Exotic clunkers got crushed, too
Posted
Sep 24 2009, 12:15 PM
by
Des Toups
Rating:
Now that the government has finished writing the Cash for Clunkers checks, it’s released a final breakdown of the models sent to the crusher.
Among the 700,000 or so vehicles removed from the roads were 39 cars barely a year old – six Dodge Avengers alone and 10 Mercury Grand Marquises alone. Lest you believe gas-sucking domestics were the only victims, 3,595 BMWs, 2,532 Lexuses and 5,342 Mercedes met their makers as well. But not a single Hummer was ditched.
Among the more exotic machinery cast off in return for a voucher worth up to $4,500:
- 13 Porsches, among them a 1990 928 S4 with a current Kelley Blue Book value of $13,100
- An Aston Martin DB7 Volante, one of 140 made in 1997, with a sticker topping $130,000.
- 6 Maseratis
- A Bentley Continental R (The original sticker in 1997 was $307,100, but AutoTrader shows a number of 1990s models with asking prices ranging from $35,000 to $124,000.)
- An ultra-rare Buick GNX, one of just 547 built.
You can see the whole list in .pdf form at the Cars.gov Web site. The Ford Explorer – for several years during the high-flying 1990s the best-selling vehicle in America -- was the most popular clunker, with 69,887 turned in.
Bing: Was cash for clunkers a boondoggle?
The top-selling new vehicles through the program were:
| Toyota Corolla |
29,488 |
|
Honda Accord |
15,922 |
| Honda Civic |
28,456 |
|
Nissan Altima |
15,426 |
| Toyota Camry |
27,137 |
|
Toyota RAV4 |
15,255 |
| Ford Focus |
22,388 |
|
Toyota Prius |
15,013 |
| Ford Escape |
21,894 |
|
Ford Fusion |
13,415 |
| Honda CR-V |
20,106 |
|
Chevrolet Cobalt |
13,335 |
| Hyundai Elantra |
19,797 |
|
Honda Fit |
12,361 |
| Chevrolet Silverado |
16,330 |
|
Nissan Sentra |
12,158 |
| Nissan Versa |
16,300 |
|
Chevrolet Aveo |
11,557 |
| Ford F-150 |
16,263 |
|
Toyota Tacoma |
10,692 |
