Cash for Clunkers Crushed Your Dream Cars (FULL LIST)

In 2009, with America’s economy in shambles, Cash for Clunkers offered a lifeline by paying people to swap their used cars for new, fuel-efficient ones. There was just one catch: the trade-in would be crushed.
SEE THE FULL LIST HERE: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
The federal program was supposed to lower national emissions and help the struggling auto industry. What it really accomplished was destroying 677,081 running and driving vehicles-including thousands of enthusiast gems, rare models, modern classics, and downright cool cars that would be crazy to scrap today.
Rumors about M3s and Supras getting crushed have swirled for years. Now, we got our hands on the government’s full list of every single car killed in Cash for Clunkers, AND what people bought to replace them. Let’s see what we got here...
....the M3 and Supra really did get crushed. :(
0:00 Cash for Clunkers Explained
1:56 German Luxury Cars
5:20 American Gems
6:39 How Cars Were Destroyed
7:23 The Missing GNX
8:13 Did Cash for Clunkers Work?
9:48 Classic SUVs
11:10 2000s Cars Scrapped
11:44 Japanese Halo Cars
13:45 Best Trade-Ins
14:40 Weird and Rare Cars
15:23 It Could Happen Again
The Drive is the chronicle of car culture.
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[@drive]

Carisma will be back with a banger next Friday! This week, we’re trying something different with a look at our reporting on the Cash for Clunkers list. Please let us know what you think, what’s working for you, and what’s not. You can help us make exactly what you wanna see. Thanks everyone!! - KC

[@Angry_Squirrel555]

Love the list! It’s the attention to interesting topics that you just don’t get other places.

[@RadRidesByCru]

15 years and we're still talking about it? Yes, it will happen again. Governments have paid for car crushing programs for decades. Emissions, sure; but more to spur new car sales because it creates jobs. People should stop crying over it and "THE DRIVE" shouldn't pander. The cars that were crushed were one step away from a salvage yard. If you need to play the blame game, point your finger to Henry Ford. He started crushing cars in the 1920's so people would be forced to buy his. 100 years later, nothing's changed.

[@SweatCookienese]

I cant believe over 100 3000 GTs?!?! EVEN SPYDERS? theyre so crazy rare its wild you glanced over that in the vid

[@jaypence332]

We don't know the conditions of these cars. I help several people piece together rusted out junkers.

[@jcanfixall1585]

Hopefully you see this, OBD2 was standard on american cars starting in 1996 and earlier on some European cars... -Edit- Not 2009!!! Also wanted to say that the (cash for "collectibles") still nauseates me!!!

[@raiinger5203]

Destroying 600k cars that could have been driven and or used to save other cars is the least environmentally friendly thing possible

[@jamesgizasson]

Exactly! Keep your old cars running clean and efficiently! They'll last BECAUSE THEY WERE BUILT TO.

[@emptyshirt]

But think of how many GM and Chrysler trucks would be sold in the following years to recover the "too big to fail" bailout money.

[@Snezit1]

All they actually wanted is just to stimulate the economy while pretending it was for muh environment

[@robhunter2435]

Funny how people can not figure that out. Moving to EV is not envromentally friendly either. It is all about looking the part. I am keeping my gas guzzling 86 5.0L Mustang GT.

[@jamesgizasson]

@@robhunter2435 Is it a 5 speed? Please tell me it's a 5 speed! :D

[@sanangelo7926]

One of the biggest hit to lower income people. It has removed the lower cost used cars from our market. WE still have not recovered from this stupid idea

[@Iamwolf134]

What we actually need is a greater emphasis on walkability and public transit within cities. Even if that means narrowing out some streets. Edit; I haven't said that it was a one-size-fits-all affair, as I'm more than well aware that different cities have very different configurations, and that whatever public transit Solutions best work for each city is more of a puzzle depending on density within any given city block. Also, I'm not saying anything about stripping away some freedom of choice or anything of the sort. In fact, I'd say it's not too late to make the pivot towards more public transit and pedestrian connectivity options such that most people wouldn't have to use a car most of the time just to get around the city.

[@_IMNNO]

It’s how my parents got rid of our 95 EddieBauer Explorer. 😢

[@kurticusmaximus]

Best reason for it being awful.

[@LGTheOneFreeMan]

@@Iamwolf134 Cool story, bro.

[@mrjaylesmeister]

All paid for with money stolen from the taxpayers.

[@josephkelly4893]

Isn’t it insane, that these classic vehicles were scrapped and traded for a new disposable econobox that has most likely now been scrapped. What a flawed system

[@unearthednsx116.]

I'll never forgive Obama for this

[@CJColvin]

Exactly mate

[@chublez]

Scraping these was almost as insane as thinking these old cars where more reliable than new ones.

[@Mis73rRand0m]

80's-early 2000's cars were the most reliable ever made and pretty much still are. Just enough tech to be convenient and safe, but not so much that every piece was engineered to fail just after warranty and be extremely inconvenient to replace when it does. Obama shouldn't have bailed out the automakers, ACA should have never happened, the student loan scheme should have been shuttered, and most of all cash for clunkers was an environmental disaster.

[@emptyshirt]

It worked as intended. The federal government bailed out GM and Chrysler and the rewrote the CAFE fuel economy rules to sell GM and Chrysler trucks. To keep the rest of the auto industry from protesting they did Cash for Clunkers, which would help sell GM and Chrysler trucks in the future, but more importantly, bailed out car dealerships with lots of little cars in stock.

[@screaminchicken6168]

And they used our money to do it, it's insane and disgusting.

[@emptyshirt]

But it saved GM and Chrysler. Every scrapped Suburban added $20 to the value of a new Suburban. Too big to fail.

[@screaminchicken6168]

@@emptyshirt GM and FCA/Stellantis are still busy destroying themselves too, it's crazy they have made it this long.

[@cpturrini]

this is why i have trust issues with non car people.

[@michaelfolino8414]

I'd be having major trust issues with the democrats because they will be trying this again with EVs!

[@THEMilkSHAIKH]

They already have with the $7500 tax rebate.​@michaelfolino8414

[@BuddyRossVlog]

Right there with.

[@Toxic2T]

same

[@Alien_Nukes]

Bro same. I notice car people understand most of societal issues and self manufactured and if you keep things simple less issues. Non car people are usually very dumb.

[@ryurc3033]

People have no clue that the most environmentally friendly thing you could do is drive a current car longer, avoid all manufacturing emissions, shipping, its ridiculous that people have been tricked into buying disposable trash

[@drive]

yep. the greenest car is one that's already been made!

[@emptyshirt]

@@drive But the most profitable cars GM and Chrysler sold in 2009 were trucks. To make GM and Chrysler profitable after the bailout all of those cheap old trucks and SUVs had to go away.

[@cjoutdoors1991]

@@drive, not according to Engineering Explained. It depends what the old car is and what the new car is. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmOsfHaao9-fa80

[@johnanon658]

Agree, op, tho it is more of a crime against the working class who would never afford a new car anyway, even w the program

[@johnanon658]

@@cjoutdoors1991 how bouchu explained deeze…

[@cbremer83]

Just another reason to hate government programs...

[@emptyshirt]

But they saved GM and Chrysler! You have to break a few windows when the government bails out the glass company.

[@jonathananderson1728]

I also hate the population who vote that government in and turn in their cars/guns to get destroyed. Brain rot to the extreme

[@Novusod]

The most terrifying phrase in the English language "I am from the government and I am here to help."

[@detinator5]

Obama and his goons

[@hank1556]

Potentially hundreds of thousands of good cars the middle and lower class could be diving right now. It was never about the environment. Keeping older vehicles on the road is the best thing you can do for the environment

[@jeiku5041]

Right? It was definitely about keeping the poor "in their place." It still is.

[@marcodarko6941]

debt slavery.

[@norwegianblue2017]

All part of the plan. They see us as peasants that should be all riding the bus while they take chartered flights and door to door limousine service.

[@RobotDCLXVI]

You know. It's good to see comments like this on UsuryTube, but I can't help but wonder if it's all just too far gone?

[@jaypioh]

@@RobotDCLXVI look Northwest brother, and you'll see. Behind every tree, you'll find me.

[@GixxerFoo]

Absolutely destroyed our used car market and F'd us all over, drove up used car prices through the roof and it hasn't come back down.

[@deutsch-amerikanisch8281]

And it never will, all those cars from the 80s and 90s where the peak of reliability and cheap as dirt too.

[@redemptionjack4657]

@@deutsch-amerikanisch8281 late 70 early 80 cars sucked though cars started improving with the Ford Crown Victoria a d guess what tons are still for sale.

[@thystaff742]

deutsch-amerikanisch8281 No. Not all the 80s and 90s cars had great reliability. Most of them were done past 110k miles. I know, I bought a few driven to that point and only lasted a few thousand miles and I was constantly fixing them. Only Toyota and Honda had that reputation, and I was too broke to afford those.

[@nitroxylictv]

This is probably why me, as a 20 year old, cant afford a car even with help from my parents. If 600k used cars were just scrapped, that puts a huge dent in the used car market. I cant even find a 90s Accord sedan for less than $3000. All this did was keep us poor people in our place. It was never about the environment, it was about controlling the population just like everything else.

[@robhunter2435]

yup you figured it out

[@germanlopez9448]

an attack on our youth.

[@MostGenericUser]

I feel for you it was tough when I was younger and here we are a decade since I bought my first car and the prices have more than doubled on most the vehicles compared to back then. Forget about getting anything cool the best you can hope for now if you're young and don't have rich parents is a manual economy car but even that is hard to find if you're in America

[@carandcanine]

The FD RX-7 loss is truly heartbreaking. Even in the most roached of conditions, those bodies should have been preserved as pieces of art.

[@ricepony33]

I don’t believe it it had to be running ;)

[@drive]

@@ricepony33 Actually it did. C4C required a car to move under its own power and be registered and insured for at least the previous 365 days.

[@Shiba_25]

The fact that someone gave my dream car (that I can now never afford) to the government to be destroyed is so depressing...

[@danyoung8392]

At the time, I couldn't afford a car on my mall sales booth job, so I would walk about 4 miles each way to work, across a main road and past a chevy dealership. In one corner, with a big X drawn on the windscreen, was a 5 speed FC RX-7 Turbo II.

[@festungkurland9804]

lmao

[@dave_diy]

CARB (California Air Resources Board) is still sending me a letter every year with a cash offer to scrap my "polluting" one owner 1995 FD RX7 with 40k miles and a MT. I think their last offer was $1500 which makes FB marketplace lowballer offers look like big spenders with deep pockets. 🤦‍♂ My FD will be with me forever!

[@576103]

A friend of mine keeps getting these letters for his 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra. Amazingly he wasn’t tempted by the state’s $1500 offer. 😂

[@ericsmith1878]

CARB is full of clowns and karens. i wouldnt even send them my RX-7 hotwheel.

[@weldonbradstreet1723]

I get that same damned letter every two years about my 80 series Land Cruiser. Kills me that the CARS program destroyed 600 of these fantastic off-roaders. Never selling my Cruiser!

