Email this article
Printable version
Car dealers hope incentives boost sales
Government program offers cash to groups, including in Durango
Herald Staff Writer
Government incentives this summer will give buyers $3,000 to $4,500 to trade in their old gas guzzlers in favor of more fuel-efficient new vehicles.
"Anything is going to help," said John Brislin, general manager at Hi-Country Chevrolet in Aztec.
Nancy Ariano, owner of New Country Auto Center in Durango, touted the environmental benefits of the program.
"Hopefully it'll stimulate the economy, but it'll get the polluters off the highway, and that was the original purpose of the program," Ariano said.
The program stems in part from a Colorado Automobile Dealers Association program called Clear the Air Foundation, Ariano said.
It was set up to enable income-tax deductions for owners to donate high-emitting vehicles in order to recycle the car.
The federal program, however, is much larger in scope.
The "cash for clunkers" law provides $1 billion for the program from July through November, and the Congressional Budget Office expects, with a total of $4 billion, about 1 million new vehicles could be purchased.
The government is expected to implement the program by early August.
"The fact that they've put a timeline in place, I think it's going to provide a boost to the economy," Brislin said.
"It's also going to get some of those older vehicles off the road that need to be off the road, in my opinion," he said.
Buyers can purchase a U.S. or foreign-built vehicle with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of less than $45,000.
President Barack Obama signed the law, officially known as the Customer Assistance to Recycle and Save, or CARS, program last week. Some details remain to be worked out.
Durango auto dealers could use the help. Tax receipts for auto sales in Durango dropped 10.7 percent for the year through April, indicating sluggish sales throughout town.
The auto-industry shakeup already has affected Durango. Chrysler pulled out of New Country Auto Center in Durango in May, but announced it would stay at a sister dealership in Cortez.
In December, longtime Durango auto dealerships Pat Murphy Motors and Morehart Chevrolet Subaru merged, becoming Morehart Murphy Regional Auto Center.
U.S. auto sales were 34 percent lower in May than a year ago, and the industry expects to sell less than 10 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2009, compared to more than 16 million in 2007.
GM reported vehicle sales dropped 30 percent in May compared to the previous year, while Ford Motor Co. reported a 24 percent decline. Sales for both companies rose in May compared to April.
Automakers and their unions have lobbied heavily for the incentives to help the auto industry boost sales and stabilize General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC, which have received billions of dollars for government-led bankruptcies.
chuck@durangoherald.com The Associated Press contributed to this report.
advertisement
Best value in Durango at $150/sq. ft. Large (6,000 sq. ft.) Lindal Cedar post & beam home with 5 bedrooms, 4 baths and 3 car garage. Has everything - well designed, spacious, quality home , 1.23 acre well treed lot, direct view of 13,000 ft. La Plata mountains, backs onto an open wildlife area, well established neighborhood, easiest access into Durago, and great investment as construction moves west with completion of ALP reservoir. Also has secluded area to park your RV or boat. Home has a large deck and patio, and a cedar sunroom off office. Great for a large, active family; home office business, related living, family timeshare or business retreat. $899,500.
Durango Herald Calendar of Events
