It seems absurd that the government in our "free-market" economy (continue when the side splitting laughter abates) would artificially cause the value of junk cars to inflate and push auto sales, but perhaps there is an ulterior motive:

The program raises significantly the chance of a positive third-quarter gross domestic product growth figure. [Read]

Could the government really by trying to goose the economy to make it look better than it really is? Well, this is now pretty much guaranteed to be a "W" shaped recession.