Souder, Thomas spar on auto rebate
But his auto dealerships benefited from program, Souder says
By Sylvia A Smith
Washington editor
File photo
Bob Thomas
| Advertisement |
Auto dealer Bob Thomas has hammered Rep. Mark Souder, R-3rd, for supporting government vouchers to encourage people to trade in gas guzzlers, which Thomas called “that wasteful Cash for Clunkers fiasco.”
But Thomas’ three Indiana Ford dealerships sold nearly $2.7 million in vehicles through the 2009 rebate program designed to give the domestic car industry a boost and help get low-gas-mileage vehicles off the road.
Souder said Thomas’ criticism smacks of hypocrisy and said Cash for Clunkers was the kind of tax cut many Republicans support.
Thomas is trying to unseat Souder by challenging him in the May 4 Republican congressional primary.
Thomas said that despite the money his Ford dealerships made through Cash for Clunkers, it was a poor deal for taxpayers. He said his and other dealerships went into a three-month dry spell after the program ended, so it didn’t really help the industry.
According to a database compiled by the U.S. Transportation Department, Thomas-owned Dimension Ford North sold $1.4 million worth of cars and trucks during the Cash for Clunkers program. Dimension Fort West sold $252,000 in vehicles. Capitol City Ford in Indianapolis sold nearly $1 million worth of Fords.
When the program ended in August, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said nearly 700,000 cars were traded in, including more than 15,000 in Indiana. Owners got up to $4,500 to trade in cars and trucks with low gas mileage for new, fuel-efficient vehicles. Nearly one in seven vehicles purchased was a Ford.
Ford showed a strong third quarter last year, citing Cash for Clunkers as one reason. In an interview with The Journal Gazette when the company’s earnings report came out, the general manager of Dimension Ford West also credited the trade-in program.
“To be honest with you, I think the Cash for Clunkers program was a huge shot in the arm” for sales, Lance Lombrana said.
But Thomas has called Souder a big spender and “not a fiscal conservative,” in part because of his support for Cash for Clunkers.
The program was approved last summer by the House, 298-119, with 59 Republicans voting yes. In addition to Souder, Hoosier Republican Reps. Dan Burton and Steve Buyer supported the program. Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th, was the only Hoosier who opposed it.
“This program helped revive American auto sales, stabilized and called back hundreds of workers in our area and made big bucks for Bob,” Souder said Tuesday, adding that when Thomas was considering running for the Senate, he sent a letter to Indiana car dealers saying he would represent auto industry interests in Congress.
“Then when he filed (to run) against me, suddenly he was against Cash for Clunkers after receiving millions of dollars from the program,” Souder said. “His belated opposition seems political.”
Thomas said the program wasn’t successful from an environmental standpoint because the replacement cars only got one or two miles per gallon better fuel efficiency. And, he said, it “stimulated the economy of Korea and Japan,” not the U.S., because the most cars sold through the program were from brands headquartered in those countries.
Thomas said the program destroyed thousands of cars that were traded in, creating a used-car shortage.
“So at the very moment, in the midst of a major recession, when people are having their new cars or two-year-old cars repossessed, we take a large percentage of used cars off the market.”