[@innotech]

ditch that plague ridden dump of a state and dont look back

[@enemyspotted2467]

I believe Derek on the carmudgeon show recently revealed california sends him letters offering 1500 for his company’s $500,000 ferrari, I don’t remember which model

[@kalybnielsen4183]

It did permanent damage, causing small mechanic shops to close, it made used cars double and triple in price, wrecking yards closed and it made remanufactured parts availability go to nothing, making auto part prices increase in price by double. The cars getting traded out were getting as good of mileage or better as the one the people purchased to replace it. The program helped out who? People that could already afford a new car and who did it hurt? Everyone that needed to have those used cars for transportation, people that made a living repairing these older cars. In the long run, the amount of scrap that was put in the market was so high, the Barry Administration sold the metal to China for pennies per ton, where the US bought garbage steel and aluminum from China at an exponentially increase in cost

[@carrsllccarrillo6507]

Hiit the nail on the head. The first shop I worked for we had several customers that traded their well maintained vehicles (by us) to get something that was more costly and didnt do anything in regards to economy. One specific vehicle I recall was a 1996 toyota camry. That car was in immaculate shape inside & out and i even told the customer to sell it to me if they ever decide to sell it. Instead it was traded for some new chrysler product which was real poor choice on their part. Eventually by 2008-2009 during the great recession and into my 9th year, we closed our doors permanently. I saw several shops around our area that closed down as well. Sad times it was.

[@marcodarko6941]

I remember traitor #44 circa 2012 bragging about the Chevy Cruz and all of its components being made in China.. then shipped over here stateside and assembled and somehow that was pro American and a quality American made vehicle. I thought to myself why not make the whole sht and shabang over here and then not have to worry about shipping the parts worldwide here to assemble. 🤦‍♂️ Those things were junk imo.. GM junk at that.

[@triaxe-mmb]

I am not sure 680k of cars made that big a difference...there are over 280M cars and light trucks in the US... It was just a bad time to be in any business back then. Sorry to hear your business tanked during it - not a pleasant experience at all...I know...I have been there

[@Comm0ut]

Where in the industry did you personally work in what capacity to observe CFC in detail? I made an easier living from the chitload of parts we harvested hot and heavy like thousands of others in that food chain in an industry which wastes nothing except crumbs at the shredder. Small mechanic shops (like the one I worked in and the others who used many of the harvested parts, salvage yards who bought CFC at auction then parted them out and the whole chain of CFC parts recipients made out like bandits. I still have a personal Ford truck stash from the CFC era. Local salvors typically buy to part out and there were plenty of tasty parts unaffected by sodium silicate and perfectly legal to remove before the hulk got crushed. What about CFC could possibly negatively impact small shops on the low end? It certainly didn't in South Carolina where the low end is low indeed. The small dealer I wrenched for filled up truckloads of parts during CFC (not being a salvage yard we could not buy CFC vehicles direct but in that world everyone knows everyone else) to fix our auction, private and trade-in buys. It was feast not famine. As for remanned parts, WHICH ONES? Remember only parts needing SPECIFIC CORES (those to which sodium silicate was applied) had a few fewer cores and CFC did not decrease customer cores since those vehicles already had installed engines and gearboxes for remanning which were unaffected by CFC. Aside from unusable cores when a worn part is pulled from a vehicle in active service that core goes into the system so outside core buys are mostly surplus to immediate requirements but do add some logistic padding. By that time brand new parts were often the choice over remanned parts. I've been wrenching since the late 1970s and fascinated with the whole industry including real logistics.

[@Toxic2T]

@@triaxe-mmb 700k cars DO make a difference. It's not 680, is 680.000!

[@DBRising]

One of the ecological disasters of our time.

[@michaelfolino8414]

EVs are WORSE on the environment with all the mining and no recycling of the batteries

[@volvo09]

Yep, I would love to see how many of those econoboxes are on the road still.

[@michaels.ramsey7803]

This destroyed the cheap work truck market for a lot of carpenters and roofers, etc.

[@StaredownGames]

The WORST part for me is your trade value went toward marked up cars from a dealership and loans with interest. These vouchers were also funded by taxpayers, yes? Win-win for everyone but the poor. Again.

[@g.w.7893]

When is it not that way? Although nowadays it's both the lower and middle classes getting it in the bum.

[@shoveI]

"These cars pollute too much so I'm going to need you to rev their engines pointlessly for hours to reduce emissions"

[@marcodarko6941]

I know.. RIGHT!

[@patrickcannell2258]

Like driving past EPA HQ with a rolling coal truck, or tease Greta with a rolling coal truck.

[@patrickcannell2258]

😅

[@RobotDCLXVI]

This comment is criminally underrated. And the criminals who ran this program are the same ones the ICC just condemned.

[@hiramesensei3112]

@@RobotDCLXVI oh vey cease this antisemitism

[@1400IntruderVS]

The cash for clunkers program hurt smaller automobile repair shops in many rural areas as well. They were keeping those older cars running for people who otherwise couldn't afford a late model vehicle. The only industry that may have seen some benefit was the lending industry. Putting people loans. The Obama industry worked for mostly larger banking and loan corporations. The process for destroying the engines and crushing these cars was not environmentally friendly either. You know what else is not environmentally friendly? Constantly flying attack missions and firing missiles from various aircraft in endless conflicts through out the world... I worked for a car dealer back then as a tech. I saw plenty of g-bodies and fox bodies and Broncos and other American classics traded in. It made me sick.

[@emptyshirt]

Cash for clunkers was part of the GM Chrysler bailout. GM and Chrysler's most profitable products in 2009 were large trucks and SUVs. Scrapping half a million "clunkers" transformed GM and Chrysler's product lines from outdated and absurd into exactly what the people needed more of.

[@THEMilkSHAIKH]

Lending industry you say? 🤔 hmmm

[@RobotDCLXVI]

Lending... with usury? You don't say. Guess the usual suspects were in Barry AND Brandon's White House.

[@jaypioh]

👃

[@Scoots1994]

I hate it for the used parts that were lost.

[@deutsch-amerikanisch8281]

I know, right? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This is a great example of recycling actually being the worst of the three. Reducing by keeping old vehicles running, reusing the parts off those old vehicles that couldn't be kept on the road. Those old parts are still the best quality you can get. Discount auto parts are JUNK!

