A salesperson at Maroone Chevrolet in Fort Lauderdale told me that location stopped taking in clunkers on Friday. Maroone is owned by AutoNation. The program (and indeed the president) has many detractors (something about not wanting to give away taxpayer money), and some dealers aren't totally confident they'll get paid back.
As a result, most people affiliated with dealerships don't want to praise the program too strongly or criticize it. Too political, too personal. (The Maroone salesperson said it did wonders for their business.)
"It took off like a rocket," says the salesperson (who also asked to remain nameless), "then landed quietly." The dealers want to concentrate on doing what they need to get the rebates promised them. "There's lots of dotting I's and making sure every little T is crossed. And everything has to be just perfect or the dealers know they won't get the government money."
