Cash for Clunker's Nonsense, Part II

I saw the Department of Transportation list of the ten top selling cars during the Cash for Clunkers week, and thought it was a little strange. I saw this website today and thought the Edmunds method made more sense.

Here is the DOT list:

Rank DOT
1. Toyota Corolla
2. Ford Focus
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Prius
5. Toyota Camry
6. Hyundai Elantra
7. Ford Escape (FWD)
8. Dodge Caliber
9. Honda Fit
10. Chevrolet Cobalt

But I particularly like a couple of points in the Edmunds' list:

Rank Edmunds
1. Ford Escape
2. Ford Focus
3. Jeep Patriot
4. Dodge Caliber
5. Ford F-150
6. Honda Civic
7. Chevrolet Silverado
8. Chevrolet Cobalt
9. Toyota Corolla
10. Ford Fusion


Notice the Edmunds list has four Fords, two Chevolets and two Chryslers? And one of the Chevys is the Silverado, and one of the Chryslers is a Jeep!

The DOT list is dominated by the Japanese (5 to 4 American, to one Korean); yet the Edmunds list is American dominated (8, to two Japanese). Just so you know, I'm not an idiot; I know the name on the bumper has very little, if anything, to do with where the car is made, but I still like to think of Japanese cars as imports, even though a Toyota Camary is more American than a Pontiac G8, which in itself is a sorry state of affairs.

I also like the fact that the redheaded stepchild of American Auto Manufacturers dominated the Edmunds list, holding three of the top five spots. And where are the darlings of the Greens, the Prius and the Fit, on the Edmunds List?

Here's the question; were the DOT stats honest reporting of their interprtation of the sales numbers, or were they cooking the books to show the results they wanted?

Based on everything else this administration has done, I'm falling on the Cook the Books side.

Hell, even CNN thinks the DOT made a hash of it.

I guess even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile.