Procrastinators Rush In as Clunkers Runs Out

Cash for Clunkers revved into overdrive during its final weekend, the New York Times reports. After Thursday’s announcement that the Car Allowance Rebate System would end tomorrow at 8pm, consumers across the country raced to dealerships, resulting in long lines, epic haggling sessions, and hours of overtime work. “Everybody who was thinking about it is rushing through the door,” a salesman says. “The only problem is we’re running out of cars.”

As of Friday, the clunkers program had received half a million applications, and one Georgia dealership closed 11 such deals in a single morning. Some car owners were nostalgic about trading in their old piles—“My eyes are getting watery right now just thinking about it,” one says—but most seemed to relish the opportunity. “I’m just doing my part for the new socialism,” one man says. (More Cash for Clunkers stories.)