“Cash for Clunkers” Launched Locally at Gee Automotive

SPOKANE, Wash.--On June 24, President Obama signed the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) into law, a new program that will provide consumers rebates of 3,500 – 4,500 USD when they purchase a new, more fuel efficient car or truck than they own today from a participating dealer. There will be a limit of 250,000 automobiles allowed to participate in the program on a first-come, first-served basis. The program began on July 1 and a budget of 1 billion USD has been allocated for CARS.

Gee Automotive is participating in this federally backed initiative, which allows the dealership to evaluate used cars and hold new car orders for prospective buyers until further program details are released in late-July. Gee Automotive has a web site where consumers can learn more details about qualifying vehicles at http://www.goseegee.com/cars/. To date, details on trade-in vehicles stipulate that they must:

• Have been manufactured less than 25 years before the date you trade it in
• Have a "new" combined city/highway fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon or less
• Be in drivable condition
• Be continuously insured and registered to the same owner for the full year preceding the trade-in
• Have been manufactured not later than model year 2001

“This is an innovative program unlike anything we have ever seen in the U.S.,” said Ryan Gee, president and CEO of Gee Automotive. “The government is paying consumers to help achieve broader goals of fuel efficiency, dependability and decreased auto emissions, but there is a limit on the number of participants allowed. We want local consumers to take advantage of CARS before that 250,000 limit is met.”

While the government will announce further details on the program in late-July, sales have been approved on qualifying automobiles beginning July 1, and credit amounts will be determined later this month based on the fuel-efficiency rating of the new vehicle compared to that of the vehicle traded in.

Similar programs have been rolled out in several European countries and have been widely regarded as successful. Germany saw an increase in sales of 40 percent on new, more fuel-efficient cars. The government there extended the program and expanded the budget as a result.

Fuel efficiency will be determined by ratings maintained jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

About Gee Automotive Companies

George Gee founded his first auto dealership in Spokane, Washington, in 1983. Today, Gee Automotive Companies has grown to consist of new and used car dealerships located in Pasco, Washington, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with a 68,000-square-foot flagship location in Liberty Lake, Washington, at 21502 E. Mission, which sits on 7.5 acres of land and includes a 44-bay service department. Gee dealerships carry Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Hummer, Porsche, Nissan, Cadillac and Kia throughout Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. The company has 139 employees and is locally owned and operated.

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