I do not want any of the big three to fail. Auto manufacturing is a part of American culture and we would be a shell of a country without it—in a sense, the way Detroit has become a shell of a town without it. The United States without a competitive auto industry is a country without dignity and without a heart, and allowing this to happen would be unconscionable.
Giving people a credit to turn in their inefficient older model cars for a credit towards a new vehicle seems like a sound concept that could have significant environmental benefits and give the struggling auto industry the push that it needs. The CARS cash for clunkers program has been a booming success for the Big Three, with Ford seeing their first increase in sales in over five years. But the problem with cash for clunkers is in the fate of the cars that are turned in, not in the benefit for automakers.
What happens to cars that are “recycled”?
They make it sound oh so pleasant. “We’ll recycle your car for you! Bring it on in and we’ll make it into a bunch of trees and little birds that sing show tunes to squirrels!” Even if it cannot be expected to be quite so pretty, there is an expectation that a “recycled” car’s parts will have a new lease on life in the form of replacement parts. This expectation is a false one, as 99% of the car will be shredded, crushed into a cube and junked.
The Specialty Equipment Market Association continually warns that this type of scrappage program is not only bad for the environment; it significantly impacts the auto repair, restoration and customization industries. “This industry provides thousands of American jobs and generates millions of dollars in local, state and federal tax revenue. It is time to help the entire auto industry with programs that focus the incentive on the purchase of new vehicles, not destroying valuable old cars and parts,” said Steve McDonald SEMA president of government affairs.
The big sticking point for me is the engines and transmissions in all cars turned in for this BS recycling program must be “disabled” (read: destroyed), reducing the car’s scrap value to almost nothing. Why can’t the engines be disassembled and sold for parts? What is the compelling reason to destroy the most valuable and useful part of the car? Check out this instructional video that shows dealers how to disable an engine. Yes, it is painful to watch, but it demonstrates the wastefulness of this program in graphic detail: (Note, this involves replacing the engine oil with sodium silicate (glass) and water mix and running the engine at 2,000 rpm until it dies a slow and painful death)
Does destroying things just so we can buy new things make us more American? How does promoting wasteful consumerism help the environment? I am well aware that most Americans have long since lost the resourcefulness and desire to repair anything, and that has been replaced by a false need to have new everything, all the time. For a few fleeting moments, it looked like people were wising up, realizing it is more cost effective to hold on to their cars and run them out to 100k before it needs to be turned in. Instability slapped consumers out of a spending, buying and wasting stupor and back into a routine of maintenance and repair. Why the hell take on payments when a five-year-old car runs just fine? Well, America has snapped out of that moment, and like so many dreams that are lost in a disturbed slumber, this one may be gone forever.
COMING SOON: CARS is CRAP II: What cash for clunkers should have looked like.
Comments
So the Ironic thing here is a perfectly running (Volvo) none the less and my girlfriend driving around in a half dead Honda del sol. This car could easily be recirculated into general population with no problem. It would give more people employment and money by fixing and reselling than scarpping as well as keeping an otherwise perfect car from filling our landfills with useless waste. WOW people are stupid!!!!
I have participated in then program and purchased a new Ford Focus. My trade was a 1988 toyota van with well over 250,000 miles. I have a new Ford F150 and my wife drives a Chrysler Aspen. I drove the Toyota van to work to keep the miles off of my ford. My wife would not even consider the van because it has reached a point where it is unreliable, as the transmission was slipping and leaking oil excessively. It would not have been wise to keep pouring money into a vehicle that was completely worn out! She now drives the new Focus to work 3 days a week, and I drive it the days that that she dosent work. I consider it a win win situation, she uses the Aspen to get the a kids around, and I only use my truck to haul things and pull the boat! So in our situation, we are saving large amounts of fuel and we have a new car to boot, not too shabby. Our current vehicles will last longer as well due to the more infrequent use of them. In my opinion Ford has a superior car to the other manufactures
Tim, I think you made a wise choice and I wholeheartedly agree that part of Ford's success is because they are producing superior products. However, I believe that many people will turn in perfectly good vehicles just to get a bit of an upgrade, not to save themselves from high-mileage, polluting cars that they can't depend on. The program does work perfectly in situations such as yours, but it is flawed and wasteful in the manner that it will be used my the majority. -Owen
painful, watched the whole video. now watching more 'instructional' videos on killing an engine.
I wish I could scrap my half dead Del Sol and get money for a '63 Ford Falcon...
The whole point is to get the gas guzzlers off the road. They should have stopped manufacturing them decades ago.
esm,
Too bad we can't build ourselves a time machine & fix this along time, ago huh?? It's simply NOT pragmatic to take useful cars & car parts off the road to just buy a new one. Think about how much gas & other resources are used in producing new materials, plus the resources it takes to destroy the old. It's unfortunate that our society thinks that we have to buy new things to solve the problem, but that's simply not the case. All big businesses want you to believe that buying a hybrid is going to solve our problems because they make money off of that—that is their main interest, not saving the environment. And, it’s that kind of “new is better” attitude that got us in the situation in the first place.
I commend Owen for writing such a thoughtful & controversial article. I'd take an old useful car anyday, even if it guzzles gas, because in the end, old cars last dramatically longer & use less energy in the end.
This is a sad society we live in. Why couldn't the useable cars that were traded in be used for transportation for those that cannot afford to purchase a car? Sure, they are still gas guzzlers but if there is life that can be used, why not make a buck to defer the cost of the $4500.00 the government is paying to have a still running car destroyed. No wonder our economy is in such bad shape.
The destruction of perfectly good cars, many with years of useful life left, reflects the level of zealotry present in the current administration. If the the same powers remain in 2012, it won't be "CASH for clunkers". Any vehicle matching their description that still remains, will face mandatory destruction without compensation.
No Chris, this program does not reflect the "zealotry present in the (Obama) administration," but it does show the tendency for certain groups to attempt to blame everything on the current administration. Cash for clunkers bills are nothing new, and many states under administrations left and right have instituted their own programs to crush usable vehicles. The premise of the program is good and gives a much needed boost to the auto industry, but the flaws are in the details. Participation is voluntary, and I am sure it will continue to be so. Relax Chris, nobody is going to take away your cars or guns or get all "socialist" on ya'. Remember folks, this is a website about cars, not extremist political posturing--because cars are fun and politics are boring!
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