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One of the companies that has benefited from the program is Ford, which is now planning to add shifts and increase overtime in order to keep up with demand for its Escape sport utility vehicle and the Focus compact car. This is definitely good news to Ford employees.

The auto industry has been struggling over the past couple years, and the program has definitely helped breathe life back into the industry. For the final three months of this year, Ford will be producing 570,000 vehicles. This is a 33% percent increase over the same period last year, and 15% more than it had planned just a month ago.

The "cash for clunkers" plan was originally allocated $1 billion, which was expected to last several months. However, anxious consumers flocked to car lots and went through the entire $1 billion in just one week. As a result, Washington allocated another $2 billion to the program last week which resulted in Ford's decision to boost its production.

Ford is not the only company that is seeing an increase in demand for their vehicles. Chrysler and General Motors are also considering boosting production for the latter part of the year. GM has already told its suppliers to expect an increase of 50,000 units.

Not everyone is convinced that the "cash for clunkers" program is a good thing for the economy. One big complaint is the the program will only offer a short term increase in auto sales. Others complain that the government's use of tax dollars to fund the program will not have the desired effect of stimulating the economy, but will actually put more pressure on the economy in the long term.

Some critics feel that the program is putting new cars in the hands of people that otherwise would not be able to afford a new car, which could result in many defaults on auto loans. This added risk to borrowers and creditors could wind up hurting the economy in the long run.

There are definitely some really good arguments on both side of the debate. What are your thoughts on the "cash for clunkers" programs? Is this a good thing for the economy, or a short term fix that will wind up hurting us in the long run? Let us hear your thoughts on this debate.