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The PCG Digital Marketing created http://cash-for-clunkers.cashforclunkersfacts.com to lend a voice to consumers who want to share their experiences with the Cash for Clunkers bill to state legislators.  The website is designed to capture thoughts, stories and experiences that will be crucial to the government’s overall assessment of how well the bill’s goals were achieved. 

 The Cash for Clunkers postmortem review site allows consumers to share stories on many related topics:

• Consumers Who Had a Positive Cash for Clunkers Experence 
• Consumers Who Had a Negative Cash for Clunkers Experience
• Consumers Who Are Taking Legal Action 
• Consumer Messages to the NHTSA on CARS Program
• Consumer Messages to Congress on CARS Program 
• General Posts about CARS Program – SPEAK UP Forum

  Many consumers have already spoken out on the new forum.  One consumer added this comment,

 ”I tried to trade in a car that got 19 mpg for one that got 33 mpg. I didn’t qualify. Other people were buying cars and trucks that got 10 mpg less than the one I was going to buy. I was also told by car dealers I know that only upper middle class and wealthy people had the money to buy ‘new cars” as pre-owned cars with great mpg did not qualify. Another giveaway to the rich, as it didn’t help poor people or lower middle class folks who are hoping to have a job at the end of the year.”

 Other satisfied consumers chimed in on the site with rave reviews about the program.  One consumer wrote,

 ”My experience was a very positive one and I believe that was for two main reasons. First I understood all the requirements of the program and had all my documentation in order. Secondly the dealership,  in Appleton WI as well as sales consultant were also as thorough in their preparation for handling the paperwork. I was able to get a $4,500 credit for a van that was 19 years old and worth $500. Without the program I’d still be driving the same vehicle and not an Audi Q5.”

 Brian Pasch, CEO of the PCG Digital Marketing is encouraging all consumers to share their experience, positive or negative, on the Cash for Clunkers forums.  According to Pasch, “It is so important for Americans to send Congress feedback on the implementation of the program.  Consumers normally don’t have an opportunity to have their voice heard nationally and this website provides that venue.”

 Consumers who would like to share their story and hear what others have to say can visit http://cash-for-clunkers.cashforclunkersfacts.com/

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/