Hib Halverson

The environmental jihadists are at it again...trying to force your older Corvette off the road.

Last year, right after the modification of SB708 to eliminate repeal of the 30-year rolling exemption to the Smog Check and that bill's signing by then-Gov. Davis, many people who watch environmental legislation as it applies to car enthusiasts, predicted that the liberal environmentalists who control the California legislature and various administrative bodies, such as the California Air Resources Board, would not give up. They were right!

A recent public meeting held by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) revealed many proposals which will have direct, negative impact on owners of older Corvettes and other enthusiast cars along with vehicles owned by lower income persons. The proposals will focus significant regulatory attention on emissions reductions from older vehicles.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) maintains that such proposals are based upon a flawed computer model, erroneous assumptions and the use of biased data that is unfairly and illogically skewed by the emissions of a small number of vehicles in any model year.

Now...are you sitting down? If not, do that first.

The measures the CARB and the CA legislature want to become law include stricter standards for the Smog Check emissions-testing program. This means that not only will your 60s or early 70s Corvette have to be tested to verify it meets emissions standards, but your car may have to meet a standard more stringent than the one it had to meet when they it manufactured. Also, get ready for a new round of requirements forcing you to install "retrofit devices." Don't know what a "retrofit device" is? Well, remember back in the mid-70s? California tried to force retrofit of emissions devices to older vehicles not originally equipped with them? The program was a failure and it will be a failure again if CARB tries to implement it.

These stricter standards will apply to newer vehicles as well. Expect stricter standards for just about anything older than five model years. CARB wants to do this because it will increase the amount of older vehicles forced off the road without making CARB and the CA legislature address the controversial political issues of mandatory scrappage (ie: confiscation) of vehicles which are not considered by most California voters to be "old cars."

But wait....there's more. CARB wants an expansion of the "enhanced Smog Check" program to include more areas and to new vehicle types, such as diesels and all-wheel drive cars and trucks. It wants annual (versus the, current, every two years) testing of vehicles more than 15 years old (*that means everything older than 1989*). CARB wants the use of roadside remote-sensing devices, vastly expanded vehicle-scrappage programs and last, but certainly not least, our friends at CARB once again want to eliminate the 30-model-year rolling exemption from the Smog Check which is currently allowed for cars built prior to the 1975 model year.

SEMA presented formal comments which described the inherent flaws in these proposals and offered alternatives which would yield real, verifiable and cost-effective emissions reductions without causing unnecessary harm to vehicle hobbyists and low-income motorists.

At this point, it is unknown how SEMA's comments were taken by the CARB. I'm sure we'll hear more about this issue as 2004 goes on, but...mark my words....if even half of these proposals end up as law, some of those owning older Corvettes in California are going to be either be scrapping them, selling them out of state or donating them to museums and any of those choices are the objective of CARB and the environmentalists who control state government. Don't kid yourself, these people hate cars. They believe significant political capital will come the more of these regulations can be put in place. They believe continued and increasing regulation of motor vehicle emissions is easier to accomplish politically than regulation of industrial, utility or other non-vehicular sources of emissions.

Now some might say that the recent election of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will prevent this type of regulation getting very far. I say...don't be too complacent. Schwarzenegger is a fiscal conservative but a social and environmental moderate. He needs a ton of bargaining capital to trade with the liberal-controlled legislature if he wants to further his fiscal agenda. My guess is, those of these proposals which will not cost the state a great deal to put in place will be supported by Schwarzenegger so....if you don't like the idea of this significant change to California exhaust emissions law as it applies to older vehicles, NOW is the time to start writing the CARB, your state legislators and the Governor.

Lastly, those reading this outside California might be saying, "Oh this is just another one of Halverson's right-wing, alarmist posts about the Smog Check." Well...keep in mind that when it comes to motor vehicle emissions regulation which affects car enthusiasts, California sets the pace. Take a look at how many other states now test the emissions of older vehicles in the same manner as does CA? Take a look at how many other states want old cars off the road, as does CA.

KurtK

Hib- Thank you!

Zrxmax

Thanks for that enlightning post Hib... The problem with CARB is they arn't interested in preserving the hobbist passion... nor are they interested in reality, or facts... the bureaucrats are at it again... :rolleyes:

Coupe89

bogus

I am going to be moving to CA very soon... it sounds to me like a lawsuit against the state government and CARB. Perhaps class action.

