The federal government’s wildly popular Cash for Clunkers program terminated at the end of August. The next day, dealer showrooms were empty. In September, auto sales in the U.S. dropped 23 percent from September 2008. General Motors and Chrysler were hit hard by the drop. The seasonal adjusted sales rate returned to the first half of 2009 pace of 9.2 million units. Many worry that clunkers depleted dealer inventories so much that it will impact the fourth quarter.