The recent induction of the CARS program by the government has raised a few eyebrows as well as fists. The concept of the program was designed to remove gas-guzzling, high-emission vehicles from the roads and to spur sales in a troubled auto market. The program took effect on July 1st and will run until November 1st, or until the 1 billion dollar funding has been spent.

Even though the program started a month ago, the 136-page rulebook with detailed regulations was released just this last Friday, and by the looks of it, there are very stringent obligations if anybody is interested in taking advantage of this deal.

If anybody has a car to be traded into the Cash for Clunkers program, it must be a 1984 model year or newer. This can be tricky however; for example, if the car that is being traded was manufactured in July 1984 and the new vehicle was manufactured in August 2009, it will not qualify. The trade-in and the new vehicle must be less than 25 years of each other to the month of manufacture.

The fuel economy of the trade-in must have a combined city and highway rating of 18 mpg or less. (The fuel economy of any vehicle can be checked at this website: www.fueleconomy.gov.) One exception to this rule is the case of work trucks which may not have been rated for fuel economy and will be judged by instead by age. They must be from 2001 or earlier, but also be within the 25 year mark.

The total amount of the refund will be determined by how much of a difference there is in fuel economy between the two vehicles. If the difference 4 mpg and 10 mpg there is a $3,500 credit; if it is more than 10mpg then there is a $4,500 credit.

Even with all that said, don’t go to the dealership thinking and expect to take the old ’89 Ford Bronco that’s been rusting away in the backyard and expect to get $4,500 for it. The most overlooked rule is that the vehicle being traded in must be in driving condition, registered in a timely manner and insured for at least a twelve full months prior to the trade.

Qualifying purchases must be model year 2009 or 2010 and can be purchased or leased. However, if leased it must be leased for at least 5 years. The new vehicle also has a maximum MSRP cap of $45,000, so your dream Skyline GTR will not qualify under the program.

There are a lot of different and precise requirements for qualifying for the rebates, so make sure to research as much as possible before taking the plunge. All of the regulations and FAQ’s can be found at the official Government page: www.cars.gov.

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