>the Ford Explorer topped the list of most traded-in clunkers We helped with that. I had a 2002 Explorer with 145K miles that we traded in for a Honda Odyssey

>the Ford Explorer topped the list of most traded-in clunkers We helped with that. I had a 2002 Explorer with 145K miles that we traded in for a Honda Odyssey. Since we went from the SUV class to the car class, the mpg rating difference only had to be five mpg to qualify for the $4500 subsidy. As a libertarian, I oppose this program, but it certainly was an appealing proposition considering that I would have likely gotten $3K max if I sold the Explorer outright. What is sad is that, while there were a bunch of things I didn't bother to get fixed (air conditioning, etc.), the vehicle was still quite drivable and probably would have lasted another 100K miles with three or four thousand in maintenance. A huge percentage of the world's population can only dream of one day owning a car that we as Americans are sending to the scrap heap.