Cash for clunkers: Most popular clunkers, new cars

Aug 5, 2009 1:48 PM

2009-Toyota-Corolla-clunkers The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) has been a runaway success. Popularly known as “cash for clunkers,” CARS has truly moved the metal, encouraging consumers to replace their older, gas guzzlers with new, more fuel-efficient models. Consumer Reports previously suggested vehicles that would be prime for cashing in and those models that would make smart purchases prior to the CARS program taking effect. Now, we have data that shows what participating consumers have been doing.

As of this evening, NHTSA has tracked 184,304 dealer transactions, requesting $775.2 million in CARS credits. Nearly half of new vehicles purchased through the CARS program were from Chrysler, Ford, or General Motors, with the Detroit 3 accounting for 45 percent share in the overall market. NHTSA reports that their initial analysis shows that well over half of the new vehicles not purchased from the Detroit 3 were manufactured in the United States.

As expected, the vehicles most often cashed in are popular SUVs and pickup trucks, with small and midsized sedans dominating the new-car purchases. Also notable, there are a fair number of four-wheel-drive vehicles being traded in for front-drive replacements. Below are the cash for clunkers Top 10 lists, updated with data from August 5th. The most notable change from the original data is that the Toyota Corolla took the top spot for best-selling purchase from the Ford Focus. (Read: "CARS program beats all expectations.")

Top 10 cash for clunkers purchases