The new car smell has worn off.
Just hours after Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and James Flemming, president of the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association, held a news conference calling for fixes to the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program, they got their wish.
Thursday afternoon, the Associated Press reported that the program is slated to end at 8 p.m. EDT on Monday.
Blumenthal and Fleming said they've sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood saying that while the program has been a nationwide success, certain requirements and procedures are creating needless headaches for consumers and retailers.
Their recommendations included:
- expediting the processing of dealer applications for credits
- allowing consumers to keep used vehicles while applications for credits are processed
- providing ways to ease dealer accounting and record-keeping
- and setting a deadline for the program to avoid confusion and anxiety.
Blumenthal said the automotive model needs a tuneup and that success has bogged down the "Cash For Clunkers" program. Many dealers now risk $4,500 and many consumers are losing the use of their old cars without receiving new ones because they're waiting for the governor to sign off, he said.
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Fleming said 270 dealerships, along with 13,000 people employed in those dealerships and thousands of Connecticut consumers, are benefiting from the program.
