Cash for Clunkers Proves Truck Love

Felix Salmon doesn’t like Cash for Clunkers. I think it saved as the U.S. economy. Regardless of who you believe, C4C did prove that American truck owners, given a decent incentive, will trade in their old truck for ... a new truck.

In terms of MPGs, this doesn’t sound good. New Ford F-150s, for example, return only a one to three mph improvement over clunker F-150s traded in. (The F-150 has long been America’s best-selling vehicle, and it was the most common C4C swap for the same model, according to AP.) However, it’s not surprising. Trucks are popular, truck owners tend to be lifetime truck owners, and the pickup truck market, as I’ve pointed out many times now, has been horribly depressed.

Is there another indicator nestled in here someplace? True, this data shows that C4C was less about the environment than it was about stimulating auto sales (and, I would argue, auto loans). But how many of those old F-150s were worn-out trucks being traded in by contractors who’ve seen their work crushed by the housing downturn? Could it have been that in late summer and early fall, they were beginning to see signs that their business was, um, picking up?