The Numbers Are In... Cash For Clunkers Is Helping The Stronger Carmakers.

Your Tax Dollars... Going Straight Into Mr. Toyota's Pocket.

We told you this was going to happen. Well, the first numbers for the Cash For Clunkers are coming in, and it's confirming exactly what we said would happen. The car that people are trading in their clunkers for are from the better off carmakers. That is, the carmakers that we spent billions of dollars for, and tried to level the playing field to are not benefitting from Cash For Clunkers...

Here are the Top Ten selling cars from the program:

1. Ford Focus

2. Toyota Corolla

3. Honda Civic

4. Toyota Prius

5. Toyota Camry

6. Ford Escape

7. Hyundai Elantra

8. Dodge Caliber

9. Honda Fit

10. Chevy Cobalt

Now, in case you forgot, Toyota, Hyundai and Honda are all quite liquid.... Ford has had their troubles, but they didn't need or ask for Uncle Sam's help. But, just like how most well-intentioned programs of the government happen, most of the tax money that you and I are paying for will end up in the hands of foreign carmakers, who have plenty of cash already. Yes, many Toyota, Honda and Hyundais are made in the US, but trust us, the money will ultimately end up in Japan. Just like we said it would....

If the goal was to help out GM and Chrysler, then Cash For Clunkers should have been geared towards US makers. They didn't do that, and now we're paying for it. This temporary adrenaline shot -and that's all it is - just kickstarted the stronger carmakers. We're not telling people what kind of car to buy, they're just taking advantage of the incentives. But when you have a bunch of politicians and political hacks that never spent a day in the car business make up these programs, this should come as no surprise.

It didn't surprise us.

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