[Sosfbay-discuss] car scrapping

[Jim Doyle]

I first heard of something similar in a report of a letter to the editor.
Originally I thought it was a little bit off the wall although it sounded
to me like a good idea in principle.

Now look at what there is in other parts of the globe
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=90905&sectionid=3510213

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:49:52 GMT
The German government increases the budget for its car-scrapping plan 
with goal of turning over up to two million cars, not just 600,000.

The government will triple the amount of money it originally set aside 
from 1.5b to 5b euros under a program which has been welcomed in the 
country.

The new car purchase incentive scheme came amid signs that the German 
economy still suffers from the contraction of international demand, as 
new figures show the country's exports continued to fall for the fifth 
month in a row.

The 2,500 euro bonus is for car owners who scrap cars at least nine 
years old and buy new ones. It was set up earlier this year in order to 
boost the country's auto industry as part of a wider 50b euro economic 
stimulus.

The number of applications for car-scrapping in Germany increased by the 
end of last week to 1.2 million. The government meanwhile announced that 
the program would be expanded, but has not yet clarified the details.

The German car industry, like those in many other countries, has been 
attempting to deal with a decrease in sales during the economic recession.

Scrapping schemes are now in operation in Austria, Portugal, Italy, 
Spain and France, while the UK is reportedly looking into a similar 
program.