These are the basic rules for the federal rebate.

Your trade-in vehicle must

• have been manufactured less than 25 years before the date you trade it in
• have a "new" combined city/highway fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon or less
• be in drivable condition
• be continuously insured and registered to the same owner for the full year preceding the trade-in
• The trade-in vehicle must have been manufactured not earlier than 25 years before the date of trade in and, in the case of a category 3 vehicle, must also have been manufactured not later than model year 2001

The new vehicle base MSRP — the price on the Monroney label, before any features, options, taxes, or destination charges are added to the price, cannot exceed $45,000.

Under the program, you may purchase a new vehicle or lease a new vehicle, provided the lease period for the new vehicle is at least five years.

You may trade in or buy a domestic or a foreign vehicle.

The new vehicle must have a manufacturer's suggested retail price of not more than $45,000. That price appears on the window sticker on new vehicles. The new vehicle must also achieve minimum combined fuel economy levels. For passenger automobiles, the new vehicle must have a combined fuel economy value of at least 22 miles per gallon. For category 1 trucks, the new vehicle must have a combined fuel economy value of at least 18 miles per gallon. For category 2 trucks, the new vehicle must have a combined fuel economy value of at least 15 miles per gallon. Category 3 trucks have no minimum fuel economy requirement; however, there are special requirements that apply to the purchase of category 3 vehicles.

A category 1 truck is a non passenger automobile. This category includes sport utility vehicles (SUVs), small and medium pickup trucks and small and medium passenger and cargo vans.

A category 2 truck is a large van or a large pickup truck, based upon the length of the wheelbase (more than 115 inches for pickup trucks and more than 124 inches for vans). Note: some pickup trucks and cargo vans exceeding these thresholds are treated as category 3 trucks instead of category 2 trucks.

A category 3 truck is a work truck and is rated between 8,500 and 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. This category includes very large pickup trucks (those with cargo beds 72 inches or more in length) and very large cargo vans.

See a sale person at Durand to explain the above, this could save a small company a lot of money to replace their work trucks.

When talking with a dealer remember The CARS Act requires the dealer to use the credit under the CARS program in addition to any rebates or discounts advertised by the dealer or offered by the new vehicle's manufacturer. The dealer may not use the credit to offset these rebates and discounts.

You can combine this with other State and Federal incentives, such as the hybrid vehicle credit. For information on this credit, go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/tax_hybrid.shtml

The CARS Act expressly provides that the credit is not income for the consumer.