Automotive News - September 23, 2019 - Best Practices Supplement - A20

20 | SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
PLANET AUTOMOTIVE, GOLDEN, COLO.

CALLING FOR CLUNKERS
Dealer spurs movement
to crush old vehicles and
aid aspiring service techs
Published in Automotive News March 4, 2019

Eric Kulisch

autonews@crain.com

s Colorado moves to implement
stricter fuel economy rules and develop a zero-emission vehicle mandate modeled on California's program, the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association says its members are doing their part.
Members are participating in the association's nonprofit Clear the Air Foundation,
which accepts donations of old, high-polluting vehicles from dealerships, sells those vehicles
to scrap yards and uses
part of the proceeds to
fund scholarships for aspiring service technicians.
At the top of the leaderboard are Planet Honda
and Planet Hyundai, loPayne: Eliminate cated side by side in the
Denver suburb of Golden.
the problem.
Together they have donated 281 jalopies since 2015. They're followed
by John Elway Dealerships (262) and Pueblo
Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram (139).
Planet Automotive owner Lee Payne was instrumental in creating the program in 2007 as
an alternative to potential state regulations for
the sale of low-emission vehicles this decade.
A University of Denver study cited by the
foundation found that half of vehicle emissions measured come from fewer than 5 percent of vehicles, and Payne said he feels a
commitment to help get those high-polluting
vehicles permanently off the road.
"I care, too," he said. "I have kids and grandkids. I don't want to leave a filthy world behind for them to deal with. As the technology
gets better, you have to replace it."

No borders
Many counties in the state's urban areas require vehicles to pass periodic inspections as
a condition of registration, but there is no
statewide rule. Older vehicles often haven't
been properly maintained or lack the pollution control technology of newer models.
But resales of the old vehicles at auction

Above: After being harvested for usable parts,
vehicles are crushed and the metal is
shredded and recycled as part of the Clear the
Air Foundation program. Left: Planet
Automotive donated this 2003 Honda Civic
Hybrid with 207,023 miles to be scrapped.

keep them in circulation.
"I see those same cars getting stuck on a
truck and going out to rural Colorado, or oftentimes they'll head straight down I-25 and
go to Mexico. And we don't really solve the
problem. We just move the problem a little
bit," Payne said. "I just don't believe in shipping the problem somewhere else. I'm pretty
sure pollution is not aware of any borders."
Most dealers in the state, with Payne's encouragement, have participated in the program to
some degree, although luxury and small dealerships may not have as many clunkers rolling in
as a big mass-market store. Last year, the Planet
rooftops sold 1,925 new vehicles, 1,800 used
ones and 600 through wholesale channels.
When a high-polluting older vehicle comes
in as a trade-in, dealers notify the Clear the Air
Foundation, which arranges for a transporter
to haul the vehicle at no charge. Auto recyclers use an online bidding platform to pay
between $200 and $300 per vehicle, which
they harvest for usable parts. The engine, shell
Lee Payne's Planet Honda and Planet
Hyundai stores in Golden, Colo., are
the leading donors to a program that
seeks to get old, high-polluting
vehicles off the road and fund
scholarships for aspiring service
technicians.

and frame get crushed and the metal is shredded and recycled.
The Clear the Air Foundation said it received
572 vehicle donations in 2018 and has collected 3,760 vehicles since the program launched.
In some cases, Payne said, mentioning the
donation program during the sales process
can motivate someone to trade in a clunker.
"Think of it like cash for clunkers without
the cash," said Tim Jackson, CEO of the dealers association.

Help for students
There is money involved. While dealerships
get a tax deduction for their donation, the foundation uses some of the proceeds from the sales
to support Colorado students training to be service technicians, helping to fill a big need.
Last year, $50,000 in scholarship funds were
awarded or earmarked for students in community college or other vocational training programs. Matching dollars from school foundations put the total pot of money at $93,000.
Qualified applicants can receive up to
$2,500 in tuition or tool assistance.
Last year, foundation Director Mark Zeigler
began using a student discount program with
tool companies Snap-on and Matco to help
defray the cost of a technician's first tool set.
Students in qualified technical programs can
receive up to $5,000 in tool money from the
combined scholarship and discounts that average half the cost. a

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