Before I begin, I want to inform you of what this article is not about; trashing hybrid cars. I personally feel that hybrid cars are a fantastic invention, and while they may have their share of problems (high prices, inaccurately advertised fuel savings, and bigger repair bills due to the complexity of the vehicles… especially with having two motors), as technology improves over time and development becomes less expensive, these vehicles have a bright future ahead of them. At least until something better comes along.

My problem is with the "cash-for-clunkers" stimulus program, which has been sponsored by our government. 

Here’s the deal; the government has promised to give car owners a $3,500 - $4,000 rebate towards a purchase of a brand new hybrid, providing that they trade in their old vehicle in exchange for the hybrid.   There are, of course, several restrictions, as noted in the “Cash for Clunkers Rules” website. 

One of the things bothering me about this program (other than the fact that the government is even involved in this), is that the new car can only be a hybrid vehicle.   The government's reasoning behind this is that they claim that it wants to encourage car owners to save on gas that they would normally have burned with the old clunkers, thus saving them money on gas in the long run.  

Ok, sure… that sounds fiscally sound. There’s a problem with this, though.  

I suspect that the reason so many owners of these clunkers have been holding on to them for so long, is that they felt that they just can’t afford something better. So what makes them believe that they can suddenly afford a $19,000 to $25,000 hybrid, even with the government rebate? These clunkers, which can be up to 25 years old to qualify for the trade in, are in all likelihood, already owned free and clear.   True, they may not work as well as they used to, but they at least get you where you need to go. In fact, one of the requirements of the trade-in is that you have to be able to drive the car to the dealership, not tow it. This rule is especially baffling, since the clunkers are taken to the junkyard and scrapped for parts anyway, with the exception of the engine itself, which is rendered useless (and with that, good luck getting replacement parts for the engine on your older cars in the future). I’m sure there are plenty of people who have already planned on getting a new hybrid anyway, but I’m assuming that these particular folks already had the common sense to be saving their money to buy one for awhile, so they wouldn’t really need the government rebate that badly.  

So why would the government be encouraging people, who have already paid off their old cars, to buy brand new hybrids and put themselves into debt all over again (that’s assuming that they’ll not default on their payments and lose the vehicle anyway)?   Why do they insist on hybrids, when there are plenty of used, standard cars, or even gas-saver models which costs thousands less, for the budget-minded consumer?

The answer is that the government isn’t really interested so much in helping you save in gas money as it is in enforcing their environmentalist policies, brought on by the so called “global warming” catastrophe.  

This government program, which nearly failed last week due to website snafus, red tape, and just plain running out of money (and these are the same guys who want to run health care), is a combination of tactics using the consumer’s sense of guilt for the size of his carbon footprint, and enticement by waving four grand under his nose that would help “alleviate” his guilty conscience by running out and purchasing an environmentally friendly car.  

I guess that since they’re having some difficulty with the “cap and trade” bill, they’ve resorted to this.

Don’t get me wrong… hybrids are environmentally friendly. As I’ve said before, I have nothing against hybrids. I don’t blame the cars. I’m blaming the government for influencing people into buying them when they may not be financially able to purchase them, just for the sake of enforcing its own environmentalist agenda.   Nobody, the consumers in particular, wants to be known as the bad guy who is ruining the planet. Everyone wants a clean conscience, so it’s understandable why they may be so easily influenced.  What makes this deplorable is that the politicians know this as well, and they are taking full advantage of this fact. 

Folks, if you’re an owner of one of these clunkers, and you’re on a budget, try not to be taken in by this program, unless you’ve already been planning on getting a hybrid to begin with, and you’re financially able to handle it. If you really need a replacement for that old clunker that’s on its last legs, and you’re on a budget, look into a standard used car, or even a gas-saver model. One website I ran into that can help you locate such a car is “pricequotes.com”. Of course, this isn’t the only such site. You can find plenty on your preferred search engine.   It could save you thousands, without a so called rebate being furnished by your fellow taxpayers.

Don’t ever let the government, or anyone else, influence you over your choice of vehicles (or anything else for that matter) out of a sense of guilt. It’s your money; get what you want, get what you can afford.  If you really want a hybrid, and you can afford it, then go get one.  Just don't allow yourself to get into financial jeopardy for the sake of some politician who claims "that's what's best for the planet". 

Sources and Helpful Websites:

CARS; Car Allowance Rebate System

Cash for Clunkers Rules:

Hybrid Cars—Pros and Cons:

PriceQuotes.com: