Jeffrey,
I don't know if you are a PRC (People's Republic of CA) resident, so forgive
me if you are and you are already aware of what I'm about to write about.
/rant
The previous emission regulations were brought about by a legislator
named Quentin Koop. He proposed that all vehicles 25 years and older be
exempt from emission rules. This proposal gained a great deal of grassroots
support. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) was against it. The end
result was a compromise bill, which said that all vehicles 1973 and older
were now exempt and that after 5 years had passed all vehicles 30 years and
older (rolling exemption) would be exempt. This bill passed and was signed
by the Governor into law.
That should have been the end of it. However every year since that
signing, CARB has convinced some well-meaning legislator to introduce a bill
that undue the exemption. Every year, the bills have either died or been
voted down - until this year. There are a lot of enthusiasts in Ca who are
now holding their collective breath, waiting to see what happens next year.
Will CARB be satisfied with this victory? Or will they look at it as a mere
toe-hold and try to get the entire classic car exemption removed?
The most onerous portion of the new bill is the statement "The motor
vehicle complies with the exhaust emissions standards for that motor
vehicle's class and model year as prescribed by the department". This does
not mean that your classic car has to meet the standards that were in effect
when it was new. Rather, it means that it has to meet whatever standards
the "Department" decides it wants to impose on your vehicle's "class and
model year". There is nothing in the law to stop the State from deciding to
enact standards that are impossible to attain.
There are a couple of other things that a non-PRC resident may not
be aware of:
1) Any mechanic in CA has the right to not smog check your car for any
reason whatsoever (including the fact that he may be unfamiliar with you
make/model/year of car). In some areas of CA, it's often hard to find
mechanics that are familiar with old British cars. It's the owner's problem
(not the state's) to find someone to smog their car. When I bought my TR6
back in 1985, I had this same problem (and I lived in San Jose, a fairly
large city). I finally found a Porsche mechanic who was willing to smog
test my TR.
2) The PRC has a large population of migrant workers, some who are here
illegally, who generally drive old cars of questionable mechanical
condition. On first glance, one would think that this new law will help
remove these vehicles from the roadways. However it won't. Generally, our
migrant population does not register or insure their cars (due to the cost)
and you only need a smog check if you register your car. California used to
have roadside vehicle safety checks, but these have not been funded for
about 20 years. Therefore, the large numbers of old clunkers that CARB says
they are targeting with this law will not be affected.
3) California's large numbers of farm equipment are completely exempt from
ANY emissions requirements, despite studies that show large amount of
particulate emissions from farm equipment. If CARB really was serious about
fixing California's air quality, they would at least spend some effort on
that source.
/rant off
Hugh Barber
Hollister, CA
'73 TR6 (not effected by the next law, YET)
Check out the new British Cars Forum:
http://www.team.net/the-local/tiki-view_forum.php?forumId=8
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