My girlfriend just sent me this article and I thought it was an interesting read that I will pass along. I'm sort of torn on this one. I would really like more facts on how much these older cars really pollute before I can cast my vote. I think that perhaps extending the exemption from 30 years stretch it to 40 years or something. Anyhow, discuss...
Car Buffs Have Bill in Headlights
Jay Leno, others fight measure to end smog check exemption for older vehicles
Comedian Jay Leno, the host of television's "Tonight Show," called Assemblywoman Sally
Lieber's office earlier this year and delivered a monologue that wasn't funny at all.
Lieber, a Democrat from Mountain View, was sponsoring legislation to end a California
exemption that spares many old cars from smog checks. Leno, an avid car collector,
considered the bill stupid, and let Lieber's legislative director know it.
"He was really angry," said the staffer, Marva Diaz. "I thought someone was playing a joke
on me. He didn't sound like the person I had seen on TV."
It was indeed Leno, however * and he called again a few weeks later to remind Lieber of
his opposition to the measure, which now sits on the desk of his Hollywood pal, Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who must make a decision on it by the end of this month.
Currently, when a car turns 30, it no longer has to be smog checked. Each year, more cars
become exempt. Under the proposed law, the cutoff would be fixed in time * all cars from
the 1976 model year on would have to be checked * and the ranks of exempt cars would thin
as older cars are taken off the road.
State officials estimate that if the governor signs the bill, by 2010 about 340,000
passenger vehicles that would otherwise have aged out of the smog check program will have
to be inspected.
The measure is supported by an unusual alliance that includes the American Lung Assn.,
environmental groups, oil companies and farmers.
On the opposing side is a passionate subculture that's as much a part of California's
mythology as beach bodybuilders Schwarzenegger once hung out with: classic car buffs.
Supporters of the bill say that older cars, most of which would be considered clunkers
rather than classics, make up a disproportionate share of the smog problem in
California.
Opponents see the measure as a first step by the state toward forcing smog checks on the
classic vehicles they love.
Now that Leno has weighed in on behalf of the opponents, supporters of the bill worry that
Schwarzenegger * who declared his candidacy for California governor on Leno's show, and
boasts his own collection of Hummers * will quash it.
Environmentalists and car club representatives both assert that Leno lobbied
Schwarzenegger during the governor's most recent visit to the "Tonight Show" last month.
Spokespersons for the program and the governor said they did not know whether such a
conversation occurred.
Leno's publicist, Dick Guttman, rejected the notion that Leno would have any sway over
Schwarzenegger, or that the two celebrities were close to begin with. He said Leno would
never publicly discuss his political advocacy.
"They have had a relationship for years, but the use of the word 'friend' is sometimes
strange in Hollywood," Guttman said. "I would call it a symbiotic relationship. They
don't get together for dinner or anything. He is a good guest on the show."
As they await the governor's decision, car aficionados around the state are accusing
politicians of trying to grab headlines with a measure that would make only a dent in the
smog problem.
"Politicians are often ridiculous, and this is an example of how ridiculous they can be,"
said Chuck Abbott, president of the Southern California chapter of the Pontiac-Oakland
Club. "It's going to have an infinitesimal impact on air pollution, and it's going to
make a lot of people's lives miserable in the car world, all so some politicians can say
they did something about smog."
Environmentalists and air pollution officials counter that limiting the exemption would
remove 12 tons of smog-forming pollutants per day by 2015. The law, they say, is a
long-overdue step toward reducing motor vehicle emissions. They cited a USC study
published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine which found that children
breathing dirty air in Southern California were more likely to develop underpowered
lungs, leaving them more vulnerable to health problems.
By 2010, cars made before 1983 are expected to account for 22% of the hydrocarbons and 11%
of the nitrogen oxides emitted by passenger cars and light trucks, according to state
officials, even though the older models will constitute just 2.6% of the vehicles on the
road.
As for the true classics * the 1969 Pontiac GTO, for example, or '57 Chevys * the measure
wouldn't affect them, the bill's supporters point out, because it wouldn't reach beyond
the 1976 model year.
"We would argue there are no issues with this bill and classic cars," said Tom Addison, a
lobbyist for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. "It's very simple: If your car
is in the smog check program today, it should stay in the program. That's all the bill
does."
The measure contains a promise from California lawmakers that they will not seek in the
future to extend smog checks to cars made before 1976. Classic car lovers are not
convinced.
