CASH FOR CLUNKERS R.O.I.

A vehicle that gets 15 mpg and does 12,000 miles per year, uses 800 gallons of gasoline.
(Government definition of a Clunker)

A vehicle that gets 25 mpg at 12,000 miles per year, uses 480 gallons a year.

So, the average clunker transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.  

About 700,000 vehicles were part of the Government's program, saving 224 million gallons   per year.

That equates to just over 5 million barrels of oil.

5 million barrels of oil is about ¼ of one day of US consumption.

5 million barrels of oil costs about $350 million dollars at $75/bbl.

So we all contributed, through our taxes, over $3 billion... to save $350 million.

I'm sure they'll do better with our Health Care. Don't you  think?