http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,618322,00.html

They write, that the US-government had such plans before, but the lobbyist's group SEMA had reached, that they were cancelled.
Now President Obama will start it again. Of the 250 million cars in the USA are 30% older than 15 years. So 75 millon cars shall be worth to crush.
The US-plan is a bit different than the German one (here you get 2500 € for cars, vans and campmobiles older than 9 years). The US-plan is meant for cars with have a fuel consumtion of more than 18 mpg (for Europeans: more than 13 liters on 100 km).
The goventment-paid bonus shall shall be between 2500 and 4500 $. A politician of the Democrats, Betty Sutton suggests a bonus of 5000 $, when you buy a North American made car.

There is such a bonus-system still active in Texas (but only in the areas of Houston, Dallas and Austin). There you get up to 3500 $ for wrecking an older car - but the problem is, that nearly all of these people are buying used cars from this money.
O.K., it's a problem of Texas, how they made their rules.


So you US-guys over here, perhaps soon you can see overfilled junkyards and shredder-machines, who are working day and night - as we Germans right now (and in the early 90ies after the GDR-collapsing) and the French some years before.

less than 18 mpg, since with that unit the higher is the better

Well that really sucks. Just hope it doesn't go through.

@Antoine: yes, I mean "more"

Better to be confused with "more" and "less" than mith "mine" and "yours"

Sure, this US-version of the "Abwrackprämie" will be the ultimative sentence of death for your beloved Crown Vic's, for the Lincoln Town Car's, the Caprice's and so on.

I think, there is a big question: the US-people shall wreck their old cars, vans and trucks with high (for European and Asian eyes extreme high) fuel consumption and shall buy modern cars, with a lower consumption.
Correctly said: they shall buy US-made cars to save the US-car-industry from the collapse.
At best they shall buy a combination, an US-made car with modern technology and low fuel consumption. Here you have the big question: what models they shall buy???


BTW: I am using the -at least usual- term "Abwrackprämie", which means "wrecking bonus". The official name, given by the German government is "Umweltprämie", which means "environment bonus". Finally this is just a big lie, because it doesn't help the environment, if you are wrecking thousands of usable cars and produce new cars, which costs very much material and energy.
It's nothing more or less than a big subvention for the car-industry. It would be honestly to say this.

Until today about 1.2 million (!) Germans have written the application for it. The government has thrown more money in the big pot for it.
Several people are asking "What will happen later on?" Then surely the whole car-business will collapsing. And not only the car-business.

All the people, who wanted to have a new car, have bought one. What shall the dealers sell afterward? A plenty of garages, used car- and spare-part-dealers have problems today, because their customers have no old cars any more, where they had made money with.

Several people are greedy and see only "Aaah, 2500 € from the government! Let's pick it up!", so they will spend money, which at least the don't have. Without this "wrecking bonus" they would never have bought a new car. Finally several will slippering into a private insolvency.

And other businesses are complaining, that so many money is spent only for cars, money which is missing for the other consumption.

And, as we have said before: this system don't really help the German car-brands. The only German made cars, which selling is increasing, are the Opel Corsa and the Ford Fiesta. Other small cars were made somewhere else, bigger cars, even smaller ones like the Mercedes A-Klasse or the Audi A4, don't play a role for the "Abwrackprämie"

We will see, what will happen. Perhaps I will be involved, too. If my Omega will have a heavy breakdown or a crash, it will not make any econmomical sense to repair it. Then we will wreck it too, and my wife will look for a new car.
Since two weeks I'm in a very great position: I got my home-office, so I don't have to drive any more 130 km per day. Only one time per week I have to go in my former office.
So for my private use my old K 70 would be enough. I don't need an all-day-car any more. A real nice situation!
Unfortunately I have no chance to get money for my Omega (except due the "Abwrackprämie". Noone will pay money for a 10 year old Opel in NATO-olive and with 260 000 km on the clock.

It looks nince in NATO-olive, you should keep it

It's rare, too. I like my Omega, but unfortunately its condition is getting worse. If you are interested, we can talk about a good price.


Now I'm searching a bit at youtube for videos about this theme. This one shall be satiric/sarcastic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc3_lpQ_mCo

They are complaininga bit (o.k.,the makers are obviously idiots), that the wrecker makes money with the parts. So he pays 150 € extra for good roof of the Kadett Cabriolet (bzw.its plate is real. You can get it in the town of Segeberg).
About the Chrysler's they are saying something sarcastic about "modern cars with low fuel consumption".

From a junkyard in East Germany:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUu4tp6CFNg

"The reverse of the Abwrackprämie":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqudn9n3wjw

a) good cars, which are worth to keep to to put in the export, were crushed

b) the wrecker-guy says, that yu have to pay 100 €, when you bring a car to him, without relation to the "Abwrackprämie". He has so many parts for cars, which were wrecked anyways, that he cannot earn money. These cars were immediately crushed. And the price for scrap-metal is collapsed due the hundreds of thousands additionally wrecked cars. Now he gets 15 € per ton. Last year it was 140 €.

c) the used car-dealer cannot sell cars any more, because everyone tries to get a new one

d) the economy-scientst are saying, that the money, spent for new cars now will be missed for the consumtion of other goods.

