Toyota tops 'clunker' sales list

[FarCenter]

George Leopold
Automotive DesignLine
(08/25/2009 10:15 AM EDT)

WASHINGTON — Toyota Motor Co. was the primary beneficiary of the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" program, accounting for three of the top five models purchased by new car buyers, according to a new survey of the auto stimulus program.

Market researcher IBISWorld said Monday (Aug. 24), the day the auto sales program ended, that three Toyota models, the Corolla, Camry and Prius ranked first, fourth and fifth in sales, respectively. The Honda Civic (second) and the Ford Focus (third) rounded out the top five.

IBISWorld concluded that the government program did boost new car sales by about 700,000 units in 2009. Overall, 2009 auto sales are expected to decline by 20.5 percent, or 10.5 million vehicles. The program represents a "short-term fix , not a long-term solution," said auto analyst George Van Horn.

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The boost in new car sales came out the hides of used car dealers, IBISWorld found. The auto stimulus program is expected to account for 7 percent of the expected decline in 2009 used car sales, the market researcher said.

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http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219401412&cid=NL_eet

[madrchsod]

1. the cars,trucks,suv,and jeeps on the local dealers lot were absolute junk

i saw maybe two or three out of 40+ that might make a decent second or third market car.