Dealerships are making deals on new cars when you bring your clunker in. Photo from mlive.com and by Katy Batdorff of The Grand Rapids Press

If you haven’t heard of the new government program CARS, then you must really be out of the loop. No worries though, because I am here to give you a little more insight. The Car Allowance Rebate System or CARS is a government funded and dealership operated program where people can take their cars into certain dealerships and get a $3,500 to $4,500 rebate if they trade in their gas guzzlers for a more fuel efficient vehicle.

It is one of the many steps that the government is taking in trying to support a more eco-friendly culture, but they never thought it would be as popular as it has proven. The government put $1 billion into the budget for this program expecting that amount to last for at least a month. What really happened is far more shocking. The money was gone is just seven days. This occurred just this month and now the government is rushing to put $2 billion into the budget so as to keep the program going. Many dealerships had to cancel transactions because they were afraid there would be no more money for customers and the government would cut the program.

The junk yard will be filled with many junkers that dealerships will have to despose of themselves. Photo from japanesenostalgiccar.com.

It hasn’t been all grins and giggles though. This program has caused a lot of hassle for the dealerships. They have more paperwork that they have to fill out and they are responsible for the disposal of all the clunkers. The only aid that the government is giving is the rebates to the people who trade in their cars.

Dealerships have, though, seen a major boost in sales since the program started, which is the whole goal in the first place. This was supposed to be a program that would help to stimulate the transportation market as well as help stimulate people’s involvement in going green. It seems that this has been accomplished.

I am still undecided on whether this program is a benefit or a not. I don’t think this is the best way to make people more energy efficient. Just by giving them money to buy a more fuel efficient car doesn’t mean we are going to help the earth. There are still those junk cars that will need to be dealt with. I only hope that the majority of the parts can be scrapped and recycled. Those are large items that don’t need to be occupying the landfills. I also think that giving more money in the promotion of public transportation and no-fuel methods of transit would be a better way to help the environment. Put some money into the development of better sidewalks and bike paths. Give people free bus passes if they only use public transportation as their means of travel. These are the types of things that will help the environment more than more fuel efficient cars on the roads. What do you think? Tell us your thoughts.

A solution to this problem has been in the formulating stages for a long time. Electric cars were the first to really be pushed out the door and into the market. All you have to do is plug your car in and let it charge for a while. Too bad those vehicles don’t hold a charge for very long. Now, there are electric cars run by hydrogen fuel. They are very eco-friendly because they do not let off any emissions, but they certainly aren’t economically friendly.

In an article from the Environmental News Network, I read about the 2009 Hydrogen Road Rally. A dozen or so hydrogen powered vehicles drove up California to Vancouver. This event may not seem that special, but the significance is grand for the future of hydrogen cars. You may not know it but IOE was the organizer and sponsor of the first alternative fuel vehicle rally, “The Drive to Survive,” that went across the country in 2003.
Currently, one hydrogen powered car would cost $500,000. That is extremely expensive, but if the cars were able to be mass produced, the cost would drop down to that of new cars on the market now.

So, why don’t they mass produce these vehicles? Just like any other car, hydrogen cars need fuel. You may not notice this, but at the gas station, there is no pump for hydrogen fuel. That was a big deal with this Hydrogen Rally. British Columbia, Canada, currently has a couple hydrogen fuel stations and they are planning on putting in a few more. This rally was in the hopes of getting a “hydrogen highway” through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. This highway would have fuel stations all along it so that people with hydrogen cars could drive from Baja, California to Vancouver, Canada.

This is the beginning of something big. Before you know it, we all will be driving hydrogen powered cars. Until then though, I would like to hear your thoughts on this new type of car.

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