[@Scoots1994]

@@deutsch-amerikanisch8281 The cars in my fleet are 1985, 1988, 1993, 1994, 2007, 2014 ... and the one I have the most trouble with is the 2014. But finding parts for the old ones is so much harder now.

[@BCJDM]

This video is pain

[@drive]

sorry :(

[@matiasfpm]

I live in Argentina, and that thing would never happen, i still see Renault 12s running around 😂😅

[@Zed32_Customs]

Theres a special place in hell for the person who scrapped a Typhoon. Edit: i remember my dad almost traded his Acura Legend into cash for clunkers because it needed work that cost more than the car was worth. Luckily some guy offered him $100 more than c4c would have a few days before. Iirc the dude said he was going to canonball that thing across the US. I hope he did.

[@PinkShpongleFloyd311]

My heart sunk when I heard Typhoon. I'd love to own one, too bad they're so rare.

[@toyotacorollaaltis8613]

Theres a special place in hell for the people who both traded in the cars and the fools who scrapped them

[@JesseHires]

Not only did we lose some real gems, but it made it impossible to buy a good used car. Not a problem if you had money, which at the time, I didn't.

[@Gvrgt]

Everytime if you feel dumb, just remember that someone traded in an E30 M3 for a Toyota Prius..

[@g.w.7893]

😢

[@DaniG.German883]

That deserves capital punishment. I’m not even joking

[@peterad1529]

I worked for a dealership during the cash for clunkers and we destroyed alot of perfectly sensible and often perfectly running cars. Nothing crazy like an FD rx7 but some good cars it was a horrible idea imo

[@drive]

any particularly memorable ones?

[@ZedNinetySix_]

An average 4 door ICE car takes around 7,000kg of CO² to produce from raw material to the final form. An electric car usually takes around 30,000kg of CO² to produce from raw material to final form. The best thing to do is NOT buy a new car and maintain what you already have, or buy a used car, which is essentially a form of recycling.

[@rexthewolf3149]

You’re forgetting about the emissions created by the car as it runs.

[@ZedNinetySix_]

@@rexthewolf3149 you would have to own and run an electric car for at least 30 years to make up for the CO² it takes to produce it, assuming it doesn't need repairs, which it will. Please tell me how much a battery swap costs after, what, 5 or so years of use?

[@danthefrog11]

Electric cars also run through tires faster than ice vehicles.

[@nicholasrhodes4550]

Rexthewolf3149 is a bot or a troll. He/she/it has absolutely NO understanding of economics or how electricity is generated in America. Nor have any of us factored in the CO2 emissions and petrochemicals required to produce, maintain and replace solar- and wind-power generation units. EVs do not and cannot pencil out; they are all about surveillance and control of mobility, as well as unwinding 100 years of social progress so that private transport is once again RPO-Rich People Only. Unless you like riding your bicycle to work every day... EVERY day.

[@rexthewolf3149]

@@nicholasrhodes4550 considering how unhealthy Americans are, riding bikes is likely better for us in the long term.

[@creditcrazy597]

Your car has to be in working condition so we can make it work no more

[@StaredownGames]

I'm guessing that's because you will bring it to them vs towing.

[@Sherman62]

Ironically, these "clunkers" had to be running, licensed and legal to qualify for destruction. They even destroyed the engine, trans and drivetrain as part of the process.

[@The_Ballo]

Union logic

[@MrJustinUSCM]

Crazy to me that this created why more waste and emissions than these cars would've produced in their life time if they were left on the road.

[@MrJustinUSCM]

This is also why you can't get a old running car for under 1000

[@lordraiden5398]

I have a 1967 Pontiac Catalina 4 door sedan, 1989 Yamaha FZR 1000, 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX (modified) and a 2009 Subaru Forester X (modified). These vehicles are all paid for and when they break I fix them. Insurance and everything else is already to high. Not paying $1,000 a month just to drive a new car.

[@JohnDoe-ih6mj]

I have a marauder, and a Nissan sentra

[@Zackthefanman76]

Those 1967 pontiacs look so good!

[@Cbgrandtheftauto]

That was a setup back then to push toward EV's. Its a shame we lost all those classics. I can say as someone who has 4 90's cars in my driveway, parts are getting harder to find and I am having to custom make parts. I was actually thinking the other day about what gems got crushed back then. Those videos were hard to watch.

[@emptyshirt]

Nope, It was part of the auto industry bailout. Who benefits from a shortage of trucks and big SUVs? Maybe GM and Chrysler who coincidentally happened to owe a lot of money to the government around that time.

[@maxwelllobben7145]

When I saw the “no more than 25 years old” that made me much happier. I can’t imagine how many actual classics would have been scrapped. But still a crying shame.

[@backwoodsrestorations5750]

Scrap steel prices were also propped up real high by the pound. I almost went broke at the time. I kept my trailer behind the truck catching folks going to the crusher with 40's, 50's 60's cars/trucks. I had over 40 vehicles on the back 40 off, and on for 3 years till all got a new home.

[@mushieslushie]

My dad traded his 1995 grand Cherokee, but it needed a new transmission. The body was in good shape, but he got more money for trading it in than he would have if he sold it. It probably would be a desirable car now for off-road, but it wasn't worth fixing at the time. I wouldn't assume every car on the list was actually in good shape.

[@drive]

Certainly. Even some (many?) of these enthusiast cars were likely on their last legs for one reason or another. Still, values have climbed so much that even the part-out value today could exceed what a lot those owners got.

