Pixar should make a Cars video where one of the old cars is starved then killed by Obama.

China is communist so its a good thing.

this thread has me completely lost, what is the point?

What this video demonstrates is the difference between the intentions of a government program and the reality of how it is used ... I don't think anyone would really argue that people should be destroying 5 to 10 year old cars that are reasonably fuel efficient and still meet most modern emmissions standards and are in good shape simply because they could get a few thousand dollars towards a new car.

oh, i see, why not just make the thread about that then, and state there objection to the scheme in the OP?

i mean, all that video did was confuse several members.

The confusion is good!  It shows the obliviousness of people.

In the US, we have a Government program called "Cash for Clunkers". If you trade in a car that gets less then 18 mpg, and buy a car that's at least 10 mpg better (28 MPG), the Government will give you $4,500 for your car.

One of the requirements however, is that the dealership you do the trade from, runs additives into the engine to destroy it, and then the car get crushed.

The purpose of the program is two fold. One is to stimulate auto sales, and the other is to increase the average fuel economy of this country. If you could just resell the car, the second point is lost.

Sadly, the purpose is to make the world more "green", but the carbon footprint of making a new car, far outweighs the delta between a 18 mpg car and a 28 mpg car being on the road.

But there could be a part 3 of this. After the cars are crushed maybe they are melted down and recycled? creating new recycling jobs?

The program was only funded 1 billion, and they burned through that in a week. They are extending it 2 more billion, but at best that will last a month.

So, they can keep extending it I guess, but the cost to government is far more then the gain in a few recycling jobs.

If they don't extend it again, then it's all over in three more weeks (no clue how long it will take to dispose of the cars however).

Still look at it this way. If they recycle the cars and create new jobs Obama just managed to accomplish one of his promises. It doesnt matter if they don't continue funding the program or do it once a year or never. If he manages to make the US a bit greener, which 220,000 new fuel-efficent cars are now on the road and 220,000 old gas-hogs are off the road, he helped things out.