There’s no question the Cash for Clunkers program sold cars. Lots of cars. But was it the automotive equivalent of a sugar high? A quick look at Google Domestic Trends can tell us a lot.

Google Domestic Trends track Google search traffic across specific sectors of the economy. Changes in the search volume of a given sector on google.com may provide unique economic insight. The indexes measure relative query volume compared to the total number of searches on google.com. Thus, an index that is decreasing does not imply that the total number of searches is decreasing; in fact the number of queries could be increasing, just not as quickly as overall search volume.

The Auto Buyers Index tracks car-related queries like blue book, car, Chevy Nova, SUV, you get the idea. The volume of search spikes and falls precipitously, indicating that the program may have been just a temporary shot in the arm.

Search as an economic indicator. Nice. Next up, Google will cook your breakfast and read your palm.