1. An old
car that doesn't qualify for the $4,500 cash trade-in incentive from the
government because it gets more than
15 mpg.
2. The sudden realization that your old beater vehicle is lost in the twilight zone between "generally worthless" and "totally worthless," forcing you to keep driving it for another year -- at least.
"I just looked up the mileage for my 1996 RAV4. The
stupid Junker Flunker gets 16 mpg, which means I
won't be getting any of that
government cash after all. Drat!"