Cash from suckers...I mean cash for clunkers

“WASHINGTON- The most common deals under the government's $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press.

The single most common swap — which occurred more than 8,200 times — involved Ford 150 pickup owners who took advantage of a government rebate to trade their old trucks for new Ford 150s. They were 17 times more likely to buy a new F150 than, say, a Toyota Prius. The fuel economy for the new trucks ranged from 15 mpg to 17 mpg based on engine size and other factors, an improvement of just 1 mpg to 3 mpg over the clunkers.”


So, let’s see here. 1-3 mpg improvement on 8,200 vehicles. Let’s do the math.

8,200 x $3,500 = $28.7M
8,200 x 12,000 mi/yr = 98.4M mi/yr

98.4M mi/yr / 15 mpg = 6.6M gallons
98.4M mi/yr / 17 mpg = 5.8M gallons

$28.7M / 800k gallons saved = $36/gallon


So let me get this straight…the U.S. government was willing to pay $36 per gallon to reduce gasoline consumption!?!? I drive 10 miles each way to work. How about they just give me $720/day and I stay home??? NO WONDER WE’RE IN DEBT UP TO OUR EYEBALLS!

And they want to run health care….