Cash for Clunkers encouraged people that could not afford a new car to buy one anyway. I think that put the idea out there that “I deserve a new car and I can save the planet” when reality is the new car has to be paid for at some point.
Cash for Clunkers also raised the cost of used cars to the point many could not afford to buy them either.
2009 was a great time to buy a new or relatively new gas guzzler. Everybody was still shell shocked from the financial crisis and high gas prices. High mileage subcompact cars were hard to come by in both the new and used market if my memory serves me correctly. I bought my current car with an $8K rebate. I remember some SUV's with rebates well over $10K..