade-in. Latest information is that all transactions will be honored!

The plan was officially launched on Monday, but Congress allowed dealers to start taking trades after July 1. NHTSA requires dealers to get several pieces of information from buyers, including proof of insurance and registration, and disable clunkers by destroying its engine before applying for reimbursement. What happens if engines were destroyed and dealerships later discover they will not receive vouchers for the cars because of ineligibility for whatever reasons? Obviously the dealership will suffer financially.

Federal officials expected 250,000 vehicles to be sold between July and November, the fear is that the target has been reached in just this first week alone.

WAIT AND SEE

If you wanted a vehicle but didn't get one, time will tell as to what will be done in the days ahead and as news about the corrections and modifications comes out, this article will be updated accordingly.

Perhaps the car dealerships will be happy to continue making great deals as a way to keep the industry active. There are more than enough cars parked on lots around the US to enable dealers to offer fantastic prices and still do good with quantity sales. Of course as long as the dealerships are receiving vouchers from the government their main emphasis will be on selling the car models that coincide with the incentive program.

However, a car doesn't have to be brand new to beat 18 miles per gallon in fuel consumption. Imagine if the big car dealers came to that realization without any more stimulus packages and the market began to recover on its own, or continued to recover after the stimulus was concluded, because fantastic deals were still available.