The "Cash for Clunkers" program, designed to generate some life into the country's miserable economy, may be getting a bailout of its own, and it could come sooner rather than later.

On the heels of reports that funds for "Cash for Clunkers" was drying up due to its sudden popularity, the House of Representatives passed emergency legislation Friday that will bring more money into the program. An additional $2 billion will be moved into the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) after the initial $1 billion investment nearly disappeared in the first week customers could take advantage of the incentive that would knock thousands of dollars off the price of a newer, more full efficient car in exchange for an older, gas-guzzling model. The Senate could vote on the measure as soon as Monday.

"I don't think they anticipated the response," Stamey Hardin, owner of Thomasville GM Superstore on National Highway, said. "They got a little overwhelmed. The servers just got knocked out. Everyone was apprehensive this morning. We were on a conference call with all the dealers in North Carolina and we weren't sure what was going on. All we had was the media saying the program was suspended but we didn't have any official word. We continued to do business."

Hardin has seen the affects of the program first-hand. In the past two days alone, Hardin has had eight people take advantage of the trade-in and expects that trend to continue. He believes one cause for the problem was many of the larger dealers had already pre-sold hundreds of cars since the program began on July 1. Once dealers got all the rules for the program last week, there was an overload on the system from dealers wanting their federal dollars.

"We have seen a very good response so far," said Hardin. "Your taking low gas mileage vehicles off the road. In addition to the incentive packages some dealers are offering, you could get as much as $10,000 off the price of a new car. It's a win-win for everybody. It has been everything I hoped for and more. You have consumer confidence and it puts money back into the community."

With news that the program will continue, Hardin expects even more people to capitalize on the chance to upgrade their ride. Should a vehicle meet all the guidelines, a person could receive as much as $4,500 in trade value.

"The more they learn about it, the more they will look around and say I have $4,500 sitting out in my driveway," Hardin said. "As opposed to getting maybe $500 for a trade-in. It was designed to stimulate the economy and so far it's working."

Cars that get between four and eight miles per gallon more than their trade-in are eligible under the program. Hardin said most of the new cars get in excess of 30 mpg. With the infusion of the $2 billion, Hardin figured it would equal as many as 750,000 cars that will get traded in.

"You get a new car that gets better mileage that you don't have to put money into maintenance," said Hardin. "Not to mention you have a cleaner environment. It's a good deal. There's no reason not to take advantage of it."

For more information on the "Cash for Clunkers" program, call Thomasville GM Superstore at 472-5650.

Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 888-3578, or at duke@tvilletimes.com.