[@aaadamt964]

​@@drive sure but how are we going to save for the future value? From what i can see, todays vehicles are going to be obsolete within 10 years. Once the majority comes to terms with a 10 year life expectancy, theyll reduce it to 7-8 years. When appliances made their way into homes in the 60's-70's, they were sold as a lifetime investment. Manufacturers eventually realized that wasnt good for sales and started making them cheaper with a shorter lifespan. A Kenmore rep told me the life expectancy of new laundry machines was 7 years. This was in 2011 or so. I wouldnt be surprised if thats been lowered to 4 or 5. Ive heard multiple people complain about their expensive appliances breaking after 2-3 years. Some of these vehicles have 100's of plastic parts in the bumpers. With new models coming out every year they wont be able to manufacture and house repair parts for these things. Imagine trying to restore one 20, 30 years down the line when all this plastic is dry, brittle, cracking and unavailable new.

[@gearshiv]

I know around here anything with a jeep logo and 4x4 was going for stupid $ for quite a while after that mess, literal wrecks going for 3-4 k like my uncle's 84 cj 7

[@Comm0ut]

I can speak to that era Cherokees which were already scrapped in droves because their transmissions are notoriously bad. That did give us many minty interiors and much sheet metal to harvest. Not being in the Rust Belt our salvages had heaps of clean Cherokees even with the demand by off roaders for some parts. CFC sent a few in early but their fecal transmissions scrapped many more before and since. Owners of otherwise nice Cherokees scrapped them because not enough people wanted to save them and for what rebuilds cost I can't disagree. After working on them I personally have no use for them except for the glorious inline sixes and there are still plenty of those.

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

A local yard had the deal for the C4C cars, and I was down there all the time to see what I could get from them. One of them made me sick to my stomach - an '85 Mustang GT hatchback, Jalapena red with charcoal velour interior, 5.0 and five speed. It had something like 14K miles on it, and it looked like it just rolled off of the transporter onto the dealer lot. There was no way these cars could ever see the road again under this evil plan, so it was parted out and crushed, with the destroyed engine still in it. Just sickening.

[@RobotDCLXVI]

Underrated comment. This plan truly was evil.

[@user-wd3eo6yq8k]

i wonder how many hero's saved some before their VINs went into the NMVTIS....

[@secretagentbloke]

In the UK we had a similar scheme, I saw a classic Mini Cooper Sport 500 that had been scrapped. Nearly cried 😢

[@dirtydimes80]

There's a similar video to this of the UK scrappage scheme somewhere on YT. It was a truly horrifying list.

[@gabrielmillien7439]

They crushed some first gen 4Runner’s and 80 series land cruiser’s , what is wrong with some people ? 😢

[@4X4Speedx]

I wouldn't be surprised if there were much more rare collectible cars traded in that some employees took for themselves or resold

[@klwarhouse]

I personally seen it happen.

[@toyotacorollaaltis8613]

Oh absolutely I know a guy who sold me a E36 M3 that someone had traded in for a Civic

[@klwarhouse]

@@toyotacorollaaltis8613 I hope you enjoyed that e36 M3....... I miss the one I had.

[@keltechindustries20901]

I remember going to the junkyard and I saw multiple 300 ZX and I was like wow that’s crazy and if you were to look for a 300 ZX right now for sale they’re majority over $5000

[@automatteck3477]

My local junkyards STILL get more of them than I see on the road - they're a nightmare to work on and everyone trying to sell one as a project wants crack pipe pricing and they all just end up scrapped after being listed at "$5k doesn't run no lowballers I KNOW WHAT I GOOOOOOOT" for years until they finally get scrapped. Same goes for 3000GTs.

[@donaldwilson2620]

One automotive enthusiast that was definitely an outspoken critic for Cash For Clunkers was Stacy David. He did a segment on his show Gearz about the program and discussed that it did more harm to the automotive business than good, such as body shops not getting spare parts to fix customers' cars or part places having a hard time trying to sell used parts to customers. It was a good segment.

[@999benhonda]

The aspect of crushing the trade ins, rather than parting them out makes it so obvious that taxpayer money was used to help the auto industry and had nothing to do with mpg, emissions or the environment.

[@ryukiddin]

It still happens today because junk yards make more money on the scrap on most cars then parting them out

[@terrymiller9788]

The reason the Grand National isn't on the list is because it was brought in as a Cash for Clunkers trade-in but the dealer realized what it was and that it should be saved and he bought it outright out of the program

[@lupusalbus3795]

Thanks, Obama....

[@neoanderson7]

wait wait.. you're telling me someone traded in an FD for a Crayola?!?!?! 😮 This is why we can't have nice things... 😞

[@drive]

sad but true!

[@brokenribs1530]

This is hard to watch.. such a waste of great cars.

[@ApexClubRacer]

I've never felt so insulted, so infuriated. I knew the cash for clunkers was an absolute dogpile failure of a program, and I've been content not knowing the cars. Welp, now that i know the details, i can barely lift my jaw off the ground. If any of you reading this were one of the poor stupid souls to trade in your running and working car... I've got a bridge to sell you.

[@hirofujiwara1311]

The government doesn't care for us enthusiasts. It's just the way it is.

[@emptyshirt]

Only if you are poor. You can still get a V8 Corvette. Imagine how many fewer 2009-2020 Corvettes there might be if all those old V8 cars weren't scrapped! Thanks GM for telling the government what you needed to become profitable!

[@germanlopez9448]

for a young person needing an affordable car so they can get to school or to get to work it has no connection to being an enthusiast.

[@MACTEP-il1eu]

The generation that didn't grow up on initial d, CARS, or fast and furious and it shows.

[@audiguy1978]

Not sure who does your research, but OBD2 was adopted in 1996 not 2008.

[@RassoolRacing]

OBD-II started in 96, however CAN protocol within OBD-II ports was mandated for all 2008 and newer models, so thats why you see so my new gens start in 08

[@earlyre]

So a mis statement. Canbus protocol started , not obd2

[@JohnDoe-ih6mj]

1994 in some cars

[@chrismathes3647]

99 Mustang GTs from 1985, 2008 Mustang, 97 Supra, hundreds of 94-98 Mustangs which done w/ Saleen body kits are the greatest looking imo. Hurts 💔

[@m44p25]

Over 100 3000gts!? This. This makes me want to throw up… relatively low production numbers to begin with along with no aftermarket support has decimated the parts availability for the 3S community.

