Official Cash for Clunkers trade-in list reveals oddities too strange to believe

Sep 24th 2009 at 12:58PM
Cash for Clunkers claimed some really interesting vehicles - Was a Buick GNX among them?

Mixed reaction has surrounded the government's Cash for Clunkers program, but after spending around $2.8 billion, some 700,000 new vehicles have found homes. But what got traded in? We've heard some horror stories, but now that the full list of executed vehicles has been released on the Cars.gov website and we've listed some of the oddities we found while snooping around. Many are down right hard to believe, suggesting either errors in the submission process, typos in the list or even some fudging by dealers who clunked a few vehicles that weren't eligible. After the jump is a list of "Clunkers" that stood out. We can't guarantee these all really went to the crusher, but they do appear on the list.

Follow the jump for a recap of the program's eligibility requirements for trade-in vehicles and our full list. And we'd suggest having a box of tissues nearby.

[Source: Cars.gov]

We've outlined the rules of the government's Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 (CARS) program before, but we think a refresher is warranted before you browse the list below. Customers were able to bring in an old "clunker" no older than model year 1984 that got, at most, 18 mpg if they were buying a new vehicle with better mpg. That trade-in had to be in running condition and insured for at least one year prior to the trade. A rebate of $3,500-$4,500 for the trade was applied towards a new car purchase based on the difference in mpg between the old and the new vehicle. Dealers did most of the work, verifying the eligibility of the traded vehicle and seeing to it that the old cars were properly disposed of. That included disabling the engine and guaranteeing the cars were shredded before the government refunded the money.

NOTE: We find it hard to believe that many vehicles in the list below were actually destroyed through the Cash for Clunkers program, and while they may be officially on the list, their inclusion is more likely explained by an error in the submission process, typos or dealerships that managed to game the system.


Individual Vehicles

Groupings
  • (18) Audi S4 and S6
  • (31) AM General postal vehicles
  • (24) Alfa Romeo 164
  • (60) AMC Eagle
  • (53) Audi A8
  • (3,500+) BMWs including an M3, M5, Z3, 850i and (3) 740il Protection
  • (52) Cadillac Allante
  • (15) Cadillac Commercial Chassis/Limousines
  • (1,007) Chevy Camaro
  • (97) Chevy Corvette
  • (5) AWD Chrysler 300
  • (17) Chrysler Conquest
  • (39) Chrysler TC by Maserati
  • (3) Dodge Conquest
  • (6) Dodge Daytona
  • (210) Dodge Stealth
  • (16) Eagle Talon
  • (2) Federal Coach Lincoln Limo
  • (2) Ford Aspire (didn't these things get like 30 mpg?)
  • (855) Ford Crown Victoria CNG
  • (917) Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
  • (14) USPS Ford Explorer
  • (24) Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
  • (1,611) Ford Mustang (so Mustang beats Camaro here)
  • (107) Ford Taurus SHO (don't tell Neff)
  • (15) Isuzu Vehicross
  • (1,047) Jaguars including (9) XJR, (2) XK8 and (96) XJS
  • (3) Laforza SUV
  • (6) Maseratis including a Biturbo and the 1985 Quattroporte
  • (373) Mazda RX-7
  • (5,000+) Mercedes-Benz including (142) SL, (3) S600, a 1994 E500, a 1992 500E, 1995 C36 and 1999 C43
  • (26) Merkur Scorpio and (21) XR4Ti
  • (187) Mitsubishi 3000GT
  • (3) Mitsubishi Eclipse and (4) Starion
  • (2) 1984 Nissan 200SX, (2) 1994 240SX and (381) 300ZX
  • (1,935) Oldsmobile Aurora
  • (22) Peugeot
  • (87) Pontiac Aztek (more please), (61) Fiero and (569) Firebird/Trans Am/Formula
  • (6) Porsche 928 including (2) S4
  • (6) Porsche 944
  • (597) Saab
  • (3) Saturn
  • (20) Sterling
  • (173) Subaru including (123) SVX
  • (327) Toyota Supra, including (4) final generation

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