"There are a lot of Camaros and Mustangs that are going to be affected," said Lee Lieberg,
a mortgage underwriter from Westminster who in his spare time serves as treasurer of the
Corvettes of Southern California club. "But even those of us with older cars are either
violently opposed or at least nervous. People see this as 'give the bureaucrats an inch
and they'll take a mile.' "
Lieberg's wife, Sharon, is the historian of the Southern California Chevelle-Camino Club.
For the couple, the preservation of classic cars is a deeply personal pursuit.
Sharon still has the car she drove when the couple began dating: a white 1969 Chevelle
with a black vinyl top.
"She's had that car longer than she's had me," Lieber said.
Environmentalists are equally passionate about the need to clean California's air. They
expect Schwarzenegger * who promised when he was running for office to cut air pollution
in half * to do everything in his power to reach that goal.
Bill Haller, a Sierra Club volunteer working to end the 30-year exemption, was so livid at
Leno for opposing Lieber's bill that he decided to use the comic's trademark humor
against him.
Last week, Haller announced the formation of a faux environmental organization,
"Californians 4 More Smog," and organized pseudo-supporters to picket the "Tonight Show."
The rally in front of the show's Burbank studio was sparsely attended * only two people
showed up * but it still drew radio coverage.
"We say lung association, shmung association," Haller joked. Becoming serious again, he
said: "I hope Jay Leno reconsiders."
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"You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's worthwhile." -C. S. Lewis
I agree, there's nothing classic about a '76 Pinto. Old != classic.
Also, some heinous '82 Camaro was made when there were some smog regulations in effect, so it's not as though the bill is forcing you to retrofit smog stuff onto a Packard.
Having said all that, I agree with the Pontiac club guy from Oakland who said that it's not going to have a big effect, and the politicians are just doing it so they can say they did something.
I'll bet there's lots of ways to be much more effective against smog, but they're probably politically dangerous, so forget about getting anything done there.
might as well make a law that requiers farmers to retrofit their cows to meet emission standards then ....
seems to me that cars built in a time with emission controls should have to keep getting smog checks, which is what ejm refered to, it isnt that big a deal. The classics Leno has wouldnt even be closely affected by this lol
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Originally Posted by HuskerTundra
Shelby is right. Chicks dig purple. Buddy of mine has a PURPLE tundra , and he is always gettin compliments from ladies at school on his truck.
Having said all that, I agree with the Pontiac club guy from Oakland who said that it's not going to have a big effect, and the politicians are just doing it so they can say they did something.
Agreed...the number of vehicles effected won't begin to put a dent in air pollution...I would love to know the total number of pre 1974 vehicles registered in California. When is the last time you saw a 1973 Ford Galaxy cruising down the road? Most cars that old and still registered are classics that see very few miles anyway.
This is similar to Grey Davis' veto of extending the Year Of Manufacture license plate law to the 1963-69 gold on black plates...He vetoed it because he said it was dangerous to have more cars on the road with non-reflective license plates. How many cars would it effect?? Very few and again, mostly classics that aren't driven much or at night! Only time I every wrote a letter of complaint to the Governor...and he got fired!
Yup, they took a satellite pic over our place here in Julian and sent this emissions guy over claiming we had somehow poked a hole in the Ozone layer. But it was just our pet Lone Horn steer Sam Houston lettin' one go! Ol Sam said they ain't never gonna smog check him.
Had the 2000 Hornet smogged today. Is this an every four year thing for "newer" vehicles here in Californy?
CA smog laws are all B.S. man, I can't stand these political weenies. I had a '67 Mustang in 1990 that still needed smogging, they wouldn't look at it til I got a 'factory' air cleaner housing. At that time, if I remember correctly, the magic number was 25 years and the car would be exempt from smogging. My 2 thoughts concerning smog laws in CA:
1) When a car is first manufactured, the smog laws of that year should be applied to the vehicle for the life of the vehicle. They shouldn't change from year to year.
2) What happens to vehicles that don't pass? I'll tell you what happens here in SoCal, you can't sell them. They label it a 'gross polluter' and you're SOL. So you go to the border and sell it to someone in Mexico. Then the next day, while you're driving to work, you see your old car with B.C. plates on it.
The new cars coming out are getting cleaner and cleaner. Last I read, L.A. smog was at a record low for the past 20 years. So if anything, with 100x as many people now in SoCal, we still have better air than in the '80s. Maybe some politician weenie ran the numbers and figured hey, we can generate $100million in revenue by continuing to smog these old cars, that's all it's about. /Mike
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2001 2WD Silver Tundra: 4x4 TRD springs, Daystar 1", Carson AAL, red/blue Bilsteins, 265/75 Revo's, IS kit(minus bumper) and rims(hand polished), RF851X amp, Alpine HU, JL 6.5"XR comps, Qlogic with JL 8W3V2 subs. 185k miles and counting......