[@adamv242]

Shedding a few tears for the '85 Audi quattros and the S6 wagon.

[@Dryloch]

I had a 1981 Audi Coupe 5 speed for a while. Finding parts was a nightmare because they always wanted to know if it was a 4000 or 5000. It was neither...but I guess closer to a 4000 so that is what I went with. I learned how to drive stick on that car. and it spoiled me. Driving my friends manual Ford Escort was pure torture.

[@Creen64]

As someone who daily drives a '94 Ford Explorer, thanks for reminding me why it's so hard to find parts.

[@njshift]

Cash for clunkers is by far one of the worst automotive atrocities next to forcing the general population to buy only EV.

[@CJColvin]

Exactly mate

[@redemptionjack4657]

Dude just buy used gas car second Plug I hybrids have all but ruind ev cars.

[@thedudeman722]

As a pretty green enthusiast, this is the saddest thing ive learned yet.

[@mr220v]

There were rows and rows of explorers and Cherokees at the pullapart during cash for clunkers. Also saw a number of Camaros and an sc300 with a manual transmission.

[@doca8792]

My friend traded in his perfect, beautiful 80 series Land Cruiser for a garbage Jeep

[@drive]

and you're still friends?

[@pontiacGXPfan]

Probably some sad cross over lump wearing the jeep name

[@doca8792]

@@drive yes, but not the same. 😂

[@Jackmerius_Tacktheretrix]

Lets not forget all of the core shortage because of all of the cores destroyed for remanufactured auto parts like brake calipers, alternators, starters, water pumps, cylinder geads, engine blocks, transmissions, differentials etc. This really impacted the auto parts industry as well.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

They've tried this sort of thing DownUnder, each time some muppet tries it, it's pointed out how much negative effect it has on the lowest income sector, and it quietly goes away. Though with the 'passenger behind the wheel' culture of people who only own cars as transport, it might come to pass if it moves those folk in to budget EV's.

[@drive]

Given how anti-car the Australian government seems to be, that's surprising that they haven't made it happen.

[@redemptionjack4657]

No it won't evs wil lawlays be higher plug ins are better also used cars are more popular in Australia feom what I heard.

[@redemptionjack4657]

@@drive Uh car culture there is very strong.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

@@drive It's the impact on low income earners that repeatedly kills it, and Australia has had a very strong enthusiat culture for a long time, and as a whole, does not like to be told what they're allowed to do or not do. The classics and street machine era cars are climbing in value, so there will be a lot of push back against a government 'stealing our investement vehicles'.

[@mikebougher3731]

I just tried to buy a few engines from some busses a local school scrapped. The yard couldn't sell me parts because they were bought with a grant and they had to destroy them. To me that is just ridiculous.

[@Angry_Squirrel555]

For some reason the Merkur XR4TI breaks my heart. Maybe because it was the European Ford Escort RS finally in the US.

[@drive]

It's extra frustrating because you'd think anyone still driving one in 2009 would've appreciated what it was enough to sell it instead of scrapping it.

[@-DC-]

*Ford Sierra not Escort.

[@therealjayseh]

Was not an escort. It was closer to a Taurus.

[@tuck6464]

@@drive But they were ugly.

[@itsaboutfam]

Great video and glad you and happy you made it for people to see. I saw this list a couple years ago and was also surprised /not surprised from some of the cars on the list. As a Mitsubishi fan it was a bit gut wrenching seeing the amount of 1st and 2nd Gen Monterosa that met their fate. I was also relieved that no Galant VR4s were traded in to be scrapped.

[@danielguzman9061]

And starion?

[@danwhitson610]

It was interesting to hear how poorly this affect junk yards too. They weren't able to part these cars out.

[@ratbert86]

They were, but only had 180 days from the time the vehicles were surrendered. The Pick and Pulls near me bought a ton of them. They painted the engines with pink spray paint and would not sell any engine parts with pink paint on it. I remember having to argue with them to buy an alternator with some paint on it. The pickings were pretty good for a couple months and I made some decent money out of the yards during that time.

[@AFSil80]

Y'all alluded to it, but cash for clunkers basically sunk the wholesales market overnight. While this didn't affect me personally, it wiped out a market segment of cars for people within a certain budget range and moved the needle just another tick. We can easily look back and criticize it now, because at the time nobody expected a simple 1994 Ford F-150 to be desirable in 2024. Hindsight...what an easy and cheap vehicle to maintain and drive.

[@drpsnwbrdr]

I disagree, if you saw the used muscle car market in the 90’s and 2000, you should have known this was gonna happen again to popular cars that are 15-20 years old

[@AFSil80]

@@drpsnwbrdr 'popular' cars weren't excluded from Cash For Clunkers, but I think the point of videos like this is to illustrate that they were the exception to the rule...C4C was so widespread that it took a bunch of otherwise ho-hum cars off the road (nobody is crying about Chevy Berettas being extinct, right?) but my point was that the wholesales market was adversely affected...aka the people who ARE looking for a Beretta because it's affordable transportation and that's their sole requirement.

[@drpsnwbrdr]

I was just disagreeing about the point of thinking an old f150 wasn’t ever gonna be popular late in life

[@AFSil80]

@drpsnwbrdr completely fair...I honestly don't think anyone anticipated it after the Malaise era haha.

[@drpsnwbrdr]

@@AFSil80 what’s that? Haha I even didn’t know about the Firestone/explorer fiasco until recently, 😂I guess customer service goes a long way, or their customers LIVE it. I pushed for ford past decade, was oblivious about their scams and scandals and only cared about racing history. Doh! (Engine/frame swaps being our saviors actually.)

