Golden Colorado
GOLDEN - It is hoped the federal so-called "Cash for Clunkers" program will take as many as 800,000 older modeled gas guzzlers off U.S. highways. The program is designed to remove less fuel efficient vehicles from the road and spur the economy through car sales.

Go Subaru in Golden has seen the positive effects of the Cash for Clunkers program. They've taken in nearly 50 clunkers since the program began.
"Probably half our deals right now are Cash for Clunkers," Billy Mills, general sales manager for Go Subaru, said.
Most of the clunkers Go Subaru has taken in through the program are predictable. Many are large SUVs and pickup trucks. Some are in pretty bad shape.
"Ninety-nine percent of them are clunkers," Wes Guthrie, a salesperson at Go Subaru, said. "I took somebody's car in the other day that their door wouldn't shut anymore, and they were using a bungee to shut the door."
Then there was the "clunker" a man drove onto the lot that surprised everyone.
"I was like, 'Wow, that's a cool car,'" Guthrie said of the 1985 Maserati BiTurbo.
The Italian sports car is in near-mint condition with its odometer reading a mere 18,480 miles.
"It is kind of one of those cars where you go, 'Wow. Can't believe that one is a clunker,'" Guthrie said.
But it is. It qualified for the program and the owner received $3,500 for it that he used toward a new Subaru Impreza.
The interior of the Maserati is pristine, with all leather, suede and wood trim. The issues with the car were under the hood.
"He said that he could drive it down the road for about 10 minutes, and then he had to call his mechanic," Guthrie said of the owner's experience.
The Maserati owner had been trying for many months to sell the car without success. His asking price for the car was roughly the same as the $3,500 he got from Cash for Clunkers.
"So he got what he was asking for it," Mills said. "He just got it from the government instead of a customer."
While the Maserati stands out in the lot full of clunkers, it will suffer the same fate. The car will have its engine destroyed and the car will be crushed.
"Its one of those cars where you go, 'Wow, I wish it didn't have to be crushed, but unfortunately it does,'" Guthrie said.