For months, James and Janice Hudson have been checking and rechecking the requirements for the federal cash-for-clunkers program, planning to put the $4,500 rebate toward a replacement for their 1997 Chrysler Concorde, which has 200,000 miles.

But the Hudsons, who live in Manchester, saw their planning go to waste after the government changed their Chrysler's fuel economy estimate just last weekend. The revisions, they said, were unfair, unadvertised, out of the blue.

Even more abrupt, however, was the news last night that the government would suspend the $1 billion program, prompted by concerns that the money has already been depleted, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Unclear last night was how long the suspension would last, how much money had been used, or what would happen to pending transactions. The program, which offers people with older, gas-guzzling cars up to $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle, gives customers the rebate up front as a discount on the new car. The dealership then files for a reimbursement.

Though the program was signed into law last month, the government hadn't issued final rules until last Friday, and that's when most dealers began making sales - and submitting reimbursement requests. Last night, the government's website said the program had $779 million left to spend, but that figure doesn't account for reimbursements that are pending.

The reimbursement process had troubled dealers, who reported being logged off the government's website mid-transaction and said they had spent hours calling the program's hotline, said Pete McNamara, president of the New Hampshire Auto Dealers Association.

McNamara did not return a call for comment about the program's suspension last night. In an interview earlier this week, he described the program's rollout as a "nightmare" and said uncertainty surrounding the reimbursements had led dealers to proceed with caution. Some dealers reached agreements with customers but delayed delivering the vehicles to stay "in a position where they can unwind the transaction," McNamara said.

Others made customers sign reimbursement agreements. Under those agreements, if the government doesn't reimburse the dealer, then the customer must. A sample agreement posted on the state auto dealers association website suggests that dealers require customers - in situations where the dealer is unable to collect the reimbursement "for any reason whatsoever" - to pay the cost of the incentive "immediately but no later than 10 days after notice by the seller."

McNamara described those agreements as a safeguard but not a solution.

"I wouldn't want to be a dealer who has to go after their own customer," he said.

Other questions surrounded insurance - the program required customers have coverage for their trade-ins, but in New Hampshire, car insurance isn't mandatory. McNamara said he had heard of a number of deals that didn't come to fruition as a result of that restriction, which the state's congressional delegation has contested.

Though the program generated confusion, it also boosted sales, and McNamara acknowledged that. Dealers took advantage of the bump in business.

One reported making 86 cash-for-clunker deals, and that was on Monday, McNamara said.

Still, asked about the program's logistics, McNamara said, "I don't think there's any confidence."

For the Hudsons, the program has become synonymous with deceit, and it's led to deep disappointment. James Hudson, who is 60 and retired, said he'd been checking their car's fuel economy rating "religiously" in recent weeks. By the government's account, it got 18 miles to the gallon, making it eligible for trade-in under the cash-for-clunkers program.

Single page