[@Erik_The_Viking]

What an analysis! Great job going through the history. Yeah this definitely destroyed the used car market, and we're still feeling the impact today. I hope we never do that again.

[@T.Show27]

The majority of the cars I saw come in to a Ford Lincoln Mercury & Toyota Scion dealership were in pretty rough shape, to say the least. A ton of them had massive rust issues. Most of them had body damage and had been mechanically neglected, and a fair number of them had rebuit title. For the cars that spent their life in the rust belt, getting $3,500 or $4,500 for a trade in value was highly unlikely. A fair number of shops would cut off the cats and cherry-pick the best bits before putting a brick on the go pedal.

[@jeffmayo6002]

Poor typhoon probably never had the tires spinning with that owner

[@andrewtamkin2511]

you said over 600 80 series landcruisers. I own 2 and those were almost 50k back in 97 for the lx 450. Nuts

[@Ottie193]

It pained me to watch this knowing how many old and desireable Chevy and Ford vehicles got scrapped because of this. I have a '87 Bronco II, I can't even imagine how many Bronco IIs were scrapped.

[@Mawndow]

I did a college paper on the ethics of fuel efficient vehicles for the environment and I concluded this.... The most ethical vehicles are the ones that are relatively efficient, that are indestructible and will last for decades (Toyota, Honda, etc). Overall from mining the materials, to manufacturing, to maintenance, these will make the smallest carbon footprint. Too bad companies won't ever buy into that, cause it makes them more money to sell us cars that break down after awhile so we have to keep buying new ones.

[@ddk80]

So many Jeep XJ’s were sadly destroyed.

[@djmastawillyb]

I saw a 2 door manual and dealer said i couldnt buy it

[@trevorshark16]

Thats why they're getting pricey now

[@donaldwilson2620]

And because of that, XJ Cherokees in good condition that haven't been modified to death are expensive now.

[@jaypence332]

My Uncle Snapped a lower control arm on a 1995 Chevy 1500 and we welded it back together and trailed to about a 1/4 mile up hill from the dealer. Drove it down the hill and he traded it in for cash for clunkers. My dad also had a parts car that we slapped together and got so it would idle and at least drive under it own power. We drove it in with no radiator, no fuel tank, welded diff open air dif with only one axle attached. They gave him $4,500 for it.

[@bigmanbuilds]

Soooo I remember cash for clunkers. One of the largest driving factors you didn't bring up is gas was well over 4 dollars a gallon and we could barely afford to keep gas in the tank. I also remember a lot of the cars ending up at u pull it after their engines had been blown. They'd spray bomb the whole engine bright orange showing we couldn't pull any engine parts

[@CSmithyPx]

Like the UK scrappage scheme. There was a video of the air field and it's so sad to see

[@peterduxbury927]

I saw that too! Many nice cars that could be saved. A pity that they weren't re-sold, (even as parts) with the money going to charity. Governments don't always get it right.

[@paulb4uk]

So many great cars, lots of classics were traded in in the uk many are still on an airfield now costing tax payers money to store them .

[@ACAGT]

Now I hate Prius even more 😔

[@drive]

eh, not the prius' fault it was one of the only cheap mainstream hybrids back then

[@goclunker]

@@drive sorry but it is the Prius's fault, it's a soul sucking bland appliance, that only a specific kind of person can even stand to drive

[@siddheshpillai3807]

​@@goclunkerTesla is even worse

[@goclunker]

@@siddheshpillai3807 don't disagree.

[@djmastawillyb]

Wander where that money came from hmmm tax payers pockets!

[@emptyshirt]

But the GM/Chrysler bailouts were "successful" if you don't count cash for clunkers!

[@AdamSchell303Racing]

I wonder how many 80s and 90s Rangers were scrapped because I know they will go on forever if taken care of.

[@BruinHerr-bj7uk]

Still have my 93 Ranger 4.0 4x4 manual I bought new 31 years later.

[@callmebigpapa]

Cash for Clunkers was a masterpiece of corporate welfare, the shareholders were very happy. As a consumer I would trade any German built car including an M3 for Prius. In 15 years the Prius is still running and saving the owner 1000's a year in fuel costs vs the M3. M3=23mpg, Prius =45MPG

[@tomtheraton3058]

Not the same power than your dumb Prius , come in Europe most of the 00' 90' german cars can handle 400.000kms with no problem

[@DaniG.German883]

I sentence you to capital punishment

[@horuswasright]

This is how car industry in Japan works. Buy new, dump old. We're lucky they kept some to export.

[@TheChaztor]

And they don't destroy the engines. My 92' AWD Eagle that I ran too lean one time thanks them for that.

[@125conman]

Grew up in the middle class - this happened around the time i was in middle school. I remember basically EVERYONE on my street got new cars because of this program. Everyone spoke highly of it at the time.

[@WickedestVoodoo]

Look, I would get mad, but here is the actual list of cars my friend and I had owned and destroyed throught the 90s. 85 Mercury Grand Marquis Wagon 76 Cutlass Supreme 86 Buick LeSabre 70 Olds Omega 70 Nova ... Twice.. 71 Duster 75 Plymouth Fury Sport 84 Cutlass Supreme 85 Cutlass Supreme 89 BMW M3 87 S10 86 Chevy Custom 78 Ramcharger 83 Vette 76 Vette 74 Vette 84 Malibu 72 Malibu And some other shit. All of these cars were basically rusty hunks of crap when we got em. Mostly paid in the neighborhood of 1500 or so. Some needed parts on the way home. Some needed parts on the way everywhere. But we tore them all the rest of the way up. Though... most of what we owned would have been worth at least something to a collector now. They were worthless back then, in their conditions.

