ca$h for clunker$ @ stealership

[tonycarreon]

oh my, why am i wading in...

according to dealer reports on 8/7, the total # of cars sold through the CARS program was around 220,000. on the same date chrysler reported limited supplies of some of its vehicles with patriots only having about a 7-day supply left.

gm reported the aveo and cobalt and some of the other popular vehicles were in short supply with dealers having around 466,000 cars on their lots. roughly a 70-day supply, the lowest in decades.

toyota reported supply went from 51 days to 31 days in july with the prius having 13 days of inventory.

most automakers have started ramping up production. one side-effect is that dealer incentives are down since people seem to be taking advantage of the CARS program.

"The big plus of cash for clunkers is that even if they don't buy a car today, it's getting people to think about purchasing, and that's really the first step toward any sustainable rebound in the automotive industry," Chrysler spokeswoman Kathy Graham said.

ford said it would build another 6,000 focus through the end of September, and another 3,500 escape.

"The move will contribute to Ford's third quarter production being 18% higher than the same time last year. 'I think we were surprised by the speed and the urgency with which consumers went to dealers,' said Ford sales analyst George Pipas."

ford's announced it will add overtime and saturday shifts for the focus and not close the kansas city plant that makes the escape and will boost overall production in the oct-dec period by 33%.

"Official figures from the Commerce Department showed that (CARS) helped lift US car sales by 2.4% in July, the biggest rise in six months."