I suspect a lot of people will do the math and decide this is a deal they can't afford. Here's why: If your old car or truck gets less than 18 m.p.g., you can qualify for a voucher of $3,500-$4,500 toward a new one, but the old one has to go the shredder. (The idea, after all, is to get 'em off the road.)

So the credit is all you get, no trade-in value. (You might be better off with a conventional trade-in.) Even with the credit, you're going to spend $10,000-$15,000 or more for new wheels.

If you're buying a new car, it has to get at least 22 m.p.g. If it's a new truck or SUV - which most of these will be since few cars get less than 22 m.p.g. - you only have to buy something that gets 2 m.p.g. better to qualify for the credit. But even at $3 a gallon, will the savings in gasoline be enough for you to manage a car payment?

Buy Yourself a Muscle Car!

First of  all, with Chrysler and GM dealerships folding, it should be easy to buy a mediocre Chevy Cobalt or Dodge Caliber for about $10,000 more than the voucher.

What you do next is sell that boring econobox, even if you end up with $1,000 less than you paid - that still leaves you with $3,500 of free money, courtesy of taxpayers.

So, take the $9,000 net from reselling the crummy little car plus the $4,500 from Uncle Sam.  Then use that $13,500 to make a big down payment on a used Cadillac Escalade,  Toyota Tundra pickup or Corvette.

Hook Yourself Up With a Bonus!

Well, I've got a 1996 Civic, which gets 30-something MPG. But it's worth less than $4500. So I guess I should sell it for what it's worth ($2-3000) maybe, buy a total piece of shit for as cheap as possible, and then exchange that for $4500 off a new car? I'd be several grand ahead. Of course, most of the models of new car I've got my eye on get worse mileage than a 1996 Civic. So if this plan induced me to buy a new car when I wasn't going to, which it might, and I get the kind of car I think want, taxpayers will have paid me $4500 to drive a nicer but less fuel efficient car than I've got.

Or maybe I should just buy a clunker, get the trade-in, then instantly sell the brand new car for $2000 off sticker and pocket the rest.