Nut, the Exploder had discs all around, but I don't think they were the right size...
But, the brakes aren't destroyed. Someone will get them if they want them.
They want to get clunkers off the road, they want to improve overall gas consumption. That won't happen if my clunker stays on the road. If I traded it in, and some guy bought it, because his Corolla was trashed, nothing was gained. To make the 2nd half of the program work, they have to destroy them.
No one made me take the explorer in. I stripped it of good parts before it got there. Some guy with an explorer got an excellent deal on my wheels and tires and battery and air cleaner and radio and....
In the end it makes sense to have the 'average' car get better gas mileage, and the clunker program does help achieve that. Less dependency on foreign oil.
If it were mandatory I would fight it tooth and nail, but it isn't. And if northstar parts get hard to find, well, I guess I will find out what it is like owning a classic car for real. You don't think that XKE owners are finding parts for their cars just sitting around in junk yards for cheap. It happens.
Heck, put a northstar in that Rod - there are plenty of guys who turn it, change it into RWD, and supercharge them... I think they are getting around 700hp out of them, and over 700 ft lb of torque... Northstars are the lightest and shortest of the 32v aluminum engines out there... And there are a ton of them in junk yards.
Oh, insurance difference between the Exploder and the new car - $5 a month more... Exploders cost a ton to insure because they have been rated 'unsafe'. People seem to think they can drive them like a car - and try things that don't work like underinflating the tires. Good tires, proper inflation and sensible driving, a combination that is apparently hard to come by...