But the prospect is real that the cash-for-clunkers program could die in ...

Throughout our opposition of the federal cash for clunkers legislation, it can seem we collector car hobbyists are but tiny voices barely heard over the Washington din. Which is why we should be thankful for SEMA’s opposition efforts. Stuart Gosswein, the director of Regulatory Affairs at SEMA, recently sent us a letter letting us know how their battle against cash for clunkers proceeds.

The car collector community can be assured that SEMA has been in the trenches fighting cash for clunkers tooth and nail. However, this battle is being fought in front of cameras and behind the scenes. When cash for clunkers was a high-visibility target during the winter, SEMA used the collective and vocal clout of SEMA members & hobbyist groups to help defeat the legislation.

Since then, the campaign has largely been fought in the halls of Congress, as lawmakers faced pressure to enact a scrappage program comparable to those that had received favorable reviews in countries around the world. When President Obama endorsed the concept of scrappage on March 30th – the handwriting was on the wall.

In March, SEMA sent an open letter to President Obama in opposition to scrappage. In April, SEMA published and distributed to congressional lawmakers an analysis (“Cash for Clunkers – Facts/Fiction”) which challenged environmental claims and promoted better solutions for selling cars and cleaning the environment. Both documents received widespread attention in the press.

For months, behind the scenes and in front of microphones, SEMA has mounted its largest grassroots lobbying effort to date.  If it is impossible to prevent passage of a cash for clunkers bill, we will continue to fight to shape the legislation to ensure that it will have the least negative impact on the collector car hobbyist community. In that, you can trust.

Feel like helping SEMA on this front? They’ve put together a list of federal legislators who are members of the Congressional Automotive Performance and Motorsports Caucus, so write to them first and let them know how misguided any cash for clunkers proposal is - whether it’s H.R. 1550, H.R. 520, S. 247 or the Waxman energy bill that appears to be the latest cash for clunkers vehicle.

The other major industry group to step forward against cash for clunkers, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, has kept a website dedicated to fighting scrappage bills called fightcashforclunkers.com.

Cash for Clunkers would prematurely destroy vehicles and their valuable parts and components, denying more affordable used vehicles to millions of low and middle income families who cannot afford to purchase a new car even with a $3,000 to $5,000 government voucher.

“Providing incentives for individuals to purchase fuel efficient vehicles or to have their current vehicle maintained would be a better use of federal money,” said Aaron Lowe, vice president of government affairs for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association. “The bottom line is that Cash for Clunkers is a bad idea and should be rejected by Congress.”

In other c4c news:

* The Detroit Free Press has gone on record supporting any cash for clunkers legislation with an editorial stating

From Michigan’s vantage point, anything that boosts auto sales cannot come soon enough. But the prospect is real that the cash-for-clunkers program could die in the midst of a standoff over a cap-and-trade plan for global warming gases or other energy-related disputes. Congress needs to understand the economic urgency here, as well as the longer term energy concerns.

I particularly like that passage because it exposes the true nature of cash for clunkers - help automakers first, then greenwash it and hope that sticks. Yes, we’re all for saving American jobs, and we’d hate to see Detroit descend any further into the crapper, but this is not the way to do it.

* There’s now some political wrangling over whether to include cash for clunkers in Waxman’s energy bill. It’s too early to get our hopes up that these politics will stall cash for clunkers legislation, though.

* The Wall Street Journal decries the current cash for clunkers proposal as toothless: It seems they would rather see one that would actually benefit the environment than the latest compromise. Still, they’re not on our side.

* Edmunds reports that automakers could see a huge bust if cash for clunkers fails, simply because people are now waiting on the sidelines for it to pass. There go your “it’s only voluntary” arguments, Mr. Voelcker.

* Aside from that local NPR story we mentioned earlier, CBS News is the first news outlet we’ve seen that presented a c4c story that actually presented arguments against cash for clunkers, noting both that it’ll do little to help the environment and that it may cause harm to poor taxpayers.

* With their podcast today, Scientific American declares any such scrappage bill currently considered by Congress a clunker in itself.

* We see in various other reports that the Automotive Service Association and Hagerty both expressed misgivings about cash for clunkers.

* And finally, we’d like to welcome RideLust to the opposition.

UPDATE (8.April 2009): The Automotive Recyclers Association weighed in on cash for clunkers.

What may be a voluntary program for a consumer turning in a vehicle under the “Cash for Clunkers” program now quickly becomes a compulsory program for non-participating consumers later because of reduced access to replacement parts, which in turn causes inflated prices. Not to mention that these recycled automotive replacement parts have the same performance, safety, fit, and durability standards because they were made by the Original Equipment Manufacturers. The Automotive Recyclers Association’s (ARA) Executive Vice President Michael E. Wilson questions the sensibility of the program given the current situation of the automotive manufacturers. “With the daily questions in the media about the economic survival of major automobile manufacturers and their suppliers, how irresponsible is it for Congress to push for the needless scrapping of millions of replacement parts when the very supply chain for new parts is in jeopardy.”

But it also looks like some scrap yards are licking their chops so they can make better margins on $100 per ton scrap prices.

Also, if you’re really interested in that MPG Illusion argument for cash for clunkers, the New York Times has an analysis. Reuters also takes a stab at it.

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