CARB has proven out that old truth: absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Their rulings are simply insane and totally without any idea of context to the real world.

Would someone explain to me how CARB is formed? Executive order? Do they have more authority than the legislature? Who approves their rules? The Gov? Legislature?

Who appoints members to the board?

How long do people serve?

TIMSPEED

No, they like cars...the kind with 4 cylinders, with 1 catalytic converter PER cylinder, and with emblems on the back that say HONDA.
Honestly though, if these laws DO come down, a LOT of people are going to be going into the smog business, if you know what I mean, cuz there'll be such a need for "Easy" smog stations, that people will jump right in to help out. Trust me, as long as there's people out there who love cars and they have money, these laws won't come into effect. (People with BIG $$, like Jay Leno.)

grapeknutz

Thanks Hib I just sent a copy to Sharron Runner, my assembly woman. This does it I'm getting f**k out af California DAMN SOCIALISTS!!!!! :mad

h rocks

It's for real guys, here's some info from Team Z R 1, who has been warning us about the enviro ***** for years. This is only part of the intrusive software and hardware that the Calif. car haters want to mandate. (it's really scary Big Brother stuff)

WHAT IS OBD-III?
A program to minimize the delay between detection of an emissions malfunction by the OBD-II system and repair of the vehicle

Two basic elements:

Read stored OBD-II information from in-use vehicles.
Direct owners of vehicles with fault codes to make immediate repairs
OBD-III TECHNOLOGIES

Three ways to send/receive data:

Roadside reader ( through the air as you drive by)
Local station network
Satellite
ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS

Incorporate into biennial I/M program
Read fault code to screen for vehicles that need complete testing
Pass or short test for vehicles with no fault code
Does not speed up repair process
Out-of-cycle inspection
Compile and screen data
Mail notice to vehicle owner requiring out-of-cycle inspection within 10 days
Require Certificate of Compliance (C of C) on next registration/resale, or
Require C of C within 30-60 days, with citation for noncompliance
Enforce citation via court and/or DMV penalty at next registration
Roadside Pullover
CHP flags down vehicles with fault codes
Technician verifies problem by inspecting and/or testing vehicle
Issuance of notice requiring out-of-cycle inspection
Same enforcement (C of C /citation)
LEGAL ISSUES

OBD-III imposes sanctions based on "suspicionless mass surveillance" of private property
Random, possibly frequent testing
No advanced knowledge vehicle will be tested
Results of testing not immediately available (unless roadside pullover follows)
No opportunity to confront or rebut
Possible use of system for other purposes (Police pursuit/immobilization, tracking, cite speeders)
OBD-III raises 4th Amendment search and seizure privacy issues:
''The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated...'' (emphasis added; also see Art. I, Sec. 19 of Calif. Constitution)
From legal perspective, it is unprecedented: previous cases have looked at surveillance of individuals
ARB Request For Proposals

Incorporation of Radio Transponders into Vehicle On-Board Diagnostic Systems

The Air Resources Board reserves the right to reject any proposal deemed nonresponsive to the RFP, not responsible, and/or not reasonable.

Proposals submitted under this RFP will be evaluated by the "secondary" method, in which the cost of the proposed research is an important, but not a determining, factor in the awarding of the contract.

I. OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility and cost effectiveness of replacing the current emissions-based periodic Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) program with automated inspections based on the OBD-II system and an on-vehicle radio transponder. The study will test, evaluate and demonstrate the viability and cost of equipping new vehicles with various transponder technologies and assess how these technologies can be effectively used to improve the convenience, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of the I/M program.

There's a lot more to it, but you get the message. Better deluge Gov. Terminator with petitions, or you poor guys are gonna be driving Mr. Ed!

Aggravated4life

My Gawd,they never stop....oh boy...why do I get this feeling that everyone that enforces these rules makes a ton of money and drives the newest cars each year that comes out?Or do they ride their bicycles to work?
I bet they never travel or go anywhere eh?They never pollute the air eh?

This sounds like dictatorship to me as well...who the heck do these people think they are deciding whats best for everybody?Did they take a nationwide Vote?Im all for better,clean air but this is a petty attack to look like theyre accomplishing something.

