Newsline

The Car Allowance Rebate Program (CARS), the NHTSA program to implement the ”Cash for Clunker” bill,  will be officially start on Friday July 24, 2009.  This was confirmed on July 16th from the NHTSA media relations department and will start regardless if all dealers have regsistered online by that date.

Car dealers across the nation and consumers alike have been following the progress of the bill  on www.CashforClunkersFacts.com.  Consumers were originally looking forward to a July 1^st start date, which would have made for a frenzied 4th of July holiday shopping weekend.   Now they will have to wait till July 24th to purchase their new car.

The only official Federal website for CARS is located at http://www.cars.gov.

Consumers can follow late breaking developments on the start of the new bill by signing up for email alerts on in the upper left corner of this page or following the live stream of information on Twitter.  The Twitter site is http://twitter.com/cashclunkers

June 12, 2009 -  The House and Senate have agreed upon a $1 billion appropriation for the Cash for Clunkers bill.  The one billion dollar funding is part of a much larger $106 billion dollar wartime spending bill. 

The bill is NOT yet law as the finalized bill must be passed by Congress.  It is expected that a vote could come next week and then President Obama would sign it into law.  Stay posted because the bill seems very likely to pass.

Since the funding is only 25% of what was originally requested, the bill may only be able to provide vouchers for consumers for a limited time.  The thought seems that lawmakers wanted to get the bill started and that the one billion dollars could hold the program until the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30, 2009. 

Democratic supporters of the bill are obviously pleased with the compromise and commitment to fund the program.  A final vote is expected next week.

Consumers are encouraged to connect with a Particiapting Dealer if they are interested in purchasing a car this summer before the funding runs out.  the form on the left can expedite the process of contacting a local dealer who can assist you with your trade in and new purchase.