Is the Cash for Clunker program really suspended? Actually the answer is no, not even at the same time. But, the question is, will the show be discontinued and when? If based on information from the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), then it is likely to happen.

Cash for Clunkers is the name given to the Car Allowance Rebate Scheme (CARS). In a real sense, take your old car, which has at least less than 18 miles per gallon and is between 8 and 25 years old, and as long as it’s scrapped, the program will give you a $3,500 to $4,500 discount on a new car that it is more fuel efficient. The US Congress provided $1 billion for the CARS program to support auto industry sales and the program is expected to run until November 1 or until funds run out or whichever comes first. .

It certainly shows that the funds ran out, but only in its first week, although the real problem is that no one really knows. As of July 29, around 23,000 cars sold under the program had been registered, meaning that $96 million of the funds had already been used. But the operative term there is “registered or registered”. So, to be eligible for the program, dealers must go through what is supposed to be an intricate registration procedure.

Some 100 pages of policies directing it and there is news that it could take at least 90 minutes to get a record into an accurate computer system run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Additionally, there are reports alleviating the system’s overload and that distributors are being eliminated in full flow and in fact prompting them to start up once again.

Therefore, the vital question is not how many car sales have already been registered under the program, but how many cars have been sold in total, registered or awaiting registration. In fact, this is the main problem after a survey by NADA. The survey says that about 25,000 deals have yet to be awarded by NHTSA, which is about 13 sales per store (2,000 dealers). It becomes an issue that, with 23,000 or so dealers participating in the CARS program, car dealers may already have surpassed the 250,000 car sales funded by the $1 billion Cash for Clunker program.

If the information is true, the program may not be discontinued yet, but it is likely to happen soon. Department of Transportation officials have been advising dealers that the program may be discontinued in due course. According to the White House, the program is not yet suspended, although options are being considered.

There are a few options presented to legislators. The CARS programs could simply claim victory and be done: the purpose was to support car sales, and if the funds run out within four days, that could be a positive stimulus. One more option is to provide more funding for the CARS program.