A field full of discarded vehicles turned in during the “Cash for Clunkers” program sits in front of car dealerships, two of which were recently closed, in Fairfield, Calif. The program, which provided vouchers toward the purchase of more efficient vehicles was extremely popular with consumers. However, critics say the improvements required in the bill — as little as 1 mile per gallon for certain trucks — were so lax that the government basically subsidized consumers who swapped one gas guzzler for another.