Congress Passes Cash For Clunkers Bill, Offers $4,500 Stimulus Vouchers to Car Owners

NEW YORK, June 19 -- Congress passed the Automotive Stimulus bill "Cash For Clunkers" on Thursday, marking the first real legislative stride towards an auto industry recovery, announced CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com, an organization that is leading the campaign to educate the public about the bill. Cash For Clunkers provides up to $4,500 to car owners who trade in their present car for a more fuel efficient and environmentally-friendly alternative. The bill is being called a legislative "trifecta" because its passage stands to ignite a much-needed recovery in the auto industry, save car-owning households money, and improve the environment on a national scale.

Cash For Clunkers works by providing a $4,500 voucher for car owners whose present car gets less than 18 miles per gallon in fuel efficiency. Drivers who buy a car with a 10 MPG improvement over their previous car qualify for the entire $4,500 voucher, while those who choose a car with a 4 MPG improvement qualify for a $3,500 voucher. SUV and truck owners also qualify for the program but fall under slightly different qualifications. CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com provides all of the information regarding the program on its website. Spanish speakers can find this information translated on dineroporsucarcacha.com.

The official name of the program is C.A.R.S. - "Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program" and is Title XIII of Bill H.R. 2346. The program will receive an initial allocation of $1B funded by the US government as a part of a War appropriations bill. The program time length is 7/1-11/1 and will be implemented by the NHTSA which has 30 days from the approval of the bill to post all program details online.

In addition to advocacy groups like these, Cash for Clunkers drew support from local car dealers who see the program as an opportunity to boost not just their own businesses but regional economies which are heavily dependent on car sales. In addition, parts of the private sector have stepped up to promote the bill (www.ConsumerAssistanceToRecycleAndSaveProgram.org). One of the innovators of the Cash For Clunker voucher is Paragon Cars, one of the largest dealers in the country. "While Paragon's own Cash For Clunker program has a local or even regional effect on the economy and environment, the country on a whole needs a congressional initiative like this bill to make both the serious economic and environmental impact we need," said Brian Benstock, one of the partners at Paragon. New York's Paragon Cars (www.ParagonCars.com) took a lead in educating the public about the bill by creating an information site for New York residents (www.CashForClunkersNY.com) but also designed and implemented a program to offer their own vouchers to car buyers who trade up in fuel efficiency at Paragon's New Yorked-based Honda-Acura dealership. Paragon declared that it will continue to offer its own vouchers to buyers, in addition to the vouchers provided by the bill.

CashForClunkerHeadquarters.com is leading a national effort to certify eligible car dealers and equip them with the right communication plan and campaigns to reach and help qualifying consumers in their market. CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com also received an important push from Hispanic American celebrities like Dancing With The Stars' Cristian de la Fuente and Ugly Betty star Angelica Vale. Both stars expressed their support for Cash For Clunkers as a way to boost the economy and help the environment but also as a way to make an important financial impact on the hundreds of Hispanic American communities whose livelihoods are tied to the auto industry.