Cash for Clunkers

[Danjet500]

I don't know how many of you took the government up on this program when Obama introduced it. I did. I traded in my 1999 Dodge Ram with 103,000 miles for a 2009 Dodge Dakota. My Ram had a 318 V8 engine and got around 18 mpg. The Dakota had the 3.7 L six cylinder engine. In theory, the Dakota should have gotten better mileage than the Ram but in reality it was about the same. I had the family pricing in addition to the $4000 from the government so I got a pretty good deal. Anyway, I found this website that lists all the vehicles that were crushed because of this program. There were 1094 Ram pickups like mine destroyed. The sad thing about this program was so many perfectly good used vehicles were destroyed. This raised used car prices for a time back then. And, according to the article, the actual mpg actually declined.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/heres-the-full-list-of-all-677081-cars-killed-in-cash-for-clunkers

 

[Joe Reilly]

The joke back then was it got 80% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road.

 

[Redington Slim]

Another example of how demoncrats destroy everything they get their hands on.

 

[Jim Walsh]

When I was a kid my first car was totaled by a drunk driver (not me). My next car had a 318. What a smooth running, powerful engine. Gas mileage didn’t matter until Carter ruined the economy.

 

[Fox Mike]

Y

 

[Dan in MI]

No, but I have my own version planned if there is ever a buyback nearby.

 

[fiasconva]

That 318 had to be one of the best engines Mopar ever built. It was around forever.

 

[JAYDAWG]

As an Auto Parts guy, that program hurt our industry. The sweet spot for replacement parts sales, are vehicles 8-15 years old.
Once again when the government gets involved.........

 

[dadstillsurfs]

Our family had a 1968 Dodge Sportsman van powered by a 318.. Best example of a commercial motor being applied to a general public application.
Mopar's best motor? Used in more types of vehicles for DECADES (and they were hard to kill too)? 225 Slant Six.

 

[roylt]

Cash for clunkers is actually back. Anyone that has any old POS is putting it by the curb for sale now and getting big profit. The used car market is crap for us poor folk. My neighbor had a early 2000 eclipse by his barn for what seemed like 10 years. He sold it last week for 2300!!

 

[Paul B]

I wonder what I could get for my 98 Ford Explorer Sport? I only drive it enough to keep the battery charged up enough that it doesn't die on me.
Paul B.

 

[JohnL]

The joke back then was it got 80% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road.

That is funny.

 

[GasGuzzler]

It was weird. Most of the trades we got off that were not road worthy but there was some decent cars lost and we could do nothing. Couldn't buy them or fix them or anything.

 

[weaselmeatgravy]

I bought a new Dodge Dakota in 1991 that had a 318, or as it was known by then, the 5.2L. I just looked at the many pics I took in 2005 when I sold it and there is a shot of the odometer reading 156081 miles. That engine probably would have lasted another 100K miles, but the transmission was slipping, and there was a lot of rust. I don't recall the circumstances, but the pics show General tires on the rear and Cooper up front. The mismatched tires complemented the pervasive rust and missing trim for a nice rednecky look. My ex-GF had used it often to pull her horse trailer, which was likely the root cause of the transmission troubles.

 

[Randyzzz]

Makes my shed a tear when I see all the Jeep Grand Wagoneer's and GM square bodies that got crushed. And there were even some CJ7's that were turned in.

I was working at a dealership at that time. I did manage to get several nice sets of seats and other cool stuff from the cars we got. We did have a hoot abusing the crap out of them…full throttle neutral drops, pouring brake lathe shavings down the carb until it siezed, dropping the oil and holding the pedal to the floor until it threw a rod…we didn't use that waterglass crap on any of ours. But I guarantee they didn't run. We even did ballistic tests on an Isuzu Trooper!

 

[el caminero]

Dangit, ah wuz spectin ta see some cheep rebuildybul rugers here, with a hedline like thar

 

[the_leper_colony]

Dangit, ah wuz spectin ta see some cheep rebuildybul rugers here, with a hedline like thar

Yeah, I've seen more than one person describe the P-series pistols as 'clunky'! Don't own as many as I used to, but I still love 'em!