The Top Ten 'Clunkers' Are All Detroit Brands

By Kyle-Anne Shiver and Lee Cary

The National Highway Traffic Administration today released up-to-date "Cash for Clunkers" statics. The numbers tell a tale when "clunker" brands are compared to new vehicles purchased in exchange.

Here's the raw data (bolded in original):

C.A.R.S. Program Statistics

August 5, 2009

Dealer Transactions

Number Submitted:     184,304

Dollar Value:    $775.2M

Top 10 New Vehicles Purchased

1.         Toyota Corolla

2.         Ford Focus FWD

3.         Honda Civic

4.         Toyota Prius

5.         Toyota Camry

6.         Hyundai Elantra

7.         Ford Escape FWD

8.         Dodge Caliber

9.         Honda Fit

10.       Chevrolet Cobalt

New Vehicles Manufacturers

General Motors           18.7%

Toyota                         17.9%

Ford                         16.0%

Honda                     11.6%

Chrysler                    10.6%

Nissan                       7.0%

Hyundai                      6.6%

Kia                              3.8%

Mazda                        2.3%

Subaru                       2.2%

Volkswagen              1.9%

Suzuki                       0.4%

MINI                           0.3%

Mitsubishi                   0.3%

Smart                        0.2%

Volvo                           0.1%

All Other                      0.1%

Nearly half of new vehicles purchased under the program were from the Big Three. The Big Three's share in this program (45%) is equivalent to their overall share in the auto market (about 45%). Four of the top ten selling vehicles are manufactured by the Big Three. Of non-Big Three purchases, preliminary analysis suggests that well over half of these new vehicles were manufactured in the United States.

Top 10 Trade-in Vehicles

1.         Ford Explorer 4WD

2.         Ford F150 Pickup 2WD

3.         Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD

4.         Jeep Cherokee 4WD

5.         Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan 2WD

6.         Ford Explorer 2WD

7.         Chevrolet Blazer 4WD

8.         Ford F150 Pickup 4WD

9.         Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2WD

10.       Ford Windstar FWD Van

Vehicles Purchased by Category

Passenger Cars:   88,814

Category 1 Truck: 52,391

Category 2 Truck:   8,601

Category 3 Truck:       295

Thus far, 83% of trade-ins under the program are trucks, and 59% of new vehicle purchases are cars. The program is working far better than anyone anticipated at moving consumers out of old, dirty trucks and SUVs and into new more fuel-efficient cars.

Vehicle Trade-in by Category

Passenger Cars:   24,903

Category 1 Truck: 99,186

Category 2 Truck: 24,931

Category 3 Truck:    1,081

Average Fuel Economy

New vehicles Mileage: 25.3 MPG

Trade-in Mileage:         15.8 MPG.

Overall increase: 9.6 MPG, or a 61% improvement

Cars purchased under the program are, on average, 21% above the average fuel economy of all new cars currently available, and 63% above the average fuel economy of cars that were traded in. This means the program is raising the average fuel economy of the fleet, while getting the dirtiest and most polluting vehicles off the road.

Requested Voucher Dollar Amount by State:

ALABAMA:                   $7,087,000

ALASKA:                    $1,166,000

ARIZONA:                    $6,527,500

ARKANSAS:                $4,455,000

CALIFORNIA:           $39,926,500

COLORADO:             $7,758,000

CONNECTICUT:       $8,916,000

DELAWARE:               $1,562,000

FLORIDA:                  $26,947,000

GEORGIA:                  $12,469,500

HAWAII:                           $963,500

IDAHO:                        $3,395,000

ILLINOIS:                    $33,740,000

INDIANA:                    $18,729,500

IOWA:                         $12,184,500

KANSAS:                      $9,729,000

KENTUCKY:                 $9,178,000

LOUISIANA:                 $5,400,000

MAINE:                          $5,450,000

MARYLAND:               $11,757,000

MASSACHUSETTS: $13,844,500

MICHIGAN:                 $44,399,500

MINNESOTA:            $30,182,500

MISSISSIPPI:                $2,431,500

MISSOURI:                  $16,101,500

MONTANA:                 $1,732,500

NEBRASKA:                   $7,392,000

NEVADA:                      $2,009,000

NEW HAMPSHIRE:        $5,474,500

NEW JERSEY:             $13,744,500

NEW MEXICO:               $2,366,000

NEW YORK:               $32,440,000

NORTH CAROLINA:    $18,472,000

NORTH DAKOTA         $3,302,000

OHIO:                           $37,653,000

OKLAHOMA:                 $7,532,000

OREGON:                   $10,229,500

PENNSYLVANIA:       $32,994,000

RHODE ISLAND:           $2,392,000

SOUTH CAROLINA:      $7,164,000

SOUTH DAKOTA:        $4,033,500

TENNESSEE:             $11,117,000

TEXAS:                      $35,010,000

UTAH:                           $5,095,000

VERMONT:                   $2,376,000

VIRGINIA:                   $18,376,500

WASHINGTON:         $12,351,000

WEST VIRGINIA:          $2,769,500

WISCONSIN:               $24,042,000

WYOMING:                       $530,000

Several observations follow:

The brand exchange is mixed. Although some domestic brands are being traded for other domestic brands, the net gain is toward foreign brands. Over 50% of those foreign brands are manufactured in the U.S -- most in non-UAW plants.The question is: Where do the bulk of profits go?

The list of top ten "clunkers" includes all domestic brands. Consequently, many U.S brand "clunkers" are being exchanged for foreign brands.

So, is there a message for Detroit in these statics?