Cash for clunkers: Auto sales soar in Utah as hundreds ditch heaps, grab rebates

Last summer, when the price of gas hit $4.22 a gallon, Craig Sullivan parked his 1995 Chevrolet Suburban, which averaged 12 mpg.

"I couldn't afford to drive it," said Sullivan of Sandy. "Every 12 miles, I lost four bucks."

Sullivan wanted to get a smaller sports-utility vehicle but was looking for a bargain. It came in the form of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Car Allowance Rebate System, or "cash for clunkers."

On Monday, Sullivan traded in the Suburban for a tax rebate of $4,500 to purchase a Chevrolet Equinox, a midsize SUV that Sullivan hopes will average about 25 mpg on the highway.

Hundreds of Utahns have new wheels as part of the program, which almost ended last week when the Transportation Department alerted lawmakers that its $1 billion budget had nearly been exhausted in one week.

On Monday, the Obama administration pressured the Senate to approve another $2 billion for the program quickly, pointing to environmental gains made during the first week of the program and news that Ford Motor Co. reported its first U.S. sales increase in nearly two years.

"It's good for consumers. It's good for dealers and auto manufacturers," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "It's good for our energy security and our environment."

Gibbs said if the Senate fails to provide the extra money, "it's unlikely that we'll make it to the weekend with a program that can continue." He estimated the additional $2 billion would allow consumers to take advantage of the incentives through September.

Although the House approved the funding by a nearly 3-to-1 margin last Friday, conservatives who have criticized it as another taxpayer bailout for the auto industry have much more leverage to block it in the Senate.

There's little time left on the calendar — the Senate plans to take a four-week recess beginning Friday after it votes this week on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.

As politicians debate in Washington, local businesses — and not just car dealerships — are benefitting from the program. Chris Mantas, chief executive officer of Tear A Part auto recycling company on Redwood Road, said he has seen his business increase. Mantas has received about 150 clunkers in the past week.

"Most of the dealerships are sitting on close to 70 to 80 each," he said. "A lot of them are sitting on quite a bit of cars."

Most of the vehicles Mantas has received are what he calls "sleds."