Date published: 2009/05/09
The BBC says:
There is growing evidence that the government's forthcoming scheme to scrap hundreds of thousands of old cars is not that popular with motorists.
A new survey suggests most people who have studied the scrappage scheme have decided not to take advantage of it.
Researchers from car price guide Parker's questioned 600 people online.
It found that 70% of respondents said the scheme was not generous enough, and overall 81% said they would not be taking advantage of it.
The scrappage scheme starts on 18 May. If your car is at least 10 years old you can scrap it, in return for a substantial discount on a new car.
The government will provide a £1,000 subsidy for each car purchased, and manufacturers will provide at least a similar amount.
But Kieren Puffet, the editor of Parker's Guide, said many motorists have managed to find much larger discounts under existing deals.
The BBC gets this story wrong on several levels. First of all, the survey by Parker's is relatively meaningless (as most surveys are, especially online ones). But far more importantly, it is good news for the country if this poorly thought out car scrappage scheme proves to be a failure ("unpopular"), because it means the government will not be throwing (too much) money away subsidising car companies (for no great reason). And the story perfectly well indicates that there is no need for this scheme. The greatest reason that people are not buying new cars is that they cannot get credit, not that the price is too high. Unfortunately the BBC, in their desire to bash the government and/or give free publicity to Parker's, completely misses the point.
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