‘Cash for Clunkers’ Yielded Almost 700,000 Sales

The U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” vehicle trade-in program produced almost 700,000 automobile sales, the Transportation Department said.

Rebate applications valued at $2.88 billion were submitted by the deadline, the department said today in a statement. The program, which offered buyers discounts of as much as $4,500 to trade in older cars and trucks for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles, ended Aug. 24. The government granted dealers an extra day to file repayment applications.