The Cash for Clunkers program is set to finally end on Monday, months shorter than it was originally thought.

The program, which was originally pegged to end around November at which time the government expected to sell around 250,000 vehicles, is closing shop on Monday, August 24 largely to help prospective buyers avoid claiming more than what the program was designed to offer.

For the most part, the Cash for Clunkers program has become an enormous success in reigniting the fledgling auto industry in the US. In just over a month since the program began, the program sold over 700,000 vehicles – three times more than what was expected.

The program was such a hit that in a week’s time, the government’s $1 billion budget was drained, prompting the government to infuse another $2 billion in funding the program. Now that the entire budget has dried up, the government has decided to cease-and-desist the program after churning out the results it had always expected.

Continued after the jump.

According to Ray LaHood, US Transportation secretary, “This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work. At the same time, we’ve been able to take old, polluting cars off the road and help consumers purchase fuel efficient vehicles.”

It lasted shorter than expected, but the Cars for Clunkers program certainly delivered the results everyone was looking for.