Engine tag on a 'Cash for Clunkers' automobile (1993 Audi S4)

I came across something disturbing today……the government has posted a list of vehicles that we’re submitting for the Car Allowance Rebate System, commonly known as the ”Cash for Clunkers’ program.   The engines in these cars have been destroyed by filling the oil tanked with sodium silicate solution, which basically seizes all of the moving parts.

I was shocked to see some that people had turned in some extremely rare automobiles.   A few highlights (or lowlights)

• ‘87 Buick Grand National GNX
• ‘92 GMC Typhoon
• ‘95 Audi S6 Wagon (3).  Only 300 of those were imported into the US
• ‘91 BMW M5
• ‘99 Mercdedes C43 AMG
• ‘97 Aston Martin DB7

Surely these cars could have been sold for more than $3,500-$4,500 (the amount received by the donors).  Let’s hope these cars weren’t actually destroyed and ended up on the list accidentally because of some sort of clerical or data entry error.    If that’s not the case, I feel really bad for the mechanic who had to kill a Buick GNX, one of the greatest cars of all time.

Here is the complete list:

http://www.cars.gov/files/official-information/trade-in-vehicles.pdf