The Federal “Cash for Clunkers” program officially kicks off today. It allows Americans to trade in cars with bad gas mileage and receive up to $4,500 towards fuel efficient vehicles. Some dealerships already began offering it and The Takeaway talks to Mary Dubois from Oklahoma City who traded in her clunker for a new, more fuel efficient vehicle. And we talk with Dan Neil, auto critic for the Los Angeles Times about the clunkers program and why Hyundai is doing so well right now. Also joining the show is Rick Halstead, a Hyundai factory worker. He's going to be talking to us from the factory in Alabama before starting his shift working on 4-cylinder engines.

At this week's Detroit auto show, car companies are rolling out prototypes of their electric vehicles, and the plan is to have them on the road within the next few years. Will that mean an end to the experience of driving as we know it? Dan Neil, Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive critic for the Los Angeles Times, joins John for a discussion of what it actually feels like to drive an electric car.

The new Dodge Circuit is introduced at the Detroit auto show this week.



For less style, but more efficiency, take a gander at Toyota's latest hybrid.