Clunker Numbers Are In

Well, not the clunker numbers really, but the new vehicles that were purchased from auto dealerships through the cash for clunkers program.

There are some interesting things to note among the total numbers.

For instance, thirteen of the twenty hottest selling vehicles under the program were manufactured by foreign owned automobile companies.

Chevrolet, a product of GM, one of only two American automobile companies that accepted aid from the federal government, had three vehicles on the list. One of those three vehicles was the Chevrolet Silverado, a truck not widely recognized as being a gas saver. Chrysler, the other American producer to accept aid, had no cars on the top twenty list. Ford had three vehicles on the list, one of them being the F-150 truck.

Some environmentalists had complained that the program would lead some consumers to trade in their clunkers to buy a Hummer. The data showed that 15 2009 Hummer H3T with four-wheel drive models were purchased through Clunkers.

There is no doubt that the cash for clunkers program will pad the sales statistics for the time that it was in place. The next challenge for manufacturers will be to keep the sales momentum going despite high unemployment and low consumer confidence.