GAS GUZZLERS— Traded-in “clunkers” fill the back lot at DCH Toyota in Simi Valley on Tuesday, having earned their owners up to $4,500 toward new, more fuel-efficient cars. GM Nick Dunlea said customers rushed in during the final days of the original Cash for Clunkers program, unsure whether or not it would be extended. Longtime Simi residents Floyd and Pat Shelby had been thinking about getting a new car for a while.

Their 1998 Ford Expedition had racked up 180,000 miles and they weren’t sure how much longer it would last. It didn’t help that the gas-guzzling SUV got a measly 13 miles per gallon.

And even though auto dealers had been advertising enticing deals for months, the Shelbys still weren’t moved to go out and buy.

That is, until they heard about the government’s Car Allowance Rebate System, better known as Cash for Clunkers.

“The Cash for Clunkers program motivated us to come in sooner,” Pat Shelby said, sitting at a table with her husband in the middle of the Simi Valley Ford dealership Tuesday night. “We would have been able to (buy a car without the program), but it worked out better than we thought because when we got here we found out about other (factory) rebates.”

Cash for Clunkers is a $1billion federal rebate program that gives buyers up to $4,500 toward a new, more eco-friendly vehicle when they trade in their old gasguzzling car or truck. The goal of the program is threefold: to energize the economy, boost auto sales and put more fuel-efficient cars on the road.

Car buyers can receive a $3,500 or $4,500 discount from a participating dealer depending on how great the improvement in mileage of the new vehicle is over the mileage of the trade-in.

Eligibility requirements and qualifying trade-in vehicles can be found online at www.cars.gov.

The Shelbys got $4,500 for their 11yearold Expedition and purchased a 2009 white Ford Flex, a smaller crossover vehicle. Mileagewise, it’s a big improvement since the Flex gets up to 24 mpg.

While customers are seeing the benefits of the program in their pocketbooks, dealers are seeing significantly increased sales. Consistent with nationwide statistics, the Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla are leading the pack as the most popular replacement vehicles in Simi.

“The amount of cars we have sold, when you look from weekend to weekend, it’s been dramatic,” said Nick Dunlea, general manager at DCH Toyota. “It hasn’t stopped yet. We still have many inquiries. Our phone is ringing off the hook.”

As of Tuesday, the dealership had sold 76 cars through the program.

The program experienced immediate success after it was implemented July 24, plowing through its $1-billion budget the first week.

Dunlea said during the last weekend in July the dealership was overrun with customers who wanted to get in on the program after hearing the money was running out. As a result, his staff has worked 16-hour days and the back lot is piled with “clunkers” waiting to be hauled off to a wrecking yard.

Though the program ran for just one week in July, Larry Hibbler, president and owner of Simi Valley Ford, said his sales improved by 90 percent compared to the same month last year.

“We were already on track to have the best month we’ve had since the spring of last year but Cash for Clunkers made it a super month,” Hibbler said.

Ford was still offering the program this week and seeing a steady flow of customers, causing the store to run low on inventory, he said.

But some dealers, such as the First Auto Group—which includes First Honda, First Nissan and First Kia—were unwilling to keep the program going this past week for fear of having to foot the bill for the rebates.

“Among the three stores, we’ve taken in about 80 (clunkers),” said Joe Vece, general sales manager for First Honda, “which represents about $300,000 that the dealerships put forward to the customer and we haven’t been reimbursed by the government yet. It’s a big risk that the dealers are taking.”

He said the government only guaranteed dealers that money would be available through last Sunday, so as of Monday, the First Auto Group suspended Cash for Clunkers.

While the program can’t last forever, all three dealers would like to see it extended because customers still want to buy.

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (RThousand Oaks) told the Acorn that he’s not in favor of extending Cash for Clunkers.

“I voted no on it twice because I personally think there’s a lot better uses of the hard earned tax dollars that people are paying to stimulate this economy to keep things going than this…” said Gallegly, who pointed out the program isn’t only helping U.S. automakers.

“If we’re going to save them (General Motors), why are we propping up all the other car manufacturers around the world?” he said.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $2billion extension last Friday, and at press time, the Senate was expected to pass the bill in a vote on Thursday. It would then be sent to President Barack Obama to sign into law.