Posted: Sep. 25, 2009 10:09 a.m.
The 1997 Bentley Continental R was a piece of junk. Barely worth $3,500. The 1997 Aston Martin DB7? Worth as little as an old Ford Explorer. The 2006 Roush Ford F-150? With its 450 horsepower V8, it was worth about as much as a 1996 Dodge Caravan.
At least, that's what somebody somewhere seems to have thought.
Motor Trend reports, "Before the government's CARS 'Cash for Clunkers' program opened its doors, many car enthusiasts voiced opposition to the plan, fearing that rare and collectible cars would be at risk of government-funded destruction. Now that all is said and done, it turns out they were, to some extent, right." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which managed the government program, "recently released a list of every vehicle submitted to the program, which in turn gave their owners a $3,500 or $4,500 voucher towards a new car that was substantially more fuel-efficient depending on the trade-in's efficiency. While the list is heavily populated with trucks and SUVs, many of them hailing from Detroit, there are a few oddballs, and worse, a few tragedies."
That Bentley Continental, for instance. It's listed as a trade-in that was destroyed under the program - meaning it was exchanged for a government voucher, worth a maximum of $4,500, used to help purchase a new car costing less than $45,000. The Continental itself cost more than $300,000 brand new.
It's doubtful, in fact, that its value could have slipped under $4,500. Howard Krimko, past chairman of the Atlantic region Rolls Royce owners' club, told the New York Times that he "could not imagine a scenario in which a ‘97 Bentley R would be worth only $4,500. Even if it's a total disaster, it has to be worth significantly more than $4,500. The seats for the car would be worth more than that."
The same should be true of the Aston Martin DB7, an exotic drop-top sports car that cost over six figures brand new.
Some vehicles made valuable by their scarcity were apparently destroyed. Jalopnik cites a 1987 Buick GNX - prized by American muscle car lovers, this was a standard Buick Grand National converted with the help of supercar builder McLaren with a beastly supercharged engine and retuned suspension. Only 547 were built, and a functioning example today is said to be worth more than $50,000.
Some of the reported clunkers weren't too exotic to believe - they were too new. The Detroit Free Press reports, "2008 model year vehicles deemed clunkers ranged from a Scion xD to 10 Mercury Grand Marquis sedans to two copies of special edition F-150 pickups, sporting 450-hp V8s and Chip Foose-designed paint jobs."
At which point, we start to question these reports. The Scion xD, you see, wasn't eligible to be a Cash for Clunkers trade-in.
Program rules required trade-ins to be rated for less than 18 mpg in combined driving. The least-efficient xD built managed a 28 mpg rating. Other non-qualifying vehicles on the list include a 2008 Hyundai Accent (29 mpg) and a pair of Ford Aspires (700 mpg, if we remember correctly. The Aspire was a cardboard roller skate with a 4 horsepower engine, right?).
Autoblog comments, "We find it hard to believe that many vehicles" on the list "were actually destroyed through the Cash for Clunkers program, and while they may be officially on the list, their inclusion is more likely explained by an error in the submission process, typos or dealerships that managed to game the system."
The New York Times notes, "The report doesn't list details on the car's condition or where it was turned in, a catastrophic hurdle for anyone looking for an explanation." Program rules required the clunkers to be in running condition - but in the early days of the program, dealers were required to disable the cars' engines with a silicate solution before even applying for Uncle Sam's voucher, so there is no way to verify that some of these cars were actually functioning before their engines were demolished.
Motor Trend also notes, "The list specifically notes that the cars listed have been submitted to the program but not necessarily approved or even reviewed yet." Some may be declined, or may be simple data-entry errors that will be clarified as the government process the Cash for Clunkers paperwork.
If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.
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