Real interesting about the export to Africa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoHXUPTp3NE

The Russian captain goes one time per month with his ship from Hamburg to Coutounou/Benin. The ship has 13 decks, 4560 cars are loaded.
Not all are from Germany, they are from everywhere in Europe.
The dealers are -as expected- from a big Lebanese family, in the business since 18 years.
Now they have problems with the German "Abwrackprämie", because they are always pickung up cars for less than 2000 €, but these wre all crushed, because the government pays 2500 €. But this is no big thing, they say, now they are starting to buy cars in the USA "there you can get everything for good prices" and Japan.

In the harbour of Coutounou 5000 people have an income by this business. And 5000 more, who a living from the stolen parts. From the harbour the cars are going -always by night because of the traffic- 18 km to the big dealer's places. Actually there are stored 150.000 used cars from everywhere around the world.
The most of them were sold to Nigeria. Every week 1000 used cars were brought with a police-escort 1000 km to Nigeria (resp. the cars, which still are able to drive).

Sorry but if I could (space, time, ...) get an old car I would get an XM as these are cheap now and I really like it. Even if I find the Omega nice, there are others that I would chose over it.

And in Great Britain the government thinks about, too:
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,618708,00.html

P.S.You see on the small pic, how complete the cars are, which were crushed now in Germany?
Unfortunately here they shredder them incl. the tires and all plastic - this lowers the quality of the recycling-steel very much.

I don't like that junnk yard picture, they don't look "old".

Ha! 7+ cars stacked on top of the white Volvo wagon, and it still manages to retain much of it’s shape. Go Volvo!

Exactly, that´s the big "joke" (sarcasm). Past month my 9 year old Neon passed the TÜV (MOT) without any complaints. It still runs well and now I´m supposed to wreck it to get 2.500,-?? What a *censored* waste!! The average mpg is 29 (8l/100km) - more than fair for a 9 year old car with 132 hp (133 PS).


There have been a couple of US-made cars worth to be that such as the Neon and Cobalt. Back then they were up to date (at least on higher trim levels) with properly fuel consumption. Unfortunately they neglected the small car development and replaced the Neon with the Caliber with worse fuel economy.

http://www.autoexpert.ca/Files/images/news/concessionnaire/concessionnaire_1105/- serie_700_volvo/images/volvo_pile.jpg

http://www.cabinnaise.com/vpage/stack.jpg

http://www.sw-em.com/volvostack.jpg

so that's just an habit of the Volvos

One thing, I'm wondering about: if the buyers of these new wrecking-bonus-cars are thinking about, what they shall make with them in used condition.

Sooner or later there will be a wave of these cars flooding on the used-car-markets. But nearly all of them are small and cheap car like Ford Ka, Opel Corsa, Fiat, Dacia, and a plenty of small Japanese and Korean cars, nothing with a substancial value. A Mercedes or an Audi has still a value and a reputation in used condition - but all these junky mini-cars?

Who shall buy them in used condition and for what prices?
They were hard to sell before, too, but now, after the market was flooded with them? An export to Russia or Africa will not be possible. There only bigger fourdoor-cars, especially Mercedes, BMW, Audi and bigger Japanese sedans, also vans and SUV's are popular, but never these small cars. Brands like Fiat, Ford, Kia, Daewoo and so had ever been unpopular for the export. One reason, why in the past our junkyards were full with them.

There's an article in today's Guardian arguing that the British scrappage scheme won't be popular:

@Gag: better don't think, that the public opinion will stay like this.

At the start of the German Abwrackprämie there were also several articles like this, even full net-blogs of people with this opinion.

But what had happen, when it was running? A kind of national hystery!
Noone had expected that.

Thousands of people have lost their rationality. They only see "2500 € from the government! I want to have it know!"
So this is the reason, why a lot of cars were scrapped, which have a higher value than 2500 €. And many people, which normally cannot afford money for a new car, are having now high credits just for this reason (and a lot of them will not be able to pay all the debts back).

So just wait, until this British scrappage-regulation will be released. You will be wondering, how crazy the people will react.

@Antoine: today I've seen in the backyard of our local Fiat/Alfa/Lancia-dealer, where the "Abwrackprämie"-cars are stored, a Citroen XM. It's dark red and has a "V6"-sign on the front fender.

Are you interested? You wrote, that you would like to have a XM.

Yes, I know, that it's not legally to buy and register it again - but here in Germany. As I know, you can make half-legal tricks to export these cars, dedicated for the shredder.
The owner of the Fiat-garage is a nice guy, perhaps I can arrange something for you.
You only must see, how to register it again in Belgium without papers. I guess, it should be possible anyhow (at least make something with the FIN-no... )

I don't think he can buy an XM, as he said previously it won't fit in his garage. (hard to belive yes, as his garge would have to be the size of a bathroom to not fit a little 185 inch long XM)