Zach Wamp

Got a gas-gulping clunker? Some in Congress want you to ditch it in favor of a zippy, lightweight gas sipper.

They’re proposing a voucher system that could give motorists up to $4,500 to make that trade happen.

The plan delights auto producers, who have had a hard time selling vehicles in the current economic climate.

“There’s no question that this is a really tough market. And that’s why we actually need some stimulus to get it going,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., during an interview on “Larry King Live” two weeks ago. “What that does is really two things. One, it helps the environment by getting the less fuel-efficient, less-clean cars off the road. And the other thing it does is it helps stimulate sales.”

But not everyone is completely sold on the plan, including Chattanooga’s congressman, who says he backed away from his own similar proposal because the notion is just too complicated.

“About a year ago, I tried to prepare legislation under my name to accomplish the same goal,” said Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga. “We didn’t move forward with it, principally because there are problems with it.”

The plan has passed the Energy and Commerce as well as Transportation and Infrastructure committees and may be headed for a vote in the full House in coming weeks.

“States that have tried it found it was hard to implement it,” Rep. Wamp said. “Certain people will try to trade in cars that they didn’t drive. Or they would buy used cars to trade in.”

The current plan would reward consumers who made the biggest leap from fuel inefficiency to gas savings. Details released last week by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce suggests passenger cars being traded in must get a combined EPA rating of less than 18 mpg. To be eligible for the cash incentives, new cars must get at least 22 mpg.

Mileage improvements of at least 4 mpg will net consumers $3,500, while improvements of 10 mpg or higher pay the maximum of $4,500.

Trucks and sport utility vehicles get some leniency. Minimum fuel economy for those types of new vehicles is 18 mpg, and mileage needs to improve by 2 mpg to qualify for a $3,500 voucher; $4,500 vouchers come with improvements of 5 mpg. Requirements for large light-duty trucks and work trucks are even less stringent.

If you give up the old vehicle, don’t expect to see it on the road again. The current plan requires the clunker to go to the scrap heap so it can’t continue to puff carbon into the atmosphere.

Some consumers might not want to take part in the program if the trade-in value for their so-called clunker is greater than the voucher, dealers speculate.

But Congress shouldn’t drag its feet, says one area Toyota dealer. Already, consumers have heard about the $4,500 deal being floated, and they have decided to wait to buy.

“In some ways, it’s hurt our business,” said Jonathan Logan, sales manager for North Georgia Toyota in Dalton, Ga. “People have come in, asked, and we told them it’s not available yet, so they’ve decided to wait.”

Mr. Logan said a previous tax incentive was creating huge demand for his lot of hybrids. There was actually a waiting period, but those tax credits expired earlier this year, right around the time sales of all cars slowed down, he said.

“The hybrids were the most popular cars we had when there was a tax credit,” Mr. Logan said. “Since the end of that, the sales have waned somewhat.”

Rep. Wamp said the incentive plan is particularly good for car dealers, who thus far haven’t seen a direct boost from all the stimulus money being used to bail out auto dealers.

“The problem with all the bailouts of the auto industry is that it doesn’t stimulate the retail sector,” Rep. Wamp said. “Back in the fall ... if we could have liquidated all the cars on the lots, that would have done more for the auto industry than any bailout could have.”