The real cost of Cash for Clunkers

Whether you cashed in on last summer's Cash for Clunkers program or not, you paid for a new car.

According to research from Edmunds.com, taxpayers paid an average $24,000 per clunker in buying a new car. And they did so on sales Edmunds.com says would have occurred even if the $3 billion clunker program never existed.

The program, which gave buyers up to $4,500 in incentives to trade in their gas guzzlers for less thirsty vehicles, was supposed to spur sales and boost the economy.