The NHTSA has called an official end to the Cash for Clunkers craze that has swept the nation since going into effect the end of July.  Since the NHTSA does not control how many rebates are issued by car dealers during the program the likelihood is that the Cash for Clunkers $3 billion budget won’t be enough to fulfill the record numbers of transactions that will take place in the last four days of the program.

Cash for Clunkers will come to a close on Monday August 24th at 8:00 pm and it will be a four day marathon race for dealers across the country to squeeze in as many clunker deals as possible before the program shuts down. 

Brian Pasch, CEO of the PCG Digital Marketing which offers automotive marketing services to the automotive industry has been following and analyzing the bill since before it was approved by congress. Their company also created the popular consumer forum www.cashforclunkersfacts.com .

 Commenting on the final days of the program Pasch voiced his concern “It is clear to me that the number of sales accelerated in the next four days will easily push the total CARS rebates past the $3 billion in funding. The question that comes to mind is:  How are those transactions going to be funded?”   

According to Pasch, the situation will be especially tricky since the NHTSA has no authority to spend past the $3 billion allocated by Congress.  Even further complicating the situation is the fact that the CARS program was implemented without real-time tracking to understand how many rebates have already been promised to American car buyers. 

Pasch added, “The large backlog of deals to be submitted still exists and the payments backlog will be further extended by the weekend sales rush. By next week, the NHTSA’s 1,000 employees will have over 700,000 Cash for Clunkers sales  to process and that workload will not be completed any time soon.”

Congress will not know for weeks just how far past the $3 billion the CARS program is in the red.  In fact, Pasch predicts that it will take three or four weeks for dealers to get all their sales into the NHTSA reimbursement system. 

In late September Pasch predicts that a wave of criticism will surface which will be targeted at the NHTSA and their implementation of the CARS program because of the financial havoc it has dealt to consumers and car dealers alike.  

NHTSA Secretary Raymond LaHood has assured dealers that they will get paid, but the question may become, how???

To follow the latest information regarding the Cash for Clunkers bill, visit http://www.cashforclunkersfacts.com/news-on-bill/

Brian Pasch will discuss Automotive SEO practices at the 7^th Digital Dealer Conference in Tennessee.   Guests attending the seminar led by Brian Pasch will learn about content based SEO strategies which will demonstrate to dealers how to target key search phrases with effective SEO strategies for Google page one dominance.   Mr. Pasch is among the top 5 requested returning speakers, as rated by attendees from the last conference. 

This seminar will offer hands on examples on how to utilize free and low-cost web publishing platforms to leverage franchise news, special events and sales promotions.   Results of effective content based SEO strategies include immediate increases in site traffic and increased lead generation. 

One of the highlights of Pasch’s seminar will be a featured discussion regarding the powerful results seen from wordpress microsites.   The PCG Digital Marketing has pioneered the use of wordpress microsites for automotive Internet marketing and first party lead generation.  Their own dedicated wordpress microsite, http://www.seomicrosites.com/ , provides examples of how wordpress sites which use content based SEO strategies deliver powerful search rankings results.  

Conference attendees who would like to schedule a free personal consultation with Brian Pasch to discuss their Internet marketing needs, can make an appointment by calling 732-450-8200.  Appointments can be made after business hours by sending the PCG Digital Marketing an email at; info@paschconsulting.com.

Consumers who have been locked out of the Car Allowance Rebate System are urged to join Brian Pasch and hundreds of Americans for a online petition project which will be sent to Congress.  Currently, consumers who own cars that are rated as averaging 19 MPG or more, based on government estimates, are not eligible for a CARS credit regardless of their actual miles per gallon experience. 

Consumers are disgruntled over the government’s standardized fuel ratings which are posted at http://www.fueleconomy.gov .  The fuel ratings do not take into consideration wear and tear to vehicles which prevents them from attaining the MPG numbers the vehicle was originally estimated to achieve. 

Brian Pasch, CEO of the PCG Digital Marketing, has created the petition to provide a place meeting place for consumers to unify their voices.  Over 600 consumers have added their name to the petition in the first two weeks that the site was opened.

Most consumers understand that the NHTSA is only responsible for implementing the program and is not responsible for the restrictions of the bill.  What they don’t know is how to make their voices heard in Congress.  The petition was created to help that process.

Cash for Clunkers Petition Website

The website, http://www.nocashforclunkers.com/ , is taking comments from consumers who want their voices heard.  By joining the online petition, consumers will add their names to the petition list that will be sent to the original sponsors of the Cash for Clunkers legislation.  The goal is to make sure Congress hears their voices and those of frustrated consumers around the country if additional funding is requested. 

The most common complaint from consumers is that the Federal website rates their “clunker” at 19, 20 or 21 combined mpg.  Consumers are adamant that their vehicle’s condition prevents it from getting anywhere near that mpg number.  For example, one reader wrote in to the site, “I have a 2001 Infiniti I-30 with 220,000 miles. The EPA MPG says I am getting 20 mpg. That is a joke. I have 220,000 miles on my car. I would be lucky to be operating at 18 mpg.”  These types of complaints are flooding the www.CashForClunkersFacts.com blog site. 

Another consumer wrote, “Regarding the Car Allowance Rebate System. I currently drive a 1995 model car that I have owned for 12 years. According to the website fueleconomy.gov, it has a “new” mpg rating of 20 which means that I do not qualify for the CARS program. The MPG when the car was new was 22. This is disappointing as I do not understand how a change of ONLY 2 mpg is calculated on a 14 year old vehicle!”

NET-10 Proposal

The ‘No Cash for Clunkers’ website suggests an alternative qualification model called:  NET-10.  If a consumer trades in their “clunker” for another new vehicle that gets at least 10 mpg  more than their current clunker, they would qualify for the $4,500 credit. 

This type of revision will accomplish the fuel conservation and environmental goals of the bill and will also remove the penalty from consumers who have a car that is operating at much less of a fuel efficiency than the government’s standardized estimates suggests. 

For more information on the No Cash for Clunkers petition, consumers are encouraged to visit http://www.nocashforclunkers.com/