The wildly popular but cash-strapped cash-for-clunkers program is set to get a $2 billion infusion, and Maryland auto dealers that have been racking up sales are expected to continue offering federal incentives at least through the weekend.
On Friday, the House of Representatives voted 316-109 to pour billions of dollars more into the program, and the Senate is expected to take up the matter next week. Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said the Obama administration had assured lawmakers that "deals will be honored until otherwise noted by the White House."
Peter Kitzmiller, president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, said he hopes the government includes a firm date on when the program will end so dealers and consumers aren't scrambling to find out whether they will get the money.
The government initially set aside $1 billion for the program, officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System. It aims to get polluters off the road and help the ailing auto industry by giving consumers $3,500 or $4,500 to scrap old vehicles and buy or lease new, more fuel-efficient models. The program applies to sales from July 1 through Nov. 1, or until the money runs out. A week ago, the government posted program details online and allowed participating dealers to start registering.
Rumor starts rush
Since then, sales have jumped, and by Thursday night word spread that the money had run out and that the program would be suspended at midnight.
About 9 p.m. Thursday, Mike Shuman, general manager of Nationwide Nissan in Timonium, heard that the program might be suspended. He called in staff, and they contacted buyers to come in and complete sales before time ran out.
Shuman said he sold 13 cars under the clunker program in roughly three hours. "It's been a long time since I have seen a showroom so busy and at that level of energy that was happening last night," he said Friday. "It was almost ... panic buying. People felt that if they didn't make a decision, they would miss a golden opportunity."
By midafternoon Friday, the dealership had sold another 10 vehicles under the clunker program.
Mary Wolfson had been looking for a new car for about a year, and the clunkers program added urgency to her shopping.
"I knew I needed to move," the Baltimore resident said. But Wolfson wasn't sure she'd moved fast enough when she heard on the radio Thursday night that the program was ending. She called several dealers that night to see if they would be offering the incentive the next day. Some weren't sure.
