WASHINGTON, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives of the automotive
aftermarket industry vow to fight federal funding of old vehicle scrappage
("car crusher") programs included in the U.S. Department of Transportation's
"Safe and Flexible Transportation Efficiency Act of 2003" (SAFETEA) which was
released yesterday.
Title I, Section 1601 of the SAFETEA would reverse a long-standing
prohibition on federal funding of state-run vehicle scrappage plans through
the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ),
administered by the Federal Highway Administration. In this case, U.S.
taxpayer dollars would be used to purchase and crush cars made in 1979 and
before.
Scrappage will not achieve its intended goal of improving air quality, but
it will damage automotive aftermarket businesses and eliminate American jobs.
Under the ill-conceived program, states would use federal CMAQ funds to
turn pre-1980 vehicles into blocks of scrap metal. "Classic" or "parts cars"
would not be spared from the crusher. Salvageable used parts would be lost
rather than being rebuilt and reused to keep other vehicles running.
In reality, the federal dollars would likely purchase 24+ years old cars
that are not frequently driven. The program would also have a
disproportionately adverse effect on lower and fixed-income Americans who
depend on older vehicles and their replacement parts for daily transportation.
In addition, there is no guarantee scrapped vehicles would be replaced by
cleaner running or more fuel-efficient models. Scrappage programs typically
offer owners who surrender vehicles for crushing a cash payment towards the
purchase of another vehicle. However, the payment hardly is enough to cover
the cost of even a down payment on a newer used car; and there is nothing to
prevent someone from receiving payment for scrapping a clean-running and fuel-
efficient 1979 compact car and replacing it with a potentially more-polluting,
and likely less fuel-efficient light truck or SUV.
"Old car" scrappage programs sound good but they don't work. Congress has
abandoned at least nine such measures over the past decade once they became
educated to the fact that scrappage programs are not cost-effective and do not
positively impact air quality emissions. In addition, the automotive
aftermarket industry's substantial experience with state-level scrappage
proposals indicates that most states elect not to use or discontinue
implementation of vehicle scrappage programs as a method for meeting air-
quality goals based on their cost and failure to demonstrate real benefits.
The automotive aftermarket industry supports the nation's clean air goals.
In fact, we manufacture, rebuild, market, retail, service and install products
that produce cleaner emissions, and we are always looking for ways to improve
these products and services. Federally funded scrappage programs will not
improve air quality. They will, however, wreak havoc in the automotive
aftermarket and cost American jobs.
This bulletin is written on behalf of the Alliance of Automotive Service
Providers (AASP), Automatic Transmission Service Group (ATSG), Automotive
Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), Automotive Engine Rebuilders
Association (AERA), Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association (APRA), Automotive
Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA), Production Engine Remanufacturers
Association (PERA), SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, Service
Stations Dealers of America and Allied Trades (SSDA-AT) and Tire Industry
Association (TIA)
The automotive aftermarket is a nearly $250 billion industry which employs
approximately four million Americans in all 50 states. It is comprised of
independent businesses that manufacture, rebuild, distribute, retail and
install vehicle parts and perform service on all types of motor vehicles,
including the older vehicles this legislation targets. Vehicle owners
throughout the United States depend daily on aftermarket parts and service.
SOURCE SEMA
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Related links:
http://www.sema.org
CONTACT:
Scott Franzmeier of AASP, +1-651-265-7853,
Aaron Lowe of AAIA, +1-301-654-6664, Michael Conlon of APRA,
+1-202-331-7050, Brian Caudill of SEMA, +1-202-783-0865, Paul
Fiore of SSDA-AT, +1-301-390-4405, ext. 102, or Becky MacDicken
or TIA, +1-703-642-3162
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