The 1996 Ford Windstar van sitting in the trade-in lot at Glenwood Springs Ford doesn't look all that bad. But it's a vehicle that would emit far more pollutants if it were put back on the road than a vehicle built today.

So the Ford dealership is donating the van to the Clear The Air Foundation, a project of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association to accelerate the move from old, polluting gas-guzzlers to modern, low-emissions vehicles.

“At some point in time, we have to say, ‘Enough is enough,'” said Jeff Carlson, owner of Glenwood Springs Ford. “Driving an older car is not an environmentally sound decision.”

The auto industry has invested millions of dollars, he said, to develop technologies now used in new cars that cut polluting tailpipe emissions down to close to zero. So while sales of new cars is good for the auto industry, it's also better for the environment, he said.

Carlson donated the van on Thursday when Jill Unfried, program coordinator for the Denver-based Clear The Air Foundation passed through Glenwood Springs.

Unfried also planned to visit Berthod Motors, Elk Mountain Motors and Bighorn Toyota on her Glenwood Springs visit. Her goal is to convince auto dealers throughout Colorado to donate 1,000 old polluting trade-ins within the next year.

“One thousand cars will actually move the needle on air quality,” Unfried said.

“With the economy today, the average we are asking from every dealer is four vehicles — one car per quarter,” she said.

Carlson said he hopes to donate one car per month, and if sales pick up, he will increase his contributions.

Dealers who donate trade-ins that they could otherwise sell will get a tax deduction, and they'll save the money they might have spent transporting the old cars to an auction site.

Meanwhile, Clear The Air Foundation sells the donated vehicles for parts and scrap, Unfried said.

The Windstar van, for example, will likely go to a salvage yard where buyers can take off useful parts — anything except for the engine. Once it's been stripped, the salvage yard will send the van to scrap. The point is to retire the engine, which wouldn't meet today's emissions standards.

Between parting out and sending the remains to scrap, Unfried noted that about 84 percent of the average vehicle can be reused or recycled.

The foundation expects to earn enough money from scrap sales to run the program, to offer scholarships for students attending automotive technician training courses, and to provide grants to organizations that work on air quality and public health programs.

More information at www. cleartheairfoundation.org.