Philadelphia Inquirer: Clunkers' won't save auto market
  • You would think that, with the surge of car-buying last week brought on by "Cash for Clunkers," the crummy U.S. auto market might not be in for such a rough ride after all.

    You would be wrong.

    True, in a matter of just a week, owners of gas-guzzlers siphoned every last drop of the $1 billion the government had set aside to spur the purchase of new fuel-efficient cars and get factories rolling again at a decent clip.

    How could anyone turn down the offer, really? The feds gave $3,500 to $4,500 to those willing to trash their wheels in return for a new set with higher gas mileage.

    Jalopy owners shed their economic fears and rushed to capitalize. They snapped up 250,000 new cars so fast that Congress is now rushing to provide rebates for another half-million vehicles.

    Though a boon to dealers who twiddled their thumbs for months, the program, even expanded, will not be sufficient to recapture a time when consumers feasted on new cars like popcorn.

    "There's nothing here to support a major change in the forecast," said Gary Dilts, senior vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power & Associates.