Autocide durability, cash for clunkers

[Povertycove]

What's the record for a car surviving the autocide in the cash-for-clunkers program? The manager of a large Ford dealership here in Bangor, Maine, told me that an ancient Ford Windstar lasted 22 minutes. An old Dodge 225 slant six went 17 minutes, threw a rod through the block, and incredibly chugged on for a minute and a half before fully dying!

Any other records?

BTW -- having wandered through the fields of hundreds of clunkers, we should be glad these beasts are off the road. The general level of decay of clunkers here in salty Maine is hard to describe. Duct tape is not enough.

[ex98thdrill]

So far the winner in my parts was the Chevy 4.3 liter engine, but the cars that you mentioned went longer.

My dad's '93 F-150 wasn't pretty, but that was one good running truck. It makes me sick to think that they blew the old girl up. That Ford would outrun my 2004 Chevy down the road, and it would outlast it beyond the gas stations. If we could've bought the engine back from the dealer before they blew it up, we would've done it.

[Barry Wolk]

That kind of defeats the purpose of the program, no?

[Povertycove]

I'd still be interested in anyone can find a car that lasted more than the Ford Windstar. As I understand it, the dealer empties the crankcase and then adds some kind of acid. Is there a set protocol for killing clunkers?