[@olikat8]

LOL- I have an '88 Diplomat cop car and it's not too sad or depressing. It's actually comical with what is going on with it. Flip side? Have a D2 Audi A8L in full "Slav Mafia Mobile" black -out look with all kinds of fun things in it. Everything works, too

[@danieldaniels7571]

I had one of those in 1995. I loved that thing, and it was insanely fast.

[@banemafia2125]

This was heartbreaking to hear all those classics scrapped, however during the time at least from what I remembered gas was 4.00+ which was crazy people were scrambling to get something that was fuel efficient

[@drive]

Gas was above $4 a gallon in many places in 2008, but prices dropped pretty quickly as the recession really set in. In 2009 the national average was $2.35.

[@DaniG.German883]

Gas is 4+ a gallon today thanks to the potato in chief

[@dexburwell]

I kept and still have my late 80’s and mid 90’s ( Mitsu ) cars/trucks in my garage(s)…. I just couldn’t bring myself to do that - I’m currently restoring all of them - they only need minor cosmetics -all run and drive with working AC systems. 👍

[@frankwaugh1894]

Cash for clunkers was DEVASTATING for so many people that could no longer find cheap affordable used cars....also note how new car prices got jacked up so high since they no longer had to compete for sales with those cheap used cars :(

[@PortfolioAutomotive]

I was just reflecting on this the other day.... hope this never happens again!

[@chrispaulson2934]

I was working for a dealership at that time. I saw the demise of 2 80's squarebody trucks, which sucked cause i had a 74 C10 at the time. But, the one i feel guilty the most is a late 80's early 90's Nissan Pathfinder. V6 Manual 4x4. Looked like heads, oil pan, transmission were all new, tires were fair and on aftermarket wheels. Even the red paint was holding up will with a near mint condition interior. It was unfortunate and i was gutted for having to kill it. And adding to the agony, when i drained the oil, it looked like it was recently changed too. 😢

[@drive]

man...

[@user-wd3eo6yq8k]

you could've been one of the few rescue hero's

[@tisdall420]

You guys should do a show that spotlights car culture events around the country, that are accessible to everyday folks. Monterey car week coverage is awesome but, most people can’t afford to fly across the country and buy tickets to pebble beach. Help us learn how to get involved and experience the car community at large. Thanks for coming back, you were missed!

[@drive]

We've been talking about that exact concept. Great minds. Stay tuned and thanks for hanging in there all this time!

[@cogboy302]

There was a similar scheme at the time in the UK. Scrappage. My father traded in my Mum's 9 year old Nissan Micra on the scrappage scheme. It had 19,000 miles on the clock. It was in mint condition. Not the world's most exciting car, but they are very popular as a Formula 1000 rally car.

[@georgimihalkov4781]

And Americans wonder why Europe doesn't want to send most special edition cars to the US.

[@X11CHASE]

And that’s not at all why, good effort though, love your dramatics

[@georgimihalkov4781]

@@X11CHASE Not understanding sarcasm is the second reason why you don't get the good models.

[@qwntnqwntn]

My heart sank when you mentioned the 300ZX’s & original Infiniti Q45s ☹️

[@_J.P._]

Here in Europe we had a similar program except you were offered cash on arrival which in return ment that a lot of "companies" got their hands on very interesting cars which never got to the scrapyard but they kept them (or sold them later with a massive profit). The rest did not get scrapped completely but all those companies were allowed to keep ALL PARTS for resale later. What basically happened was the goverments forcing less fortunate (and intelligent) people to give up their old cars for cheap (or free) while others made great profit on the same thing. Goes on until this day except the momentum has slowed down a lot. In return prices of old cars have gone up so people who could barely afford an old car can't sure afford a new one but now they can't afford no car. A lot of people live in some villages away from the city they work in which results in them not being able to go to work anymore since they can't fincially stem the daily commute. This in return leaves a mark in the overal economy etc etc etc... long story short - don't fix stuff that isn't broken and someone did just that. BTW consumption is something NOBODY cares about except people who have to pay the fuel at the end of the line - the driver. AUDI once managed to make a powerfull engine with around 3 liters per 100 km but the whole thing was burried deep since it would hurt tax income of every state too much and also oil companies would see a massive drop in sales. Not even the current EV hype did a thing to this. Still burried. Means that all EVs are most likely just a phase that is usefull for a group of people to get rich. We are living in a time of BS like never ever before. And nobody seems to be able to stop it.

[@akagainesy]

The people who did this with these cars most look at the their value now and be kicking themselves SO hard!!! Audi Quattros are worth ssoooooo much more than $6600 more than RRP now, same for most of these vehicles 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@missesmia2]

95 S6 avant for 09 rav 4 damn the recession was bad for some

[@Mr_Lichec]

even thou I live in Russia, this video is saddens me immeasurably. Keep up good work

[@jaypioh]

1 minute in and this already hurts. I've got 2 1998 Explorers and a 1994 Corvette. I love them

[@Driven2insanityfl]

For some reason me and my car did not qualify. I had a gas guzzling 1994 firebird trans Am. The Batman looking one with the pointy front.That also had a messed up fuel gauge they all did. Good thing they did not take that car. I am kicking myself because that was the time I bought my first mustang and never looked back. Never bought another GM after that but come to find out I sold that car for next to nothing only to find out these things are valuable collectors now

[@tuck6464]

And look at you now.

[@DaniG.German883]

Lol quite dumb

[@tytheguy4923]

it was basically the car holocaust

[@atlascruiser1456]

Great topic, great video. It's really like an Extended Play version of a great The Drive post. That's a very, very good thing.

[@drive]

that's what we're going for. thanks for the kind words!

[@alextrimble8481]

loved the video, very interesting!

[@drive]

glad you enjoyed

[@trwsandford]

Surprised to not see more panther platform cars on that list. They were cheap at the time.

[@therealjayseh]

Actually, they used that platform till 2012. Sooooo they wouldn't be junking those. At any year.

[@AngPur]

I think they had a provision that ex-fleet vehicles were worth less