Aug. 24 Daily News editorial

The curtain comes down at 5 p.m. today on “Cash for Clunkers.” That’s when auto dealerships must file their paperwork on all clunker trades in order to be repaid the promised $3,500 or $4,500 government rebate.

It’s been a wild, month-long ride for new auto buyers, dealerships and car makers. Started in late July, the auto industry bailout program burned through its initial $1 billion appropriation in just a week. Congress scrambled to provided an additional $2 billion to keep the program going. Now that’s just about gone, prompting the government to set today’s deadline for paperwork on clunker deals.

The program was wildly successful, surpassing all expectations. Cash for Clunkers was supposed to run until 250,000 new cars had been sold or until Nov. 1, whichever came first. Many skeptical lawmakers predicted the program would run out of time before it ran through the initial $1 billion appropriation. The skeptics were far off the mark.

As of last Wednesday, more than 450,000 cash-for-clunker sales had been submitted by dealers, representing a total of about $1.9 billion.

With the amount of showroom activity reported, the government felt it wise to set today’s deadline. Dealers probably would agree. No one wants to be making clunker deals after the money has run out, and the program hasn’t gone smoothly. The paperwork is extensive, and getting it right has been a real headache. The government, overwhelmed by response to the program, has been slow in processing clunker applications and getting the money to dealers. Some dealerships have yet to be reimbursed tens of thousands of dollars in clunker rebates. Understandably, many are become anxious about being reimbursed.

Despite the paperwork headaches and other bureaucratic glitches, Cash for Clunkers has been a highly effective stimulus program for an ailing auto industry. It’s brought buyers back to showrooms. The buzz has lured even buyers who don’t qualify for the program to dealerships. The spike in sales is bringing laid-off auto workers back to manufacturing plants. General Motors recently announced plans to rehire more than 1,300 workers, according to Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Stephen Manning. Hyundai has recalled 3,000 workers in Alabama, and automakers have been paying overtime to increase production.

Cash for Clunkers will almost certainly be history at the end of this day. There are no plans to again extend the program with another appropriation. But the temporary boost in sales it provided could not have been more timely. Certainly, the auto industry is better able to weather the remaining weeks and months of this economic downturn today than it was at the start of the summer.