Hyundai Scores Early With Cash for Clunkers

Hyundai became the first automaker to honor the government's Cash for Clunkers program-officially called Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) — even though program rules were just released on Friday morning. At that same time, dealers began to sign up to administer the vouchers, which range from $3,500 to $4,500.

Even though processing for the vouchers does not begin until Monday, Hyundai began honoring the CARS incentives on July 2, by backing dealerships with short-term cash advances as the rules were being written for the program. Since then, the Cash for Clunker trades have accounted for about 11 percent of Hyundai's sales so far this month, the company said.

The Hyundai Elantra was the most popular model purchased under the new CARS program, making up nearly 33 percent of sales. With manufacturer incentives and a full CARS rebate for a qualifying "clunker," consumers can purchase a new Elantra for as little as $8,620, Hyundai noted.

Behind Elantra, the Hyundai Sonata was the next most popular at 27 percent of clunker trade-ins, followed by the Accent at 19 percent.

Hyundai Motor America said its early statistics on Cash for Clunker trades show an average 59-percent fuel economy gain between the clunker and the new vehicle purchased.

Hyundai reports that 86 percent of the initial trades taken were a truck, SUV or van, and those trade-ins were replaced with a car. The average age of a trade-in model was nearly 14 years old; the average odometer reading was more than 140,000 miles. The average "clunker" achieves about 16 miles per gallon according to EPA data, while the average new car sold under the program achieves more than 25 mpg.

Hyundai's data shows 32 percent of the trade-in models reported by dealerships were Ford vehicles, followed by Dodge at 23 percent.

In addition to being credited for the government's clunker voucher, Hyundai buyers are covered by Hyundai Assurance, which allows buyers to return the vehicle if they lose their income and the Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock program, which offers a year's worth of gas at a guaranteed price of $1.49 per gallon.

The Cash for Clunkers program received $1 billion from Congress in funding and runs through November, or whenever the money runs out. Some buzz in Washington has the program being expanded with more funding beyond that point.