Cash For Clunkers Top 20

I know about how statistics can lie, but it seems that numbers can mislead just as badly. The government, when it released its numbers on the Cash for Clunkers program, kept touting the top 10 vehicles being sold.

Too bad they didn't emphasize they were splitting up the two-wheel or four-wheel drive models. To be fair, the lists released did have FWD on them, but it's still misleading.

The choice they made to split up FWD and AWD tended to keep any trucks, as opposed to cars that don't have the options, down the list. Well, the numbers were released and the Detroit Free Press put together the list for us to see.

Top 20 models sold under the U.S. government’s cash-for-clunkers program, according to a Free Press analysis of data released this weekend.

1. Toyota Corolla 29,488
2. Honda Civic 28,456
3. Toyota Camry 27,137
4. Ford Focus 22,388
5. Ford Escape 21,894
6. Honda CR-V 20,106
7. Hyundai Elantra 19,797
8. Chevrolet Cobalt 16,724
9. Chevrolet Silverado 16,330
10. Nissan Versa 16,300
11. Ford F150 16,263
12. Honda Accord 15,922
13. Nissan Altima 15,426
14. Toyota RAV4 15,255
15. Toyota Prius 15,013
16. Ford Fusion 13,415
17. Honda Fit 12,361
18. Nissan Sentra 12,158
19. Chevrolet Aveo 11,557
20. Toyota Tacoma 10,692

As you can see, the Prius, which the government had at number 7, is actually number 15.  And the top 10 vehicles purchased using government money includes the Escape, CR-V, and Silverado.  And don't forget the F150 sitting at number 11.

Fuel economy definitely went up for the trade-ins, although the long term impact of the program will probably be minimal from a national standpoint.  But it's little things like this that make you wonder why they couldn't just release the numbers as the program was progressing?