Now, a new study by three Texas A&M University economists says the misguided stimulus policy wasn't even good for the auto industry. Mark Hoekstra, Steven L. Puller and Jeremy West find that the program's fuel-efficiency constraints induced people to purchase smaller, less expensive cars than they would otherwise have bought.

The average Clunkers buyer spent $4,600 less than they would have without the program, the economists estimate. Multiply that by the number of vehicles sold and you get a stunning revenue loss of $3 billion for the auto industry -- which happens to equal the $3 billion that taxpayers spent to subsidize purchases.