Hybrid Car Review

Dealing with a backlog of submissions, the Cash for Clunkers (CARS) program is now tripling the work force to process claims from dealerships. The number of public and private sector workers will go from 350 to 1,100 by the end of the week.

That's a lot of jobs to fill in just one week. I wonder what these people are going to do in a month or two when the program runs out of money?

The CARS program has now seen submissions for $1.6 billion for more than 390,000 vehicle sales. Details on the submissions have yet to be released, although edmunds.com and others are trying to keep track.

One little tidbit from edmunds, the Ford F-150 is number 2 on the list of vehicles being traded in to be recycled. But it's also number 8 on the list of vehicles being purchased. You don't see this sort of thing on the government releases.

GM and Honda are ramping up production slightly. GM is planning on building some more Chevy Malibu and Cobalts, while Honda is looking to make more Civics and CR-Vs. But don't expect them to be anything but cautious in producing more vehicles. Until the economy turns around, car makers are reluctant to build up inventory again.