The car trade-in plan is designed to last one year once signed into law, costing about $4 billion. But the war-spending legislation includes only $1 billion for the program, enough to last through September. The administration, or Congress, will have to find other funding sources to keep the program going beyond then.
Under the clunkers program, trade-in cars must get no more than 18 miles per gallon, have been built in 1984 or after, and have been owned and insured by the purchaser for at least a year. The miles-per-gallon rating refers to the Environmental Protection Agency’s combined city-highway rating of a given model (for those of you curious about the clunker sitting in your  driveway, check here for a guide   http://www.mmsend2.com/ls.cfm?r=82121225&sid=6807761&m=758689&u=NAEA&s=http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm).
A consumer could then get a $3,500 voucher toward a car that got at least 22 mpg. The voucher will increase to $4,500 if the new car is 10 mpg higher than the trade-in. Consumers will also be able to use the vouchers toward the five-year lease of a vehicle. Vouchers will also be available for small and large light-duty trucks. Lawmakers estimate the program will subsidize between 600,000 and a million vehicles. The Senate vote was 91 to 5 on the bill. President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law shortly.

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