[DeTomaso] NPC: Clunker Math

[Mike Thomas]

    Clunker math

    The person who calculated this bit of information is now & has been a
professor at The University of West Virginia in Morgantown, West Virginia
for the last forty some years.  I never looked at the clunker program in
such depth.
     
    Clunker Math - Think of it this way:

      a.. A clunker that travels 12,000 miles a year at 15 mpg uses 800
gallons of gas a year.
      a.. A vehicle that travels 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg uses 480
gallons a year.
      a.. So, the average Cash for Clunkers transaction will reduce US
gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.
      a.. They claim 700,000 vehicles were turned in so that's 224 million
gallons saved per year.
      a.. That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.
      a.. 5 million barrels is about 5 hours worth of US consumption.
      a.. More importantly, 5 million barrels of oil at $70 per barrel costs
about $350 million dollars. 
    So, the government paid $3 billion of our tax dollars to save $350
million.
     
    We spent $8.57 for every dollar we saved. On top of that used car prices
went up 18%. 

    I'm pretty sure they will do a great job with our health care, though.