hacker-pschorr

Only the southern half of Wisconsin requires smog checks, and several years ago changed it from all cars to 1996 and newer. Only an ODBII port check, nothing else. The state was losing money on damage claims doing the roller test.

A few more states have done the same, and hopefully this trend continues. Anyone smart in government can easily run a DMV report and see the vast majority of cars older than 1996 are in a multi-car household and care not regular drivers. Wisconsin even has special tags for collector & hobby cars.

The flip side of this coin will depend on future politics and the desire by some to literally eliminate all "gross polluters" from public roads. No matter how you scratch it, a 20+ year old car will never be as "clean" as a 2017, ever.
This could be used someday to leverage the idea that no gross polluting vehicles belong on the roads, unless in a parade or show.....even if that is allowed.

SEMA has already been fighting a bill the past few years which would have made it illegal to modify any car, even if the intended use was off public roads. This bill, as it was originally written, would have made it a federal offence to take any car and modify it for 100% track / race use. Some claimed the provisions were "accidental" and never intended to apply to racing or non-street vehicles. I don't buy that for a second.


Remember these things the next time you are in the voting booth. There is absolutely a growing number of politicians hell bent on forcing everyone to own a "green" vehicle. You don't "need" that vintage car, they serves no purpose for the greater good.


If there is ever a spark of interest of a federal required test procedure or my state goes down the road of testing everything, I'm out. You'll see all my 928's on BAT or eBay.

If anyone feels the need to bellyache about not being in compliant is damaging anything, save your breath. Wake me up when every commercially driven vehicle is as clean or cleaner than my cars. Then line up every boat, ATV, RV, lawn mower...... I go through a few hundred gallons of fuel a year in my non-street driven vehicles. None have a CAT or any emission equipment, and they never will unless outlawed.

docmirror

Since we are now giving our 2 sheckles worth of commentary, allow me to weigh in.

I grew up in SoCal in the 60s, and 70s. I very well remember 'smog alert' days. I remember brown sky. I remember 5-7 mile visibility in the San Fernando valley. It was not good. So - on the one hand, I can see the effects of the regulation. It's improved dramatically, and the quality of life for everyone has gotten better through more rigorous regulation on vehicles, and many point-source pollution outlets.

However - there are still a lot of things that can be done. Frex; The Carson/Wilmington refinery. A lot of people can't believe that there is still a fuel refinery in SoCal! And it is a gross polluter. Yes - they made a lot of improvements in the past 30 years, but it still spews out tons of CO, CO2, and various hydrocarbons each year. Just a fact, that cracking oil into fuels is a messy business.

A few years ago, someone noticed(it wasn't the state) that most of the ships in the port of Long Beach would run their engines all the time. The state tried to crack down, and found out that there are a bunch of intl regs on ships, and that getting much of anything done, requires a lot of paperwork. Most ships now voluntarily shut down the engines when they are dock, but still run them on anchorage. Hard one to fix.

Airports; If you are not a pilot, you have no idea how much pollution we produce! It is, in a word - heu-uuge. Not just comm planes, but also mil, and civil. What's worse, is that the fuel we piston-heads burn has Lead in it. That's right, there's tetra-ethyl lead coming out of my exhaust right over your home, car, self. Ewe...

Cars are important, and I don't want to pollute just to **** off the state. But - what was, is what is. And if a 1963 Studebaker with a supercharged 5L V8 pollutes more than 500 new Toyotas, that is a fact of life. It was legally sold, registered, licensed, and operated on the nation's roads. Taking it away now, or trying to modify it to Toyota levels is just not gonna fly. But that won't stop the totalitarians from trying.

vanster

What are the requirements to have "historical vehicle" plates in California. If so do the smog rules still apply? I do recall the smog alert days in So California in the late 50's and early 60's. Also having spent the past 20 years commuting to China, I get it.
It was interesting to see all the Singer 911's at Monterey with Puerto Rico plates....

vanster

One more thought to this, my V10 TDI passes smog in a heart beat and I know it pollutes. I can see it>

polecat702

California, is a wonderful place, it's beautiful, with great weather.

It's the majority of people and politicians that suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I lived there for years, and earned my HA patch there. We left 30 years ago, and it was getting bad then. I still can't figure out why any thinking person stays there. I don't miss it at all, and it's way over crowded too!