Cash for Clunkers helped all automakers move some metal during the month of August and now Ford is looking to capture lightning in a bottle up in the Great White North. Ford of Canada is working with the Clean Air Foundation to provide incentives of up to $3,000 for vehicles 15 years or older. Three hundred of those dollars would come from the Canadian government as part of its Retire Your Ride program.
The plan sounds good based solely on its ability to save customers up to $3,000 per clunker, but info from NRCan's Fuel Consumption Guide for Canada shows that the program will also save you big at the pump. Replace the typical sedan from 1995 with a 2010 Ford Fusion 2.5L and save $325 per year in fuel prices.Things look even better if you're driving an SUV from and you trade it in for a FWD 2010 Ford Escape 2.5L as you can shed $975 per year at the pump. The move is also good for the environment, as the Clean Air Foundation states that the average vehicle from 1995 emits 19 times more pollutants than a comparably sized 2004 model.
Here is how the incentives break down. The government's Retire Your Ride program offers $300, transit passes, discounts on bicycles and more to the owners of 1995 model year vehicles or older who turn in a clunker. The Blue Oval will pitch in $1,000 towards the purchase of a Ford car, $2,000 towards a crossover or SUV or $3,000 towards a Ford truck or Lincoln vehicle.