Why dont they ban all the semi trucks,factories and Jet planes now first and get the older cars last?Heck I see more ricer cars today that are nearly 10 years old that smoke all the time.Dont see too many old muscle cars or Vettes or etc that much out there,except on real nice days and showtime,so whats the real problem here?

We all know that heavy trucks,Jets,factories and the like pollute more than anything,so why do they constantly target older cars instead?
They got friends in the autosales business that need the cash flow to push out new models all the time?

Someone out there please take an EGR valve and a cat pipe and start ramming it up them where the sun dont shine!This may sound childish but so does their legislation theyre trying to enforce(if they havent done so already!)

:cuss

86PACER

:cuss :nonod:

CentralCoaster

If these commie bastards gave me a <5 yr old Honda, than I'd commute with it.

That OBD3 shi*t will never fly. It's unconstitutional in so many ways.

I think we should get rid of the damn legislature for awhile. They spend our tax money conspiring about more ways to tax us.

In Montana, the state legislature meets once every two years! :cool: I met one of the Senators while I was there. He said it costs each taxpayer about $8 per year to pay the government's salary! :lol: He then followed with...
"Tell ya what, just hand over 8 bucks right now, and we won't need the middleman."


[Modified by CentralCoaster, 12:11 AM 2/8/2004]

CentralCoaster

Actually they're phasing out jets, semis, and factories also. The airlines will be banned and all the factories are going to Mexico and Indonesia.


Finally we'll be free of all this capitalist bullshi*t like being employed and enjoying freedom. Let's all give a warm welcome to the new Calwelfarenia! :cuss

Ozman

What I want to know is who is electing these roundheads to office? Is it the new "immigrants", is it people who have lived in California for a long time and are just misguided in their environmentalism, or is it just that California is full of left wing extremists?

Of course, with the sad state of their school system, maybe these kids are coming out ignorant and brainwashed by the left wingers that have taken it over.

silver & red CE

Isn't it time for a left coaster crack about the 12 inches of snow here in Midwest? Enjoy your soon to be Vette-less state, maybe you can get GM to make an electric C7 :cheers:

Eric (of Palatine!)

SunCr

If I'm reading this right, some of what's being proposed assumes that a lot of vehicles are running around with stored trouble codes or with the Check Engine Light on - hard to believe that this is true for the general population of Vette owners. Between '84 and '96, C4 production was what - a hair less than 500,000? How many are registered in California and how many have been modified to the extent that they don't pass current smog or are being driven daily with an emissions malfunction? My guess would be a mere pitance in regards to the overall numbers of registered vehicles. The real casualty of such Orwellian ideas are those who can't afford new or newer cars or have any ability to pay for basic maintenance, so the people who need to speak up ain't those who own Vettes, or hot rods, or even SEMA, or is it that the group most affected just doesn't care?

silver & red CE

I think Cali voters love laws that control people's behavior. They ban smoking everywere, ban the Scouts, ban lawn mowers and bar-b-ques, ban the Pledge etc. I doubt there's anything you Cali folks can do (except move out of state) with all the liberals that live there.

Good luck fighting the liberal tide!
Eric

Black87c4

It's time for us to return to 49 states again :seeya Maybe they should do a study to determine how much pollution is coming out of there pie holes over there. :mad

Rynda

Hopefully this will usher in the dark ages to California and the other states will see what happens before the they get really sick. Hopefully they will then innoculate themselves from the enviorus. It is high time for more buisness to leave that fascist state and let it breathe its own CARB flatulence and believe that it is clean air.
P.S. My wife was born and raised in California, I lived there from 1966 untll 1983. I could not stand to and will not ever live there again. It was such a wonderful state untl the liberal voters filled the state capital with morons.
God save us all.

tkrussell

Yet another reason not to live in California. The beautiful scenery and weather can scarcely offset the apparent predominance of crazies, environmental and otherwise. My condolences to the Corvette lovers and any other sane and rational people living there.

"He who would sacrifice liberty for a little security will find he has achieved neither"
- Winston Churchill

CentralCoaster

Done! :cheers:

"Left coaster crack about 12 inches of snow in the Midwest" thread