Plan to boost auto sales expected to pass US House

* Senate wrangling clouds immediate prospects

* Up to $4,500 voucher for car/truck purchases

* Plan would help US manufacturers sell SUVs, pickups

By John Crawley

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - A proposal to help boost
sagging U.S. auto sales is expected to clear the House of
Representatives on Tuesday, but prospects for quick action in
the Senate remain uncertain.

House leaders have settled on a compromise proposed by
Representative Betty Sutton of Ohio that would offer vouchers to
consumers worth up to $4,500 to help pay for new, more
fuel-efficient vehicles.

Lawmakers, aides and lobbyists expect the
Democratic-controlled House to approve by a comfortable margin
the bipartisan measure, known as "cash-for-clunkers." A
two-thirds majority is needed for passage under rules
established by leadership.

Wrangling in the Senate over unrelated legislative and
procedural issues has clouded the proposal's immediate
prospects in that chamber. But senators are expected to
coalesce around a similar plan in coming weeks.

Congressional and industry proponents envision the program
will spur up to 1 million sales over a year. U.S. auto sales
have slumped sharply this year and are far below the annual rate
of 14 million units of a year ago and 17 million units in 2005.

The decline accelerated the financial deterioration of
Chrysler and General Motors Corp GMGMQ.PK, which are
restructuring in bankruptcy and rely on billions in federal
assistance to survive.

A centerpiece of the plan is to remove bigger, older gas
guzzling vehicles, made mainly by U.S. manufacturers, from the
roads. Total fuel savings will depend on the mix of vehicles
purchased.

While Japanese and other foreign companies sell the most
popular fuel-efficient cars, the mileage goals of the "clunker"
program are modest enough to include the bread-and-butter sport
utilities, pickups and vans that are more fuel-thirsty and
continue to make up the strong majority of sales for U.S.
manufacturers.

GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co (F.N) are under pressure from
the government and consumers to make more efficient cars to
compete with products offered by overseas rivals like Japan's
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Honda Motor Co (7267.T).

Gasoline prices -- a driver of consumer purchasing habits
-- are down sharply from levels a year ago which could help
U.S. manufacturers, especially GM and Chrysler, further reduce
heavy inventory backlogs on dealer lots. Chrysler has ceased
production through this month while GM has sharply reduced its
output domestically.

Ford, which has promoted the "clunker" program more
aggressively than rivals, is struggling but is healthier
financially than GM and Chrysler. It has also scaled back
capacity but has aggressively managed its inventory to levels
comparable to Japanese competitors.
(Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, Rick Cowan, Kevin
Krolicki and Tom Doggett, editing by Matthew Lewis)