Not only do a lot of folks who turn well-used cars and trucks into treasured cruisers and resto-mods think "cash for clunkers" legislation is a bad idea, but also one auto--industry economist agrees.

 
Tom Webb of Mannheim Auto Auctions told Automotive News/autonews.com on Tuesday that there are a lot of unanswered questions about those programs, saying that destroying used cars and trucks that still have economic value and engineering life makes no sense, just as excluding the purchase of fuel-efficient used vehicles (as many of the proposed "Cash-for-Clunkers" bills do) makes no sense either.   

"I'm not prejudging these programs," Webb told Automotive News/autonews.com. "I just don't think these things have been well-thought-out yet."

Among the "Cash-for-Clunkers" bills being pushed on Capitol Hill is the one in the House of Representatives sponsored by  Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) that would give buyers $3,000 to $5,000 to turn in cars more than 8 years old if they buy a new (NOT used), North American-made (NOT an import) car that gets more than 27 mpg, or trucks getting more than 24 mpg.

Webb also told Automotive News/autonews.com that those "cash-for-clunkers incentives" would also hurt late-model used car prices, saying that the money paid by the Feds or state governments to new-car buyers would have the same effect on late-model used car prices as factory incentives (including rebates) has. He added that, in general, every $1,000 in factory cash cuts the price of same-make, current-model-year used cars by $700-800--implying that "Cash-for-Clunkers" legislation would likely do the same thing.