Chevrolet boasts that Cruze Eco could get 40 mpg

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If you think you need hybrids or electric power to get astounding gas mileage, look at the latest entry from Chevrolet.

For the New York Auto Show, Chevrolet plans to show off the high-gas-mileage version of its Cruze compact sedan, the Cruze Eco.

How good is the gas mileage? Chevy thinks it can get it certified at 40 miles a gallon. Not bad for compact with, GM boasts, the "spaciousness and amenities of a midsize car." Chevy hopes to get its great mileage by combining a small 1.4-liter Ecotech engine with a turbocharger and variable valve timing.

General Motors is plenty serious about the Cruze. It announced a third shift at the Lordstown, Ohio, plant that will add 1,200 workers to support a smooth ramp-up of Cruze production. More than $350 million has been invested to re-tool the plant and add state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment.

The Cruze Eco is supposed to come to showrooms at the end of the year.

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• Cruze Comes To Town: Chevy unveils 40-mpg Eco model and RS package (autoblog.com)

Price, Reliability Drive Female Shoppers' Used Auto Purchases

When asked to name the most influential factors in choosing a vehicle, 62 percent of female shoppers claimed either price or reliability as their top motivator.

Specifically, a third of women said that price was their biggest reason in choosing a specific vehicle and 29 percent indicated reliability was most important.

Meanwhile, 19 percent claimed that fuel efficiency was the strongest influence, and 9 percent said the same about safety features.

Space was the most important factor for 8 percent of respondents, and 1 percent claimed convenience options as their top motivator.

For women with children under 18, price (33 percent) was also the top priority, but space (17 percent) was much greater of an influence. Reliability, again, was the No. 2 motivator, as 26 percent of this group listed it as their top factor for buying a vehicle.

Thirteen percent cited fuel efficiency as the biggest influence, 12 percent favored safety features and 0 percent claimed convenience options.

Finding the right car that balances price with reliability is a concern for all car shoppers. Doing your research online and visiting a car retailer that offers a variety of makes and models in all price ranges will help consumers achieve the value they're looking for.

For upfront Value Pricing, and a no hassle environment, shop at Saturn of Greenville SC, and Saturn of Asheville NC. Just visit our website at www.saturnofthecarolinas.com

'Clunker' Rebates Stir Car Buyers

By ALEX P. KELLOGG and JOSH MITCHELL

The first weekend of "cash for clunkers" rebates boosted new-vehicle sales, despite minor snags and worries the program might not have a long-lasting effect.

On Monday, Daryl Little turned in his dusty 1995 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with 362,000 miles at Cook Chevrolet Pontiac Buick in Vassar, Mich., and drove off with a new, 2009 Silverado that qualified for the rebates because it gets much better gas mileage than his old one.

Mr. Little said he would have been lucky to get $1,200 for his old truck and wouldn't have had the money to buy the new one without the $4,500 clunker rebate. "I thought I'll never get a better deal," the construction-company manager said.

A sign advertises the government's cash-for-clunkers sales incentive at Tropical Chrysler Jeep in Miami Shores, Fla. Dealers reported strong sales over the weekend by buyers seeking the up to $4,500 allowances.

It is unclear, however, whether the $1 billion program -- officially the Cash Allowance Rebate System -- is going to boost sales over time or merely pull forward purchases by customers planning to buy new vehicles in the weeks or months ahead. The program is due to expire Nov 1.

"I don't think this is permanent by any means," said Emir Abinion, a former Ford dealer who owns two Volkswagen dealerships in suburban Chicago. "It's just a shot in the arm...I don't know one dealer who would think this will be a catalyst for sales."

George Fowler, a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealer in Dearborn, Mich., said he has made seven sales so far through the program. More than 30 people have come in hoping to buy, but most didn't meet the qualifications. Most of those participating, he said, would likely have bought a new vehicle in the coming months regardless of the discount.

"These are people who would have been in the market anyway, and they have a trade that was worth $1,500 and now is worth $4,500," he said.

Under the program, new-car buyers can get $3,500 or $4,500 in rebates when they trade in older vehicles for more fuel-efficient models. The program was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in June, but the rules and details were only laid out Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The White House is counting on the rebates to spur vehicle sales at a time when auto makers have been hit particularly hard by the recession. U.S. auto sales are on pace to total about 10 million vehicles, down from about 13 million in 2008 and 16 million in 2007. Boosting new-vehicle sales would also help the administration's efforts to turn around General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.

Nearly 16,000 auto dealers signed up to participate in the program, and a government hotline has handled more than 45,000 calls from people seeking information, a Transportation Department spokeswoman said. A Web site for the program registered 1.5 million hits since Friday.

A few glitches have appeared. Some dealers said junkyards in their area are ill-prepared to handle the influx of older cars expected to be scrapped. Others said the 136-page instruction manual provided by the government is confusing. Some consumers have been disappointed their cars don't qualify. The NHTSA Web site where dealers must register to participate crashed for a time on Friday due to heavy use.

But the program is bringing car buyers into showrooms, said dealers. At Paragon Honda in Queens, N.Y., General Manager Brian Benstock said he started working out clunker trade-ins before the program's official launch and has sold 50 cars this month, including eight over the weekend.

Few older Hondas qualify for the program given their fuel-efficiency, but it has been a bonus for
foreign auto makers, he said. Many of the vehicles turned in are GM and Ford pickups, he said. "This has all been a market-share gain for us," Mr. Benstock said.

Steve Cook, owner of the Michigan dealership where Mr. Little bought his new Silverado, said the past weekend was the busiest he has had in months. "I'm going to sell in a week what I sold in a month."

