700K Cars Sold Under Clunkers

The final numbers for the Cash for Clunkers are in, and they’re pretty rosy, the Los Angeles Times reports. Dealers had until yesterday to file for rebates, and the total was 690,114 new cars sold—and 690,114 clunkers traded in—for a total of $2.9 billion, just shy of the congressional allotment of $3 billion. “This is one of the best economic news stories we've seen,” says Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Domestic automakers might not be so keen on the program: The top three vehicles bought under the program were foreign-made, led by the Toyota Corolla. All top-10 trade-ins were US-made, led by the Ford Explorer. The average fuel economy for the new vehicles was 24.9 mpg. Not so hot, you say? That’s an increase of 58% over the average mileage of the trade-ins. (More Cash for Clunkers stories.)