National Press Release

NEW YORK, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Congress passed the Automotive Stimulus bill "Cash For Clunkers" on Thursday, marking the first real legislative stride towards an auto industry recovery, and announced www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com, an organization that is leading the campaign to educate the public about the bill. Cash For Clunkers provides up to $4,500 to car owners who trade in their present car for a more fuel efficient and environment friendly alternative. The bill is being called a legislative "trifecta" since its passage stands to ignite a much needed recovery in the auto industry, save car-owning households money, and improve the environment on a national scale.

The www.AutomotiveConsumerCouncil.org created the www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com to certify and equip dealers to educate the consumers in their market about the program, help them retrieve their government funded voucher ($4500) while also providing additional incentives (up to $4500) to make it easy for consumers to upgrade into a more fuel efficient vehicle that helps the environment and the economy.

To be certified by the www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com dealers must agree to match a minimum of $500 up to $4500 in additional discounts on top of the government funded vouchers on select models that meet program requirements. In addition, certified dealers agreed to offer a similar program for pre-owned vehicles, an area that was removed from the governments legislation. That means consumers have an opportunity to save up to $9500 off of a new vehicle and $4500 on a pre-owned vehicle while reducing their gas bill at the same time.

www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com is leading a national effort to certify eligible dealers and equip them with a complete communication campaigns to reach and help qualifying consumers in their market. CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com has also been receiving an important push from celebrities like Dancing With The Stars' Cristian de la Fuente and Ugly Betty star Angelica Vale to educate consumers about the program. In addition, Alfonso Aguilar, the former Chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship, is also a spokesperson for the organization due to the large impact the bill has on the Latino community and other immigrant groups.

"This government subsidy will make it easy for people to get a new car that is a lot less expensive to operate and maintain because of the great gas mileage and lack of repair costs," said Cristian de la Fuente. "It is great to see the government funded automotive bailout helping hard working people who need the financial support." Since a large number of the clunkers on the road are owned by Latinos, the community will benefit a lot from this legislation. Angelica Vale added, "Finally consumers are getting a share of a bailout, because they are benefiting by up to $4500 a person."

"We have passionately supported Cash For Clunkers because of its positive impact on the environment, economy, consumers and its benefits for hundreds of Hispanic American communities whose livelihoods are tied to the auto industry," said Alfonso Aguilar, the previous U.S. Chief of Citizenship and Immigration. "This legislation will create thousands of new jobs for all Americans who work in the many business that serve the automotive industry."

The biggest supporters of Cash For Clunkers has been local car dealers who see it as an opportunity to boost their own businesses and regional economies which are heavily dependent on car sales. One of the innovators of the cash-for-clunker concept in the dealer world is Paragon Cars, one of the largest dealers in the country. "While Paragon's cash-for-clunker program can help our area, the country needed the government to support this to make the serious economic and environmental impact we need," said Brian Benstock, one of the partners of Paragon. New York's Paragon Cars (www.ParagonCars.com) took a lead in educating the public about the bill by hosting the regional CFC headquarters information site for New York residents (www.CashForClunkersNY.com). In addition, Paragon has announced their program to offer additional incentives above the government vouchers to car buyers who trade up into a more fuel efficient vehicle. As a part of certification Paragon also agreed to provide $500-$4500 discounts towards the purchase of a pre-owned vehicle, which the governments program does not cover. Details are at www.ParagonHonda.com and www.ParagonAcura.com.

About Cash For Clunkers Bill:

Cash For Clunkers works by providing a $4,500 voucher for car owners whose present car gets less than 18 miles per gallon fuel efficiency. Drivers who buy a car with a 10 MPG improvement over their previous car qualify for the entire $4,500 voucher, while those who choose a car with a 4 MPG improvement qualify for a $3,500 voucher. SUV and truck owners also qualify for the program but fall under slightly different qualifications. www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com provides all of the information regarding the program on its website and Spanish speakers can find the information at dineroporsucarcacha.com.

The official name of the program is C.A.R.S. - "Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program" (www.ConsumerAssistanceToRecycleAndSaveProgram.org) and is Title XIII of Bill H.R. 2346. The program will receive an initial allocation of $1B funded by the US government as a part of a War appropriations bill. The program time length is 7/1--11/1 and will be implemented by the NHTSA which has 30 days from the approval of the bill to post all program details online.

