Cash for Clunkers - What a Clunker!

According to an analysis by Edmunds.com, the Cash For Clunkers cost taxpayers roughly $24,000 per additional car sold, beyond the number of cars that would have sold anyway even without the program. Naturally, automakers and government officials dispute the Edmunds.com conclusions, but those critics are highly biased, of course. Edmunds.com does not seem to have a vested interest in offering a slanted evaluation (though I may be missing something). I'm inclined to believe that we simply changed the timing of many new car purchases through this program, rather than affecting the overall annual volume in a meaningful way.