California rodders.........time for action......

[Uncle Bob]

Okay guys, the nut jobs in Sacramento are at it again!!!
http://www.semasan.com/main/main.aspx?id=62246

While you can whine about it here, the more important thing to do is as the article asks. Don't expect somebody else to carry your water for you or fall victim to the "gee, there's nothing I can do about it" disease. Get your own butt, and butts of your buddy's in gear and flood these clowns with contacts that let them know just how big a voting block car enthusiasts represent. The rest of us are counting on you........seems that any nutty idea started in Cali spreads like a cancer to the rest of the country.

[Carnut]

From what I've seen that California has sent to the US Congress, I think the place is a lost cause that no amont of Hot Rodders standing up and screaming will change.

[Leon]

This is nothing new, it was introduced in the Assembly on 02/21/2007.  Many of us have been writing for months.

[Jbird]

Thanks uncle Bob, I got my emails sent.   Jbird

[Leon]

Unfortunately, several of the emails on the SEMA site are wrong.  Several of the senators require feedback on their website and filter out messages from outside their district.  Many of them have to be called or faxed to get through.  Thankfully the price of all in one printer-copier-fax machines have dropped drastically.

[38HAULR]

Not only in the USA.   But this sort of stuff permeates to  us in Australia,giving some greeny politician an example for all to follow,under the guise of "saving the planet".  Older vehicles are constantly under attack under the guise of "road safety" or the environment,behind the push is the new car industry, who will support anything that helps new sales. And of course those receiving grants to keep pushing theories.  I prefer to think that us "'old car people" are the true environmentalists, we re use, re cycle.  Manufacturing a new car does more to add to "greenhouse"damage ,than the actual running of a vehicle in it,s lifetime INMHO. Do I make sense here?...........Frank.

[Jbird]

I just got a reply from Senator Cox. His email says that 1976 and earlier vehicles are still exempt from smog inspections. I think some of us have misread A.B. 616. If they really wanted to make an improvement they would remove every car, foreign and domestic, manufactured from 1975 till 1988, from the highways. Every time I have to sort out one of these Frankenstein deviced emission controlled carburetors, I want to run far far away. Jbird

[Leon]

I didn't read it wrong.  Scrapping these cars (which is where California wants them) removes these cars as transportation and donors for our classic cars.  I just took the drivetrain from a 17 year old vehicle for the Mustang I'm working on, if it had been scrapped I would be out the fuel injected engine with AOD transmission that will get me good performance and mileage in the old car that some politicians want off the road, also.  

It will also cost us more, as the Senator states "This piece of legislation would place an undue burden upon car owners simply because their vehicle is older than an arbitrary date set in law.  This bill would double the cost for those vehicle owners as they would be required to submit to annual, instead of biennial, smog inspections.  Additionally, the arbitrary nature of the 15 year threshold concerns me.  I have not yet seen any evidence that 15 year old vehicles pollute our air substantially more than 14 year old vehicles.  Declaring all vehicles 15 years or older are guilty of being gross polluters without any empirical data is backwards and does not reflect the spirit of the law.  For these reasons, I oppose AB 616 in its current form."

The current logic is to target old cars as a solution to polution when it comes from many sources.  If our leaders are allowed to think this way on this case, what's to stop them on the next?  Annual checks will do little to reduce any smog, especially when a person can buy a car, fail to maintain it or even modify it, and not get checked for 6 years.  I've had my S10 going on 5 years and have yet to have it checked.  If it had something wrong, I'd be poluting for years, but the 1990 Buick that my wife drives that has the same emissions as when it was new, would cost me an additional $50 and her time without a car just because it's "old".  If it had problems in past inspections, then label it, but not because it isn't new.  The smog check stations are the ones that benefit when someone keeps a car, and the auto manufacturers and companies buying polution credits benefit if they suceed in getting "old" cars off the street and into crushers.

"This bill would require the department to incorporate annual inspection of motor vehicles 15 or greater model years old into the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program by July 1, 2008, and would require funds generated through additional inspection fees to be deposited into the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account." - translation SCRAPPAGE PROGRAM.

[UGLY OLDS]

Leon...I think you nailed it...Be thankful you don't have to battle our Ill. "It will be worth this when it's done " tax.....

