Dr. Bill Chameides is the dean of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He blogs regularly at theGreenGrok.com. His Twitter handle is: theGreenGrok.
The U.S. Congress is not the only (or first) group considering cash-for-clunkers programs. Similar incentives are underway on the other side of the big pond.
We all know the story over here. A couple of days ago, the New York Times headline announced, "U.S. Is Said to Prepare Filing for Chrysler Bankruptcy," and General Motors broke the news of an extended summer recess for its employees. Nobody's buying cars, and U.S. automakers are in the doldrums.
It's arguable that Senator Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) "cash for clunkers" bill (S. 247) might prop up car sales while providing greenhouse gas benefits within five years. (For details see my post.)
The car-market picture across the pond is much the same: drivers have not been crowding the showroom floor. At least not until European countries implemented variations on the cash-for-clunker scheme. These programs are alive and well over there, and some of them, according to news and business reports, are stimulating the car market. We environmentalists, of course, are also interested in the environmental piece of it, and again some do look to have environmental teeth; others do not.
Like those being considered here, some of the European schemes are moving targets still in flux. But here's what I've been able to find out thus far (unless otherwise noted, these programs are already up and running).
| Country | Rebate/Credit | Minimum Age of Scrapped Car |
Environmental conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | €1,500 ($1,960) |
13 | New car must at least meet Euro 4 exhaust emissions standards |
| Cyprus | €675 ($880) €1,280 ($1,670) €1,700 ($2,200) |
15 | None New car consumes 7 litres/100 km max New car consumes 5 litres/100 km max |
| France | €1,000-2,000 ($1,300-2,600) |
10 | New car with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 160 grams per kilometer or less |
| Germany | €2,500 ($3,323) |
9 | New car must at least meet Euro 4 exhaust emissions standards |
| Italy | €1,500 ($1,960) Up to €5,000 ($6,500) for purchase of electric, natural gas, or hydrogen-fueled car |
10 | New car with CO2 emissions less than 140g/km |
| Luxembourg | €1,500 ($1,960) €1,750 ($2,280) |
10 10 |
New car with CO2 emissions less than 150g/km New car with CO2 emissions less than 120g/km |
| Netherlands (proposed) |
Up to €1,750 ($2,280) |
to be determined | to be determined |
| Portugal | €1,000 ($1,300) €1,250 ($1,630) |
10 15 |
New car with CO2 emissions less than 140g/km |
| Romania | €1,000 ($1,300) | 10 | None |
| Slovakia | €1,000-1,500 ($1,300-1,960) |
10 | None |
| Spain | €10,000 for a 0% loan ($13,000) |
10 (or 155,000 miles on the car) | New car with emissions less than 140 g/km |
| United Kingdom (proposed) |
£2,000 ($2, 900) (up to £5,000 ($7,275) to drivers who buy electric or plug-in hybrid cars) |
10 |
New car must at least meet Euro 4 exhaust emissions standards |
Source: European Automobile Manufacturers' Association [pdf]
While economies may or may not be growing, the list of countries planning similar programs is (for example, Canada and Japan).
There is a general sense out there that these programs will be good for the environment -- after all how can removing an old, presumably polluting car from the roadways and driving a new one be bad? Well it turns out it can be an environmental downer, especially when the programs carry poor or unenforced environmental qualifications, or, of course, none whatsoever.
Don't forget that manufacturing a new car requires energy and so it arrives in your driveway with several thousand tons of CO2 emissions embedded in it. To make up for those embedded emissions, you'd better be sure that there is a significant differential between the mileage of your old car and your new one. For more info on that take a look at these related posts and quiz.
Fuel Efficiency Revisited (theGreenGrok.com, July 7, 2008)
Cash for Clunkers Bill Could Be a Clunker (theGreenGrok.com, April 6, 2009)
Quiz: The MPG Illusion: Gas Mileage and Car Shopping (Duke University's Fuqua School of Business)
Follow Bill Chameides on Twitter: www.twitter.com/theGreenGrok
scrappage and the ill conceived & named Cash for Clunkers
We prevent the increase in prices for the older cars from these plans, helping the
lesser fortunate as opposed to hindering them
We avoid the decline in newer used car values that has resulted in Germany(30pc> in
value)from demand decline
We make wider eligibility that will offer incentives even to those with 5-9 year old
cars who are far more likely to participate financially in the first place
New systems built in that are self-funding and will provide for repairs of $2-300 per
re-usable car from the independent repair shops that will appease SEMA and AAIA
We remove more of the real oldest in use high polluters and not cause "negligible
carbon reduction" benefits
Everyone will be pleased to know a better plan is available, considering
90+% negative feedback.
Comments from industry and those stunned in govt are quoted.
"these are the most effective and innovative ideas conceived or even imagined"(Toyota)
"how soon can we start, can we have this exclusively, what a win win win" (Ford)
"this is simply genius" Congressional office"you're certainly the only true expert in this field"(Center4 American Progress)"your persistence is admired and appreciated keep at it " Cong. Boucher
"the nitty gritty details seem endless in their benefits"
Green Vehicle Exchange has devoted itself to non-stop 7 days a week intensive research
for over 2 years
But -- it needs adequate consumer and taxpayer safeguards to ensure that the vouchers are not merely subsidizing fraud. Both the Feinstein and Sutton "cash for clunkers" bills lack controls on which dealers are eligible to receive the vouchers. This is a major flaw, since hundreds of dealers are going out of business and stiffing customers, leaving them with unpaid liens on traded-in vehicles, ruining their credit, sometimes costing them their jobs and driving them into bankruptcy.
At a minimum, the bills should require eligible dealers to meet basic standards for capitalization and solvency. They should also provide for openness and transparency, and require dealers to report to the GAO or other appropriate agency how much the car buyers were charged, to discourage dealers from using the vouchers to lure car buyers into showrooms, then upping the price, so they don't even get a discount.
Otherwise, taxpayer funds will be squandered by shady auto dealers who engage in predatory lending, loan packing, falsification of credit applications and other scams. In time, that will inevitably erode consumer and taxpayer support for the program. It's very important for Cash for Clunkers to be run responsibly, and to succeed.
Rosemary Shahan
President
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
Sacramento, CA