One of the major arguments against the clunker law comes from car collectors, restorers and enthusiasts who claim that the law takes potentially millions of perfectly good replacement parts off the road, and off of cars and trucks, forever.
Turns out, just as the claims that President Obama was born in Kenya and national health care boards will decide whether the old and sick can live or die, this isn't true.
With much of the more vocal opposition to the clunker law coming from southern Republican members of Congress with import car plants in their states and pro-business/anti-union Chamber of Commerce-type groups, whoever would imagine lies would be told about yet another Obama Administration initiative?
While interviewing Bailey Wood of the National Automobile Dealers Association for my TalkRadioOne.com radio show, The Car Nut (get the podcast anytime at www.TalkRadioOne.com) he casually mentioned, as if this were something everyone knew, that many parts of the clunkers ostensibly headed for the crusher could be parted-out and sold, including most all of the vehicle except for the engine block and drivetrain.
He also said that Texas has its own state-sponsored clunker laws in major metro areas, while both Texas senators voted against the federal law, but that's yet another story ...
So let's go to the 136-page law itself, "DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 49 CFR Parts 512 and 599, [ Docket No. NHTSA-2009-0120 ], RIN 2127-AK53, Requirements and Procedures for Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program," to see what the rule really says (it's available as a .pdf file at www.cars.gov; click on the "Official Information" tab at the top of the page then "Download the Law").
Here are some excerpts:
"The CARS Act specifies that while many parts of the trade-in vehicle
are permitted to be removed and sold, in the end the residual vehicle, including the engine block, must be crushed or shredded."
"The dealer must agree to transfer the trade-in vehicle to a disposal facility that will crush or shred it so that it will never be returned to the road, although parts of the vehicle, other than the engine block and drive train (unless the drive train is sold in separate parts), may
be sold."
"The CARS Act contains an explicit Congressional instruction to take measures to prevent fraud and the statute's clear environmental objective is to ensure that the fuel inefficient parts of the vehicle are never again used on the highway. Taking the above considerations into account, including the Secretary's authority to prescribe the manner in
which the trade-in vehicle, including its engine block, is transferred to a disposal facility, the agency has determined that the prudent course of action, consistent with Congressional concerns about crushing or shredding, resale and fraud, is to require permanent disablement of the trade-in vehicle's engine block as a part of the qualifying
transaction under this program."
"We interpret 'engine block' to mean the part of the engine containing the cylinders and typically incorporating water cooling jackets and
also including the crank, rods, pistons, bearings, cam(s) and cylinder heads. In the case of a rotary engine, the block includes the rotor housing and rotor." 
"Drivetrain" is defined in the law as including "transmission, drive shaft(s) and rear end."
"During the six-month period prior to the required crushing or shredding of the trade-in vehicle, the disposal facility may sell any parts of the vehicle other than the engine block or drive train (unless the drive train is dismantled and sold in parts)."
As for "disabling" the engine: "The agency has determined that a quick, inexpensive, and environmentally safe process exists to disable the engine of the trade-in vehicle while in the dealer's possession. Removing the engine oil from the crankcase, replacing it with a 40 percent solution of sodium silicate (a substance used in similar concentrations in many common vehicle applications, including patching mufflers and radiators), and running the engine for a short period of time at low speeds renders the engine inoperable. Generally, this will require just two quarts of the sodium silicate solution. The retail price for two quarts of this solution (enough to disable the largest engine under the program) is under $7, and the time involved should not substantially exceed that of a typical oil change. The agency has tested this method at its Vehicle Research and Test Center and found it safe, quick, and effective."
Essentially, the law says the entire vehicle other than the engine block and drivetrain can be parted-out and sold to junkyards, collectors, restorers, etc.
This puts the lie to yet another fear tactic being popularized by the fringe and mainstream media to attack an Obama White House program.
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