Mark Tapscott, over at the Examiner (http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12977-Cars-Examiner~y2009m7d31-How-long-before-CashforClunkers-becomes-a-permanent-federal-entitlement) , predicts that the cash-for-clunkers program (CARS) will be extended indefinitely because it is popular, and gives the Obama administration another way to spend money.
I disagree. I think that if Congress extends CARS (doubtful), it will be a one-time shot. The main reason is that there are still fiscal conservatives in Congress--the Blue Dog Democrats and the Republicans will team up to end the program. The Greenies won't support an extension because the current program, being a compromise, watered down the original premise of forcing people to trade up only to high-mileage cars.
CARS was fun while it lasted, but I predict it will shortly be as dead as one of the engines in my previous post.