[joe_padavano]

OK, let's take a breath. While I don't agree with anti-clunker laws, the reality is they are NOT designed to take antiques and classics off the road. They are really designed to allow fixed emissions sources (ie, power plants, manufacturing plants, etc) to purchase emissions credits that allow them to keep emitting since they have theoretically removed an equivalent amount of pollution from the environment. How a non-running old car emits ANYTHING (well, except for rust fumes) is beyond be, but the lawmakers and their big business friends have convinced the general public that this is a good thing. The fact that it helps sell more cars is probably not lost on them either.

As for "tree huggers", again, I'd be the last person to be accused of being one, but once you have kids, you do want to be sure they will have air to breathe in their old age.