                           Summary of Cash for Clunkers Program
                           ------------------------------------
                 Minimum Fuel Economy
                   for New Vehicle      $3,500 Voucher      $4,500 Voucher
                 -------------------    --------------      --------------

    Passenger         22 mpg         Mileage improvement   Mileage improvement
     Car or      (EPA combined)      of at least 4 mpg     of at least 10 mpg
     minivan


    Light-duty       18 mpg          Mileage improvement   Mileage improvement
     truck       (EPA combined)       of at least 2 mpg     of at least 5 mpg

    Large light-
     duty truck                      Mileage improvement   Mileage improvement
     (6,000-                          of at least 1 mpg     of at least 2 mpg
     8,500         15 mpg             or trade-in of a
     pounds)     (EPA combined)        work truck

    Work truck
     (8,500-
     10,000                          Trade-in must be at
     pounds)                          least pre-2002

Source: www.ConsumerAssistanceToRecycleAndSaveProgram.org & www.dineroporsucarcacha.com

Here is a summary of some of the requirements:

    1. The definition of "clunker" is a car that gets 18 mpg or less
       and 16mg for trucks/SUVs.
    2. Owners who purchase a new passenger car that gets at least 4 mpg higher
       than their old "clunker" get a $3,500 voucher. If the mileage
       difference is more than 10 mpg, the consumer gets the full $4,500.
    3. Buyers of small trucks and SUV's need less of an improvement to get
       the same amounts. If the new vehicle gets at least 2 mpg more than the
       "clunker," a $3,500 voucher is issued; for new trucks or
       SUV's getting 5 mpg, the new car owner gets $4,500.
    4. For work trucks older than 2000 they get a flat $1,000 regardless of
       improvements.

    5. Consumers need to have owned and registered the vehicle in their name for
       a minimum of one year to qualify.

To make it easy here is a summary:

Clunkers, Defined: You can only trade in drivable vehicles made in the last 25 years that have been continuously insured by the same owner for at least one year leading up to the trade in (so no junkyard finds or used cars bought to "flip"). Qualifying "clunkers" will have a fuel economy rating of no more than 18 MPG (combined city and highway ratings, which you can find on fueleconomy.gov).

How Much Cash?: New cars qualify only if they have a sticker price of $45,000 or less. So no Tesla Roadsters ($109,000), but a Toyota Prius ($22,000) could qualify, depending on your trade-in. And once the $1 billion appropriated for the program runs out (good for an estimated 250,000 vouchers), it's over unless Congress extends the program.

Passenger Cars: New passenger cars will qualify under the program only if they have a fuel economy of at least 22 MPG. If the new model gets four more miles to the gallon than the old car, you qualify for the $3,500 credit. With a 10 MPG improvement or more, you can qualify for a $4,500 credit.

Trucks and SUVs: For light trucks, SUVs and minivans, the new vehicle has to get at least 18 MPG and can offer as little as a 2 MPG improvement over the old one to qualify for $3,500. With a minimum 5 MPG improvement, you can qualify for $4,500.

To view the legislation and program rules visit: www.ConsumerAssistanceToRecycleAndSaveProgram.org. To view all vehicles that qualify for up to $4500 vouchers visit www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com or www.dineroporsucarcacha.com for Spanish speaking consumers.

Related Articles:

Wall Street Journal Digital Network:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/congress-passes-cash-for-clunkers-bill-offers-4500-stimulus-vouchers-to-car-owners

Huffington Post:

Is Congress Driving Drunk?

Univision: http://www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?chid=4781&schid=8881&secid=8890&cid=1984425&pagenum=1

NBC: http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=10562659

YAHOO: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Congress-Passes-Cash-For-prnews-3558437912.html?x=0&.v=1&.pf=insurance&mod=pf-insurance

About the www.AutomotiveConsumerCouncil.com

The www.AutomotiveConsumerCouncil.com was created by www.Tier10Marketing.com to help consumers connect with the best retailers in the country so they can have a customer friendly experience with a dealer they can trust. The www.AutomotiveConsumerCouncil.com created the www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com to lobby lawmakers and to promote the Cash for Clunkers program to the public and the automotive industry.

www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com goal is to connect consumers with certified dealers who will help them retrieve their government funded voucher while also providing additional incentives ($500-$4500) to make it easy for consumers to upgrade into a more fuel efficient vehicle that helps the environment and the economy at the same time.

www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com certifies dealers who agree to its standards and offers select dealers around the country a complete communication plan and campaign kit to educate their local markets on their Cash for Clunkers program.

The Cash For Clunkers Communication Campaign Kit includes:

    1. Cash for Clunkers Headquarters Regional Website
    2. Search marketing plan
    3. Banner ads
    4. E-mail marketing templates
    5. Direct mail campaign targeting the clunker list
    6. Radio advertising templates
    7. TV advertising templates
    8. Publicity toolkit with press releases and template articles
    9. Merchandising including posters, hang tags, brochures, placemats and more

    10. Other optional services to help educate their local market about the
        program

www.CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com is a private organization working to support the government funded program called, C.A.R.S. - "Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program" www.ConsumerAssistanceToRecycleAndSaveProgram.org, Title XIII of Bill H.R. 2346.

SOURCE CashForClunkersHeadquarters.com