180 days till crush..
In order to receive federal reimbursement for the subsidy consumers get for trading in their cars, dealers must first destroy the engine. One common method is to drain the car's oil and flood the engine with sodium silicate, or liquid glass. Dealers then turn the car on and rev the engine to let the solution harden. In just a few minutes, the car becomes inoperable.
Once the engine is dead, a recycling lot can take possession of the car. From that time, it has 180 days to sell the pieces of the car that retain some value. Even though the engine's a lost cause, everything from the scrap metal to the hubcaps is available to buyers. When the resale period is up, any leftover parts must be destroyed, and the government is notified that the car is gone for good.