By Andrea K. Walker , andrea.walker@baltsun.com|July 25, 2009
Gary and Pat Block of Severna Park decided early this year that it was finally time to trade in their 20-year-old Ford Ranger pickup, but they were further enticed by the possibility of getting up to $4,500 from the government for their gas-guzzler.
"We were in the market and that pulled the trigger," said Gary Block. "We just couldn't walk away from the savings."
The couple bought a 2009 white Ford Ranger on Friday from Bob Bell Ford, Hyundai & Kia in Glen Burnie using the government's new "cash for clunkers" program.
The program gives consumers $3,500 or $4,500 off the purchase or lease of a new fuel-efficient vehicle if they scrap their older models. The law was passed by Congress a month ago, but dealers couldn't start registering until Friday, when anxious shoppers began taking advantage of the program.
The Blocks, who got $3,500 toward their purchase, visited several dealerships before settling on the Ranger.
Local car dealerships said there is a lot of interest in the program, which is designed to get more fuel-efficient cars on the road and give a boost to the struggling automobile industry. They've been fielding phone calls and have seen an increase in customers coming in to ask about the program.
Many of the dealers worry that the program, which is supposed to run through Nov. 1 or until the $1 billion in funding is gone, will run out of money sooner rather than later.
Some dealerships had allowed customers to put deposits on cars that they could pick up once the dealers were allowed to register. Hyundai started making short-term cash advances to dealers early this month to give to consumers trading in an old car for a new Hyundai.
The Sheehy franchise, which has 14 dealerships, sold about 100 cars before Friday, said Mike Harrison, executive manager of Sheehy Nissan in Glen Burnie. The dealership put a trash bin with an old Nissan Stanza poking out of it and "cash for clunkers" signs on the corner of Ritchie Highway and 6th Avenue in hopes of attracting even more buyers.
Harrison said business had started to pick up some before the government incentive, but that it is increasing even more now.
"This will help boost traffic and increase business even further," Harrison said.
Greg Hargrove, a 44-year-old golf course technician from Glen Burnie, had first heard about the program from his boss a month ago. He commutes 110 miles to and from work and was looking for a car that would cost him less in gas. Friday, he traded in his 2001 Dodge Ram for a gray Elantra with a sunroof from Bob Bell. He got $4,500 under the clunkers program.
