As the Cash for Clunkers (CARS) program winds down and inventories begin to rise again on dealer lots, I felt a certain prerogative to examine what this program has potentially done for the driving enthusiast ranks.  Certainly the statistics http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2009/dot13309.htm show that the CARS program  has shifted many buyers from domestic  trucks to a majority of passenger cars… a decent start.  It also appears that the most of the leading vehicle models purchased have a decent enthusiast following and also have a lineup that includes a sports oriented model… even better.  But the real question lies in what percentage of these new car owners will realize the epiphany of the joy of driving after switching to a much smaller and much more nimble version of their former clunker, effectively converting them to a level of driving enthusiast!  I’ll take even a one percent conversion ratio any day.

An interesting negative result from the CARS program that I’ve experienced has certainly been a level of arrogance that has resurfaced at a few of the dealerships that I’ve recently visited… very different than a few months earlier.  Less supply, more demand = arrogance.  I felt like I was in a Porsche dealership with ripped jeans in the late 80s… of course I was at a local Honda dealership looking at the last Insight on their lot trying to figure out how much I would need to spend on it to make it handle anything close to decently since they were all out of the Fit Sport.  Looking forwards to a switch back to a buyers market when they are up to their noses in excess inventory again…