Mike Adamson, who owns three franchises around Rochester, Minn., has seen the clunkers program triple overall sales at his Lincoln Mercury, Hyundai and Chrysler Dodge dealerships. On Monday, his dealerships had sold 50 vehicles that were awaiting final government approvals.
"It's way more than I could have anticipated," said Mr. Adamson.—Sharon Terlep, Matthew Dolan and Jeff Bennett contributed to this article.

Write to Josh Mitchell at joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B2

Fuel-Efficient Saturn Models included in Cash for Clunkers Law

The Car Allowance Rebate Program – more commonly known as the "Cash for Clunkers" law – goes into effect today.We already told you a little bit about the law, which gives vehicle owners a rebate of $3,500 to $4,500 for trading in their current cars for new, more fuel-efficient ones.ImSaturn members will be happy to know that five Saturn models are among the new cars included in the program. To make it easy, Saturn has created a summary of the models and configurations that are eligible under the program. It also includes a guide to help you calculate your rebate based on your trade-in vehicle and the Saturn model you select as its replacement.The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration has more information on the program at its web site. You can also get more information at www.cashforclunkerscarolinas.com

Clunkermania officially began Friday.

The federal government finally released the rules that dealers and their customers have to follow to participate in the much-discussed "cash for clunkers" program, which can provide consumers with up to $4,500 when they trade in an older vehicle and buy a newer, more fuel-efficient model from a participating dealer.
Cash For Clunkers Bill

See If You're Eligible for a Trade In Voucher & Estimate Your Savings!http://www.cashforclunkerscarolinas.com/
$4500 For Your Clunker?

Up To $4500 For Your Old Car From U.S. Govt. Do You Qualify? Find Out
The law creating the $1-billion program went into effect July 1, but many dealers were reluctant to participate until they got a look at the rules. The arrival of the 100-plus-page document Friday morning sparked a registration rush that overwhelmed the government's computers, resulting in waits of two hours or more, the National Automobile Dealers Assn. reported.

The program is also exciting a fair amount of interest among consumers. Online auto information provider Edmunds .com said its traffic has been at record levels in recent weeks. Part of that comes from what may be the beginnings of a rebound in car sales, but the clunkers program is helping.

"We've clearly had traffic coming in that's being driven by 'cash for clunkers,' " said Marc Cannon, spokesman for AutoNation Inc., which owns 77 dealerships in California, including Power Chevrolet lots in Valencia, Hawthorne and Irvine. "We started doing deals early this morning."

Automakers are also jumping on the bandwagon. General Motors and Chrysler ran full-page ads in Friday's Times touting the program, and several manufacturers are offering special incentives.

The government estimates that the program will generate sales of 250,000 new cars, although Edmunds.com Chief Executive Jeremy Anwyl figures that about 200,000 of those sales would have happened anyway as part of the natural retirement rate of old vehicles.

Anwyl also notes that the rules are fiendishly complicated. Much of that is a result of the government's effort to prevent fraud. For instance, the program requires trade-ins to be junked, and the rules include elaborate procedures that dealers must follow to permanently disable the engines of clunker trade-ins so they can't be resold. (Part of the idea behind the law was to get older, less-fuel-efficient vehicles off the road.)

Shoppers may also be in for some frustration, above and beyond the tight restrictions they need to meet to qualify (read on for details on how the program works). For example, buyers must show proof of one year's insurance -- which would be recorded on their policy but may not be reflected on the insurance card they carry in their wallet.

Consumers should also be wary of official-looking clunkers websites that have sprung up, many of them asking for personal information. The official government website for the programs is http://www.cars.gov/ . The government has also set up a hotline at (866) 227-7891. You can also get official information from Saturn of Greenville, Saturn of Asheville, or Saturn of Spartanburg.

Kelley Blue Book (http://www.kbb.com/ ) and http://www.edmunds.com/ offer online calculators to help buyers decide whether a particular deal makes sense under the clunkers program.

Here are some questions and answers about the program.

How do I know if my trade-in vehicle is eligible for the program?

It must have been manufactured in 1984 or later and have a combined city-highway fuel economy rated at 18 miles per gallon or less. The program is advantageous only if the trade-in value is less than the minimum $3,500 offered by the government.

Can the credit be applied to any new vehicle?

All imports and domestics with a list price under $45,000 are eligible, as long as they meet fuel economy standards of at least 22 mpg for cars; 18 mpg for SUVs, small pickups and minivans; and 15 mpg for large vans and trucks. The new vehicle's fuel economy must exceed the trade-in's by at least 4 mpg for cars, 2 mpg for SUVs and 1 mpg for large trucks to qualify for the $3,500 rebate. The full $4,500 rebate kicks in at an increase of 10 mpg, 5 mpg and 2 mpg, respectively.

Remember, the mileage numbers are based on combined city-highway driving mileage as measured by the federal government -- not the mileage you actually get. The fuel economy numbers can be found at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ .

What happens to the clunkers after the trade-in? Can they be resold?

The Car Allowance Rebate System requires that the trade-in be crushed or shredded so that it will not be resold. The wrecking yard is allowed to salvage some parts for resale, excluding the engine and drivetrain.

Can I game the system by going to a junkyard and buying a wreck to use as a trade-in?

No, the program requires the vehicle be in drivable condition, continuously insured and registered to the same owner for at least a year before the trade-in.

I have several clunkers in my garage. Can I trade them all in?

There is a limit of one trade-in per owner under the program, with the credit applying to the lease or purchase of a single new vehicle.

How long does the program last?

Until Nov. 1 or until the $1 billion is spent, whichever comes first.