Cars and Drivers
"Cash For Clunkers" Data Extremely Inaccurate, Favors Japanese
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The “cash for clunkers” data by car manufacturer and model type is incorrect. The Department of Transportation numbers reports cars by drive train and not by brand. Edmunds was able to see part of this disparity and reported that “Government breaks out models by drive type; Edmunds.com aggregates all model data to report each model once.”
Government statistics show that the most purchased model type under the program was the Toyota (TM) Corolla. It was followed by the Honda (HMC) Civic, Toyota (TM) Camry, and Ford (F) Focus FWD.
Edmund’s measurements, done by model give Ford three of the top four slots. In first place is the company’s Focus, followed by the Escape, the Honda (HMC) Civic, and Ford’s F-150 pick-up.
The DOT list of leading purchases from its August 26 release put the models in this order:
Top 10 New Vehicles Purchased
1. Toyota Corolla
2. Honda Civic
3. Toyota Camry
4. Ford Focus FWD
5. Hyundai Elantra
6. Nissan Versa
7. Toyota Prius
8. Honda Accord
9. Honda Fit
10. Ford Escape FWD
The Edmunds data as of last Thursday:
Top 10 clunker buys:
MAKE MODEL
Ford Focus
Ford Escape
Honda Civic
Ford F-150
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Camry
Honda CR-V
Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Hyundai Elantra
Honda Accord
Detroit goes from having two in the top ten to four.
On trade-ins, the DOT numbers:
Top 10 Trade-in Vehicles
1. Ford Explorer 4WD
2. Ford F150 Pickup 2WD
3. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD
4. Ford Explorer 2WD
5. Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan 2WD
6. Jeep Cherokee 4WD
7. Chevrolet Blazer 4WD
8. Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2WD
9. Ford F150 Pickup 4WD
10. Ford Windstar FWD Van
Compared to the figures from Edmunds:
MAKE MODEL of Trade Ins
Ford Explorer
Ford F-150
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet C/K 1500 Series
Jeep Cherokee
Ford Windstar
DodgeRam Pickup 1500
Mercury Grand Marquis
Cadillac DeVille
The government has always had trouble with math.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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