Clunkers cash trickling in to dealerships

The Cash for Clunkers program might have kick-started auto sales, but the reimbursement money is taking a while to get from the government to vehicle dealers. “The cash is starting to come in, but it’s slow,” says Bob Israel, president of the Louisiana Auto Dealers Association. Israel says he sent out an e-mail joke to dealers on Friday, offering to give a prize to the first one to get reimbursement money from the government. “I got two takers Saturday morning,” he says. Dealers, who have praised the benefits of the program, blamed problems on a slow reporting system and 136 pages of changing rules. The cash program gives people up to $4,500 to trade in old, gas-guzzling vehicles for new, fuel-efficient cars.