We’ve already talked about the buying a Toyota Tundra under the Clash for Clunkers “CARS” program, but here’s a quick recap.
The government offers $3500 to $4500 to trade-in a vehicle that gets less than 18mpg provided that:
- You’re buying a car that gets better than 22mpg.
- You’re buying a truck that gets better than 18mpg or one that gets at least 2mpg better than the vehicle you’re trading or
- You’re buying a work truck.
The specifics are sort of complicated, so you should visit the official Cars.gov website to figure it all out.
One of the requirements of this bill is that the vehicle you trade-in is scrapped. Unfortunately, scrapped doesn’t begin to describe the torture that your clunker’s engine is put through. The description of the scrapping process isn’t for auto fans with a weak stomach…here’s how it works
By federal mandate, this is exactly how the engine in each clunker is destroyed:
1. Drain out all the oil.
2. Pour approximately two quarts of waterglass into the engine where the oil would go. Waterglass is technically known as sodium silicate 40%. Here’s a little science for you:
At room temperature, 40% sodium silicate solution is a lot like motor oil in terms of consistency. Once it heats past 220 degrees Fahrenheit, sodium silicate transitions from a liquid to a solid. A solid that can’t be melted back into a liquid until it’s heated past 1500 degress Farenheit.
3. Start up the engine and force it to idle at 2,000 RPM for 7 to 10 minutes…until the engine siezes. The 7 to 10 minute figure is about how long it will take for the sodium silicate solution to solidify in th engine’s important passages.
4. Wait one hour.
5. Try to start the motor. If by some miracle it manages to survive, repeat steps 1-4.
The end result is a perfectly good engine filled with glass. The materials – half a gallon of sodium silicate 40% – can be purchased wholesale for a little more than $11 per gallon.
Sound horrible? If not, maybe it will after I put it into human terms. Imagine a doctor injecting a few ounces of superglue directly into your heart. Then imagine going for a one mile run…until your heart stops. The cyanoacrylate adhesive instantly begins bonding blood and tissue together. In a few seconds, you would likely experience a stroke. Within a minute or so, arteries would permanently clog shut. Finally, your heart valves would close up permanently.
Then imagine that the doctor tries to revive you.
If that doesn’t send a shiver down your spine, you’re not human.
The federally mandated engine destruction process sends a shiver down my spine – anybody else?
This seems like a horrible way for a functioning motor to die – let’s have a moment of silence for all the clunkers out there.
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Hey, for 4500 bucks when a car is only worth 1-1.5 thousand tops, who cares (cars are not human although when I trade in or sell a vehicle I really have liked a lot and has treated me great over the years, I do get a little choked up) even though our car that has treated our family without any major problems since 1989 is sad to see it go no matter how you look at it. A lot of people are saying NOT to take a fed. govt. handout and do the cash for clunkers program since it is NOT the fed. govt’s. money going into this program since they cannot afford it anyways, but the money comes from all the taxpayers pockets in the USA who is going to have to foot the bill on this one later on down the line for 1 billion dollars. We all will be pissed to no end if later after the program is done, the fed. govt. raises our taxes or creates additional fees associated with owning vehicles or something else and then blame it on the need to reimburse the fed. govt. for the 1 billion dollars they gave as a gift to ONLY a FEW of the US citizens.