2005 Silver Sienna LE with 12" Overhead DVD
You can read up on what the bill has been doing in the in capitol hill lately. Read the summary's of each thing and also check out what groups/ people and what state senators are for them and against them. Currently the bill in inactive though, which is good news to me. I don't want this one to go through.
So they can change the smog requirements from year to year on any particular vehicle? I would think that it would be an expostfacto situation if you were to change the smog requirements applied to the vehicle away from the requirements of the year that it was sold new.
Mike you bring up a good point... I wonder how much of the pollution problem is attributed to the registered cars and how much of it comes from the cars that aren't registered. Sort of like guns... They make it illegal to have "assault" wepons. What that does is take them away from the ones who were following the law and registering them thus leaving them to the folks who don't register the gun and probably should have had it in the first place.
Another point... Yes the smog situation is the best it has ever been in LA, but is is slowing its improvements in the past few years. I guess the power that be are worried that the situation will begin to stagnate or become worse again. I think a quality mass transit system would do more than good thank taking a few cars off the road. Yeah it will cost more, but they can't keep expanding the freeways forever...
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"You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's worthwhile." -C. S. Lewis
it does occur to me that there's an age range in which any car is more likely to be a "gross polluter"...probably between ten and twenty years old, when it's showing whether it'll be a long term ride or if it's time to sell (and therefore will only get the bare minimum in service). all these people complaining? @#$! em. jay leno has the $$$ to pay for smog on anything he owns, as i suspect do many of the other "classic" owners. the people who are only putting the bare minimum in to their cars to keep the running (ie the cars most likely to pollute the most) will be taxed, fee-d, and in general harassed off the road, which is the intent of this law, period. theyre not out to get ahnold and leno.
the people who will be hurt by this are the ones who cannot afford a newer vehicle, nor sufficient repairs on an older vehicle, and will be hard pressed to drive legally...incidentally, the people on the bottom rung of the economic ladder, who i swear so-cal's economy is based on. i wonder if the bill's sponsors have considered that...?
[QUOTE=
the people who will be hurt by this are the ones who cannot afford a newer vehicle, nor sufficient repairs on an older vehicle, and will be hard pressed to drive legally...incidentally, the people on the bottom rung of the economic ladder, who i swear so-cal's economy is based on. i wonder if the bill's sponsors have considered that...?
-sean[/QUOTE]
You mean the illegals or just regular old lazy a$$ bums? Heck, we're lucky Arnold came in and immediately repealed the B.S. law giving CA drivers licenses to illegal aliens. If it weren't for that, there would be an influx of smoggy car driving illegals with legitimate CA drivers licenses. Where did common sense disappear to? /Mike
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2001 2WD Silver Tundra: 4x4 TRD springs, Daystar 1", Carson AAL, red/blue Bilsteins, 265/75 Revo's, IS kit(minus bumper) and rims(hand polished), RF851X amp, Alpine HU, JL 6.5"XR comps, Qlogic with JL 8W3V2 subs. 185k miles and counting......
2005 Silver Sienna LE with 12" Overhead DVD
As a member of a 67-72 chevy truck club ,I have already voiced my opposition to this bill .
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THAT'S THE HILLBILLY WAY
2006 Limited 4x4 ,Debadged.Westin side bars,Hellwig Sway bar, Lund Deflector ,Snug-Top Expo shell .Magnaflow 14" muffler with resonator removed.
" If I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself " "Marriage changes passion...suddenly you're in bed with a relative."
Why? you have a 67-72 truck ... this only applies to 76 and newer, which should be smog retrofitted anyways, right?
Back in August ,this indicated it would affect vehicles that were less than 35 yers old.
On Friday, August 27, the California Legislature approved a bill known as A.B. 2683. This bill would repeal the state`s current pro-hobbyist emissions-test exemption for vehicles 30 years old and older. It includes amendments that do not protect car collectors and is being opposed by SEMA and the major car organizations in California. This bill would require:
* All vehicles with post-1975 model year insured as collector cars (driven only to parades and exhibitions), and at least 35-years old to continue in the Smog Check program for the life of the vehicle.
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THAT'S THE HILLBILLY WAY
2006 Limited 4x4 ,Debadged.Westin side bars,Hellwig Sway bar, Lund Deflector ,Snug-Top Expo shell .Magnaflow 14" muffler with resonator removed.
" If I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself " "Marriage changes passion...suddenly you're in bed with a relative."
The CA auto smog check bill on capitol hill...
, and he is always gettin compliments from ladies at school on his truck.
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