The Tryon dealership has been paid so far for two of the eight vehicles sold from the government and is awaiting payment for the final six.

Cash for Clunkers, which ended recently, was a federal program to get vehicles with poor gas mileage off the road and disposed of. Under the program, dealerships paid participants up to $4,500 per qualifying vehicle to be junked in trade for a new, more fuel efficient model.

Nearly 700,000 clunkers were taken off the roads during the program, replaced by far more fuel efficient vehicles, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

&bsp;Rebate applications worth $2.877 billion were submitted by the 8 p.m. deadline, under the $3 billion provided by Congress to run the program. In North Carolina, dealers requested $78.6 million in rebates.

Cars made in America topped the most-purchased list, from the Ford Focus to the Toyota Corolla to the Honda Civic.

According to a preliminary analysis by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the CARS program will:

&ull; Boost economic growth in the third quarter of 2009 by 0.3-0.4 percentage points at an annual rate thanks to increased auto sales in July and August.

&ull; Sustain the increase in GDP in the fourth quarter because of increased auto production to replace depleted inventories.

&ull; Create or save 42,000 jobs in the second half of 2009. Those jobs are expected to remain well after the program&squo;s close.

Ford and General Motors recently announced production increases for both the third and fourth quarters as a result of the demand generated by the program. Honda also said it will be increasing production at its U.S. plants in East Liberty and Marysville, Ohio and in Lincoln, Ala.

In addition, the program provides good news for the environment. That&squo;s because 84 percent of consumers traded in trucks and 59 percent purchased passenger cars. The average fuel economy of the vehicles traded in was 15.8 miles per gallon and the average fuel economy of vehicles purchased is 24.9 mpg. ‐ a 58 percent improvement.

C.A.R.S. program statistics

Dealer transactions

Number submitted:&bsp; 690,114

Dollar value:&bsp; $2,877.9M

Top 10 new vehicles purchased

1.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Toyota Corolla

2.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Honda&bsp; Civic

3.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Toyota Camry

4.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Ford Focus FWD

5.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Hyundai Elantra

6.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Nissan&bsp; Versa

7.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Toyota Prius

8.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Honda&bsp; Accord

9.&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; Honda&bsp; Fit

10.&bsp;&bsp; Ford Escape FWD

New vehicle manufacturers

Toyota&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 19.4%

General Motors&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 17.6%

Ford&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 14.4%

Honda&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 13.0%

Nissan&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 8.7%

Hyundai&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 7.2%

Chrysler&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 6.6%

Kia&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 4.3%

Subaru&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 2.5%

Mazda&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 2.4%

Volkswagen&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 2.0%

Suzuki&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 0.6%

Mitsubishi&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; .5%

MINI&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; .4%

Smart&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 0.2%

Volvo&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 0.1%

All Other&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; &t;0.1%

Top 10 trade-in vehicles

1.&bsp; Ford Explorer 4WD

2. Ford F150 Pickup 2WD

3.Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD

4. Ford Explorer 2WD

5. Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan 2WD

6. Jeep Cherokee 4WD

7. Chevrolet Blazer 4WD

8. Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2WD

9. Ford F150 Pickup 4WD

10. Ford Windstar FWD Van

Vehicles purchased by category

Passenger Cars:&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 404,046

Category 1 Truck:&bsp;&bsp; 231,651

Category 2 Truck:&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 46,836

Category 3 Truck:&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 2,408

Vehicle trade-in by category

Passenger Cars:&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 109,380

Category 1 Truck:&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 450,778

Category 2 Truck:&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 116,909

Category 3 Truck:&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp;&bsp; 8,134

84 percent of trade-ins under the program were trucks, and 59 percent of new vehicles purchased are cars. The program worked far better than anyone anticipated at moving consumers out of old, dirty trucks and SUVs and into new more fuel-efficient cars.

Average fuel economy

New vehicles mileage: 24.9 MPG

Trade-in mileage:&bsp; 15.8 MPG

Overall increase: 9.2 MPG, or a 58 percent improvement

Cars purchased under the program are, on average, 19 percent above the average fuel economy of all new cars currently available, and 59 percent above the average fuel economy of cars that were traded in. This means the program raised the average fuel economy of the fleet, while getting the dirtiest and most polluting vehicles off the road.