August 4th, 2009
Cash for clunkers: one man's story
THIS FROM AN EMAIL I JUST RECEIVED FROM ZDNET READER: I reluctantly traded a 1989 Ford Crown Victoria 24/32 mpg (city/highway)for a VW Jetta TDI which is supposed to get 29/41 mpg but actually delivers 38/50 mpg. I bought the Crown Vic used in 1991 with 10,000 miles and I added 200,000 to the odometer. Because the government’s EPA said I only get 18 mpg, I took advantage of the CARS program to reduce my carbon footprint from 10.2 Tons/year to 3.2 Tons/year. The $4500 rebate and the $1300 tax credit gave me a 20% discount that I could not ignore.
I loved my Crown Vic because it was comfortable and delivered great mileage and would have lasted another 100,000 miles but it really hurt to fill up my tank for $50 when gas shot up in 2008. It used to only cost $20 to fill up the tank.
I don’t trust Goldman Sachs because it was their speculation and trading that took crude from $40/barrel to $147/barrel. I don’t trust our government because they are unwilling to protect consumers from Wall Street speculators who drive up commodities prices.
I bought the Jetta as an insurance policy against price rises that are certain to come in the near future.
But, I do miss the smooth ride of the Crown Vic and would have bought a diesel Crown Vic if Ford made one.
FIX THE CLUNKER POLL
Here’s another incisive email, I got: “of the five choices they seem to me to all try to validate slanted point of view. a better question would be do I want my taxes paying for profits of a foreign based company. A free enterprise system falls apart when the average worker has no disposable income. disposable income can not be imported.”
So I added that alternative anser to the poll:
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A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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