'CASH FOR CLUNKERS' BROKE

WASHINGTON POST: The government's $1 billion "cash for clunkers" program, designed to boost stagnant auto sales, is almost out of money, putting its future in question, government officials said Thursday . . . READ MORE

ASSOCIATED PRESS: The Transportation Department called congressional offices late Thursday to alert them to the decision to halt the program, which offered owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle . . . READ MORE

POLITICO: The program . . . was supposed to expire at the end of October. But in the one week since it took effect, it appears to have run dry of the $1 billion allocated to it . . . READ MORE

BLOG REACTION: MICHELLE MALKIN, HOT AIR, INSTAPUNDIT, DON SURBER, THE OTHER McCAIN, RIGHT WING NEWS, MEMEORANDUM

COMMENTARY/CATO INSTITUTE
CHRIS MOODY: In June, Cato senior fellow Alan Reynolds explained how you can use that money to buy the muscle car or truck you always wanted: "Consider how easy it would be to game this giveaway program by using that $4,500 voucher to buy a big SUV or V-8 muscle car" . . . READ MORE

COMMENTARY/AMERICAN ISSUES PROJECT
JIMMIE BISE: We know that the bureaucrats in Washington are absolutely horrible at predicting what actual human beings will do in a given situation, but rarely do we get to see their failure as clearly as we can now . . . READ MORE