Per Stormin Mormon:
for quite a while because many of the "clunkers" were
perfectly serviceable vehicles and the regulations
called for the destruction of the engines. What kind
of complete moonbattery is that?

Call my a cynic, but if I were looking in to the politics of it, the
first thing I would look for is money: who got more of it because of the
program, what politicians voted for it, and who "supported" them.
--
Pete Cresswell