FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Cash-for-Clunkers" Program is Underestimated but could Backfire if Delayed, Reports Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — May 8, 2009 — A "cash-for-clunkers" program edging its way through Congress could create a desperately needed sales lift for automakers and their dealers.
The current proposal limits the program to one million vehicles, but the demand may well be as high as three million vehicles, Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl told AutoObserver.com.
Edmunds.com research indicates that as many as two million used car buyers over the next 12 months could be swayed to a new car purchase. There are easily another one million new vehicles buyers this program would bring into the market.
"But if legislation lingers in Congress too long, new car sales could stall as consumers wait for the final program to be passed," reported AutoObserver.com Editor Michelle Krebs.
An online discussion entitled "A National 'Clunker Plan' - Good or Bad Idea?" in the established CarSpace.com Forums (at http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1c306b) featured the comment, "I am holding my minivan purchase after seeing this."
"Congress needs to pull the trigger quickly, and to make this program retroactive just as the new car tax credit was," said Anwyl. "Additionally, it is important that legislators remember the primary goal for this program should be to stimulate broad-based demand for new cars. The environmental benefit is worthy, but this is not an environmental program."
"It seems inevitable that a program will be announced soon, and when it is, consumers should jump on it immediately since the vehicle limit is likely to be reached quickly," recommends Edmunds.com Consumer Advice Editor Philip Reed. "Also, as time passes, used car values will be driven down by the flood of older vehicles reentering the marketplace, and it would be wise to act before values drop."
The proposed program is fully detailed and examined at Edmunds' GreenCarAdvisor.com at http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/05/cash-for-clunkers-legislation-clears-major-hurdle-in-washington-dc.html.
Edmunds.com spokespeople are available for interviews in Edmunds.com's television studio in its Santa Monica, Calif. headquarters, or nearby satellite offices.
About Edmunds (http://www.edmunds.com/about/index.html)
Edmunds.com publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers and enthusiasts. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value® , is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in January 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in February 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site and home to the oldest and most established automotive community. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.
