4 of 6
BACKNEXT
Sterling Brooks: Too old for clunkerdom
Sterling Brooks: Too old for clunkerdom
Sterling Brooks, of Runnels County, Texas, wanted to turn in his A-Team era Vandura, but to no avail.
Traded: 1983 GMC Vandura (11 mpg)
Bought: Nada

My smoke-belching, fuel-guzzling diesel van doesn't qualify for Cash for Clunkers. I have insurance, current license plates, a safety-inspection sticker... but my van is one year too old to qualify.

Is my 1983 van a classic, Congress? Maybe they consider it too classy to be scrapped and think it should still be running up and down the highways. Well, that's what I do with it now, and I expect this old thing will be alive and kickin' for decades to come.

The merits of the program are worthy and admirable. But who decided to cut so many of us out, especially when the point is to get the clunkers off the highway? That $4,500 incentive would have me at the dealer showroom tomorrow looking at a Prius -- and I'd be happy to write a check.

NEXT: Michael Molino: Missed clunkerdom by 1 mpg

Last updated August 13 2009: 2:28 PM ET
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.