[Jbird]

Leon, Thanks for the explanation. Now I understand, the state wants the $8 certificate fee every year instead of every other year. And then they're going to figure out a way to use that extra revenue any way but what it was intended for.
My 85 year old mother "drives" an 85 Chevy Cavalier. I maintain it for her and take care of getting it smogged. Every time I've had it tested it had to be done at a test only station, it has passed with flying colors for the last twenty years.
I just had it done a few weeks ago. When I compared this test with the one done two years ago I found she had only driven the car 631miles in those two years. The roads are probably safer for it ,but she's spent nearly as much for the smog inspection as she has for fuel. $60.00 for the last test.    Jbird

[Leon]

It wouldn't be so bad if it were only the $8 for the cert., but the money the shops are making off of the checks is a bit high, and like you say, what are they spending that money on?  Probably more welfare payments where a major portion of our budget goes.   I know shop rates are not cheap, but the last check I had I watched from just down the street and he had the car in and out in 15 minutes, then waited for a half hour before he called my cell to tell me he just finished.   The whole thing seems a little crooked to me.  Besides, if they were really worried about smog, they would put the tube up the exhaust and measure it and not check to see if the air cleaner/MSD box/other item that will make it run better has a CARB E.O. number.  Several years back I had a Suburban that had trouble passing because the dist. was worn and putting an HEI on it that would give it a better spark and make it pass the sniffer would fail it because the car didn't come with that from the factory.  Today that dist. would be legal, but that's because of the money MSD spent getting the E.O. number.  It's all about the Franklins.....

[38HAULR]

How do you guys go in the US with running on straight LPG ?,I think you call it Propane.  In Australia it is an "offence" to tamper with or remove emission controls on vehicles compliance plated with the ADR[Aust design rule] that refers to emission controls.There is one way out. Because LPG is regarded as clean fuel,leeway is shown.  My son was picked up driving a 1980,s V8 Commodore[ General motors Holden product] . Young drivers are always soft targets for "random" checks,when looking under the hood,they got all excited over the lack of plumbing[all the crappy vac lines,it is amazing how clean an engine bay looks without this crap,and the charcoal cannister,gives the engine bay that nice 1950,s/60,s look] ,and immediately started quoting the law,until he showed them the lack of fuel pump,no carburettor,no gasoline tank attesting to straight LPG operation,they let him be.If it was "dual fuel" That is Gasoline and LPG ,then an offence would have been committed.Running on LPG makes passing emmission tests a cinch........Frank.

[Jbird]

Frank, I don't know why propane isn't used more in highway vehicles here. At the complex my shop is in there are six different types of busineses? (busini?) with forklifts used inside and out. All but one of these lifts are LPG fueled. The gasoline fueled lift was making enough smog to cancel out the clean emissions of the other five until it finally quit running completely. The owner contracted yours truly to fix it, after almost a week and a few hundred bucks I got it running like it should.. The thing is older than me, I still have no idea what engine it has in it.

Leon, you're right, it's all about the bennies. When I worked at the wrecking yard we made more money selling used smog euipment than nearly everything else combined. Example; a smog legal Thermostatic air cleaner was $150-200, we sold every one we could get our hands on and had a list of people waiting for those and all the other pieces needed to make the car look correct. We used to rent a smog legal VW engine, an hour to install, a trip to the smogger, an hour to uninstall and you're good for two years.  Most of these cars would have passed the actual tailpipe measurement but couldn't even be tested until all the krap was stuck on them.      Jbird

[38HAULR]

Jbird.   LPG is promoted here in OZ, to the extent that our Federal Government offers a $2000AUD rebate to convert your car to LPG ,an individual is allowed one claim in each 3 year period. The cost of conversion runs at roughly around $2.5k-$3.5k AUD some more,depending on vehicle of course.The installs have to be done by licensed installers.It is possible to use s/h gas bits,and as long as the tank is" in date' [10yr life] or retested,have a licensed fitter inspect it for a fee and give you a compliance plate.   New car buyers are offered a $1000 rebate for purchasing LPG fuelled vehicles.  LPG is available all over the place and costs ,out my way around  45-47 cents per litre,compared to a pump price of gasoline being $1.20 per litre for standard ULP ,and $1.30 odd for premium ULP,our gasoline prices go higher,and lower,depending on all sorts of "fluctuating factors'.  I am constructing my 38 Chev 350/350 for straight LPG, and have my 66 Mustang partially set up,tank and filler fitted so far. The filler is hidden behind a swing down rear licence plate......Frank.

[Uncle Bob]

Obviously you guys helped.....................

http://www.sema.org/Main/ArticleDetail.aspx?fc_c=953216x2071046x57177260&contentID=58181