Yesterday, a programme was approved by Congress aimed at providing Government incentives of US$3500 to US$4500 to United States motorists who trade in their gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The program is being seen as a bane by State senators, who think that it will help hard-pressed car dealers and carmakers by bringing buyers into showrooms. The senators got support from President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, who made calls to wavering Democrats urging them to keep the plan alive. It was confirmed by Republican opponents that the program would widen the federal debt without doing much to get expensive-to-operate vehicles off the roads.

After winning the minimum number of votes needed to keep the programme in a US$106 billion war-spending plan on a 60-36 vote that the Senate passed later in the day, Senate supporters of the programme overcame a procedural hurdle by the plan's leading opponent, Republican Senator Judd Gregg.

The cash for clunkers was approved by the House of Representatives last week on a vote of 298-119 and Senate Democrats attached it to the war-spending bill.

Now the overall would go ahead for the signature from Obama. Congress was urged by Obama to agree by the consumer incentives for new car purchases as part of the Government's efforts to restructure General Motors and Chrysler Group.

A sum of US$1 billion would be provided by the bill for the programme from July through November. If adhered to the supporters then the programme was expected to be in place by early August. The programme would be implemented by the Transportation Department.

The basic motive of the programme is to aid replace vehicles built in model year 1984 or later.

However, it would be of no use for consumers owning an older car with a trade-in value greater than US$3500 to $4500. It is being predicted that US industry would register nearly 9.5 million vehicles sales in 2009, compared with more than over 13 million in 2008 and 16 million in 2007.