Washington/New York  - In the search for medicine against the ailments of the US car industry, envious, desperate eyes have been cast across the Atlantic to a therapy that's helping to heal European counterparts.

When extra money for old, inefficient cars was offered to buyers in Germany and other European countries, the success of the programmes made headlines in the United States - and caught the attention not only of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler but also of US Congress.

Several bills have been proposed in Congress, and President Barack Obama and Detroit's beleaguered car makers are intrigued.

But not everyone is happy about a homegrown version of Europe's sales promotion as the US "cash-for-clunkers" programme gets underway. Foreign car makers and importers are in fact quite worried.

The US proposal is similar to those in Europe. Owners of old, fuel-inefficient automobiles are to receive a coupon for between 3,000 and 5,000 dollars if they junk their old car and buy a low- emissions model. The programme would benefit not only car sales but also the environment.

The US auto industry estimates that such a programme could generate sales of 500,000 to 1.5 million cars a year - a result that no one in Detroit would sneeze at.

The US car market is in steep decline. In 2008, sales plummeted from 16 million to 13.2 million vehicles. For 2009, experts project the figure will drop under 10 million cars. In March, the market was down by 37 per cent over March 2008: one-time world top manufacturer General Motors led the sorry figures with a minus 45 per cent, followed by Ford with minus 41 per cent and Chrysler with minus 39 per cent.

Obama believes the cash-for-clunkers idea is an "ambitious incentive" and signalled he intended to free up money from the 787- billion-dollar stimulus programme passed by Congress in February.

But the problems begin with the national pedigree of the cars Washington will help buy. One draft bill version proposed by Democratic Representative Betty Sutton would restrict the cash coupon to cars made in the United States or ones assembled in Canada and Mexico.

Another version from Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein would place no limits on the car's origins as long as it gulps less fuel. According to the US magazine BusinessWeek, Sutton's protectionist version, which reflects the increasing populist leanings of a national constituency worried about their economic future, has better chances of passing.

"The (Sutton) bill as written is unfairly protectionist," the spokesman for Mazda North America Jeremy Barnes was quoted as saying in BusinessWeek.

German carmakers on the other hand have mixed sentiments. They particularly fear their position would be undermined if only US-made automobiles are promoted.

"Any program must treat all manufacturers equally, regardless of where their corporate headquarters is located," Steve Keyes, spokesman for Volkswagen in the United States, told the German news agency, dpa.

VW would appear to be the most vulnerable to protectionist restrictions on the clunker programme. The company is planning a factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but currently produces no cars in the US.

But a mass producer like VW would definitely benefit from the version that would place no such limits.

"A program modeled after the successful, German fleet modernization program, which allowed consumers to purchase a new vehicle of their choosing, is a good starting point," VW spokesman Keyes said.

On the other hand, BMW and Mercedes, with plants in the US for more than 10 years - in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, respectively - have less to fear from such a protectionist bent. But even a programme that would not restrict a vehicle's pedigree would likely benefit them less if the US government puts a maximum price on cars being bought with the cash premium, since they produce models in the upper price range.

"If such a programme materializes, then it should not have anti- competitive consequences," BMW North America's spokesman Jan Ehlen told dpa. "The US government is already doing a lot to support its auto industry. Any more programmes could make other branches of industry jealous."

Daimler did not want to comment on the cash-for-clunker proposals.

"It's too soon, because there are no concrete decisions," a US spokesman said.

Such moves could and should come quickly, supporters of the idea say, before the new idea boomerangs against the foundering car industry. As long as a cash-for-clunker premium is stuck on the drawing board, potential buyers "will wait on the sidelines until it passes or fails," Ford's chief sales analyst George Pipas warned in BusinessWeek.

That's the last thing US carmakers need - another round of sales like those in March. (dpa)