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Vehicles traded in for the government's Cash for Clunkers program are seen through and reflected in a car window at a lot owned by Ira Toyota in Danvers, Mass. Monday, Aug. 24, 2009. Over the weekend, car dealers across the country watched their lots grow empty as crowds rushed to trade in gas guzzlers after the government said that the $3 billion rebate program would end at 8 p.m. EDT Monday, two weeks earlier than expected.
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Now comes the hard part for the auto industry -- luring customers without big Cash for Clunkers discounts.

The popular government rebates that officially ended Monday gave auto sales a jolt, but it might have been temporary. Now, carmakers and dealerships in Utah and beyond are forced once again to confront the worst market in a quarter-century.

Although Cash for Clunkers may have proved there are still car buyers out there, it is uncertain whether demand will last. In fact, the big rush to car lots this month may have had the unintended effect of stealing sales from this fall and next year.

"I am really worried about this winter," said J.P. Bishop, president of a dealership chain in central Maryland. "If you didn't buy now, the only reason you are going to buy over the next three or four months is because your car died."

Yet others are more optimistic.

Craig Bickmore, executive director of the New Car Dealers of Utah, said he isn't expecting any big decline in new-car sales with the end of Cash for Clunkers, which offered drivers as much as $4,500 off the price of a new, more fuel-efficient car when they traded in a gas guzzler. The program proved far more popular than anyone imagined.

"There may be a little bit of a pull back, but I think the program has helped people realize there are lot of great quality cars and trucks out there," he said. "And once Cash for Clunkers ends, people are still going to go out and

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purchase those vehicles because they need them and want them."

Chris Andrist of Magna, who was having his car serviced at Ken Garff Hyundai in downtown Salt Lake City on Saturday as Cash for Clunker sales wound down, spent time wandering the lot looking at the automobiles that the program's buyers hadn't yet snapped up.

"My wife and I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima that we want to replace," he said. "We're not ready quite yet to buy a new car, but we're getting close."

Sean Roybal of West Valley Suzuki said the program enticed plenty of customers who weren't able to take advantage of the rebates.

The program's official end was extended from Monday evening to 10 a.m. today (MST) so dealers could complete paperwork necessary to get their rebates from the government.

Cash for Clunkers had its complications. Congress had to race to approve $2 billion more for the program after the first $1 billion quickly ran out. Dealers complained the government was slow to reimburse them for deals they made on new sales.

But it helped give automakers and dealers a reprieve from a dismal year of plummeting sales, big layoffs and the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler. GM actually added shifts at some plants to meet higher demand.

Cars, trucks and SUVs sold in July at an annual rate of 11.2 million vehicles, the first time this year the figure has crept above 10 million. That's still far below the 16 million vehicles sold just two years ago.

Although Cash for Clunkers has helped the auto industry stabilize, it will probably take a full economic recovery to give car and truck sales a lasting rebound.

"There's still a sizable amount of pent-up demand that's going to be felt," said Erich Merkle, president of auto industry Web site autoconomy.com. He said the "baton of Cash for Clunkers" could eventually be passed to a "fundamentally stronger economy."