“This is a win for the economy, a win for the environment and a win for American consumers,” proclaimed U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, referring to CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System), also known as “Cash for Clunkers.” As part of the government’s stimulus plan, CARS officially began July 1 in participating car dealerships across the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the program was designed to reward customers who traded in their “older, less fuel efficient cars for new, more efficient cars.”

Eligible customers were offered up to $4,500 for turning in their old vehicles and purchasing new vehicles that were at least 10 miles per gallon more efficient.

“This is change we can see,” said junior Mary Simpson, who traded in her clunker in August.

By August, Americans had nearly consumed the $3 billion in government funds for the program. Cash for Clunkers ended on Aug. 24 with about 700,000 “clunkers” off the road.

With the current environmental crisis and the suffering economy, the efficiency of the stimulus program is under much debate.

Associate Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies Kyle Dell reflected on the program’s lack of sustainability, saying, “We can’t keep spending in that way. We can’t, as a country, keep showing people they can get something for nothing and keep adding to the national debt.”

Ken Gilmore, associate professor of political science, believes that government spending is key in times of recession. Cash for Clunkers uses government spending to allow people to buy, which he says is part of the overall stimulus package.

“People were able to buy cars they couldn’t have afforded, the economy didn’t hemorrhage jobs, and the environment is better off for it,” Gilmore concluded.

While all of the effects of the program are unknown, The White House Council of Economic Advisers predicted that the CARS program would boost economic growth with car sales, increase GDP in auto production to replace depleted inventories, and save 42,000 jobs in the second half of 2009.

Other experts have differing opinions on the overall effectiveness of the program.

“Cash for Clunkers was effective in boosting the economy for a very temporary time,” said Bob Williams, professor of economics. “In terms of economics, it’s not clear to me that it had much of an impact. People who were already thinking of buying a car participated in the program.”

However, Greg Earnhardt, car salesman for the Rice Toyota Dealership in Greensboro, expressed that the program functioned as incentive to spend money on automobiles.

“People couldn’t justify spending the money, but saving thousands of dollars persuaded people to go buy a car,” explained Earnhardt.

From an environmental standpoint, it is unclear whether Cash for Clunkers had much of an impact.

While the Department of Transportation found that the “clunkers” averaged 15.8 miles per gallon and the purchased vehicles averaged 24.9 mpg, the cars involved in the program only account for a small percentage of U.S. carbon emissions.

According to ABC News, under a model created by UC-Davis Economics Professor Christopher Knittle, “If a total of 750,000 vehicles are sold, as appears likely, approximately 12,000 barrels of oil a day will be saved in a country that consumes 9 million a day.”

The gas mileage of the new cars is significantly better, but the processes involved in manufacturing new cars and disposing of old ones uses energy and resources. Cash for Clunkers reduces carbon emissions on a small scale, but to what extent?

“The long-term environmental concern could be that we are fooling ourselves to think that we can buy our way out of environmental problems,” Dell reiterates, “We reinforce a mindset that more consumption is a solution.”

There remain many affected by the stimulus act. Scrappage programs and recyclers must handle the influx of spare parts and their decreased demand and cost, along with shortages in some more valuable engine part that were destroyed by the program, according to the Automotive Recyclers Association.

“The recovery, reuse and resale of these quality recycled parts must remain readily available to the consumer, who may not want or be able to financially retire their vehicle, and will require access to parts from these vehicles for their future repairs,” said ARA Executive Vice President Michael E. Wilson, according to Earth911.

The complex issues surrounding CARS and the overall stimulus package are far from being understood, as the economic and environmental effects of the program have yet to unfold.