This is sure to brighten your Thursday evening: according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) numbers, motor vehicle output accounted for 47.78% of GDP growth in the third quarter. The Cash for Clunkers program had a huge impact on sales in the third quarter, leading to a huge spike in sales, but one that was not sustained after the end of the program. The BEA numbers mean that the real GDP growth rate from last quarter would likely have only been around 1.7% instead of the 3.5% including the government intervention. (It's difficult to know exactly what motor vehicle output would have been without the Cash for Clunkers program.)
Reason Foundation
Search Reason
Email Updates
Get weekly updates from Reason.
Today's Top Topics
77 Percent of Americans Oppose Raising the Gas Tax, Reason-Rupe Transportation Poll Finds
Banks Viewed Twice as Favorably as the Federal Government, Reason-Rupe Poll Finds
How the IPCC Reports Mislead the Public, Exaggerate the Negative Impacts of Climate Change and Ignore the Benefits of Economic Growth
Recent Posts 
- Preserving the Highway Trust Fund and Paying for Transit Projects (2/9)
- Housing Bubble Over? Hardly (2/9)
- In Nebraska Child Welfare Reform Should Focus on Removing Fewer Children not Starting New State Agencies (2/9)
- House Passes Legislation Putting the GSEs on Budget (2/8)
- Bernanke is Depriving Most Americans from Creating Real Wealth (2/8)
