Friday, the government finally unveiled more details about its Car Allowance Rebate System (also known as "Cash for Clunkers"). The government released detailed rules for dealerships, spelling out how to manage the cash for clunkers program and dispose of old cars.

To get you up to speed: you should know the government set aside 1 billion dollars to offer credits to drivers who trade in their "gas guzzlers" for newer, more fuel-efficient cars.

The credits are $3,500 or $4,500 off the price of a new vehicle (the amount of the credit depends on how fuel efficient you go). For cars, if you trade up to a vehicle that gets 4 miles more per gallon, expect a $3,500 credit. If you trade for a vehicle that gets 10 miles more per gallon, you get the maximum of $4,500.

Keep in mind, you don't have to apply for a credit. Participating dealerships will be reimbursed by the government. You make your deal with the car dealership and it will have to apply for the reimbursement.

To read up on the rules and qualifications, go to the government's official website.

You look up your car or truck in this database to see if it would qualify as a clunker.

To compare the fuel efficiency of your old car and the new car you are interested in buying or leasing, go to this site. It gives you the epa estimates of the combined city/highway mileage.

To qualify as a "clunker", your vehicle must get 18 miles per gallon combined or less. That's the mileage of the vehicle at the time it was new, not what you believe it gets now.
The rules are slightly different for trucks.

The program ends November 1st of this year, or when the $1 billion runs out.

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