Mongo

Apparently there are some up here in the Bay Area that don't take too kindly to cars that aren't Prius' or Smarts. I got a letter in the mail today saying that I was reported for a car that "smokes" while in motion. Funny... I don't remember anything but small puffs of white smoke on the first 30 seconds of start up and other than a small trace of smoke when I go WOT as the LH goes to a different fuel map.

I didn't know this place had an Environmental **** Police that bitches whenever they see a poof of smoke come out of your car. Not to mention that below in the paragraph they are offering to pay me $650 to turn in my car for something more economical. Are you f**king kidding me? I would pay $650 for the finest quality strut brace and beat the person on the head that reported me for not having a homo-erotic Prius.


Rant off. I'll scan the hate mail tomorrow.

As for now, I am now inspired to do a modular setup with my cats and just run straight pipes in addition to my Flowmasters. They want carbon footprint? I'll give them one the size of Germany and the sound of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse at the same time.

RyanPerrella

if you think a reasonable response to the letter is to pull the cats off the car and make the problem worse then I dont think you will find much support here.

I agree that a letter like that is BS, I wouldnt pay it much attention but I also wouldnt make the situation worse. I dont see who could be enforcing this so its likely just someone as far on the left as you appear to be on the right. But leave the cats on, you will have no performance difference and the cats do a huge job at cleaning up emissions that your kids may someday inherit.

There is absolutely no reason why anyone should be running a car that they drive even on a weekend basis without cat's, none whatsoever.

danglerb

Where did the mail come from?

If the exhaust can be seen, maybe something is wrong? Good excuse for an Italian tune up or Sharktune.

heinrich

I agree wholeheartedly

hacker-pschorr

Welcome to the Peoples Republic of Pelosi

zoltan944

Uh Oh, the smug cloud in SF is growing! This could spell a huge disaster.....

heinrich

Dude in Yakima, WA they just enacted an ordinance that makes it illegal to wear thong underwear and other skimpy apparel that can be seen above the pants in public. I guess now we'll NEVER see DR and Jeannie out this way. ****.

Mongo

Of course I"m not gonna do that. It would be nice though to back my car towards the window of their headquarters with no cats and rev the hell out of the engine putting true carbon emitting exhaust into their building, but nah.



Instead I wrote a comment on their 'respond by mail survey' offering to disclose 6 consecutive years of flawless emissions even with 20 year old cats and new aftermarket ones too. I don't think they have a worthy argument against someone that maintains his car religiously.

Mongo

at 5,000+ it runs rich. Ever seen an Italian tune? A Ferrari smokes in upper RPMs despite passing smog every time.

heinrich

Mongo we got a report that you used the F-word in your living room, we'll have to take action ... a patrol car is already on its way, please do not resist arrest.

Nicole

I don't think getting childish over this would be the answer.

Is the letter justified? If yes, go fix the problem. If no, respond professionally and move on with your life.

There is nothing to gain.

worf928

I'll help him pay for the strut brace!

Carbon footprint. !@#^%$^%%#

Effin' hypocrites.

M. Requin

It's the "saying I got reported" part that gets to me. Good grief, what crap. Providing an opportunity for some to anonymously harass others with the help of the state just doesn't seem like the way our system should work.

scottzj

Maybe the smoke they saw, was the tire smoke as you pealed off swiftly! They got pissed cuz you have a faster and sexier car than theirs. haha

RKD in OKC

I was driving along, minding my own business when this piece of crap Toyota comes up through traffic from behind. This lady is weaving all over driving like a mainiac. She comes up beside me and almost hits the side of my car weaving around yelling at me with her window up. No idea what she was saying, but she was holding a piece of paper up with my tag numbers on it. As she tries to speed off I leisurely follow, not tailgating or doing anything that might be considered aggressive. Within two blocks she makes a bee line for the local police station. I pull in and park behind her. Neither of us get out of the car. I figured she was scared and I didn't want to aggravate the situation.

She waves an officer over, and there is lots of gesticulating on her part. He comes to my car and asks why I was following her. I told him she was trying to tell me something and was waving a piece of paper at me, I thought she wanted to tell me something. He says she says a piece of trash come out of my car and she was going to file a littering complaint and that it would carry a hefty fine. I told him that I did not intentionally toss anything out of my car, but that my windows were down and something may have blown out but I didn't see it. And then added that if she files a littering complaint I will file a complaint of reckless driving and speeding because of the way she came up through traffic and almost hit my car while yelling whatever it was she was yelling at me with her windows up and waving that piece of paper around.

He went back to her car and she almost immediately drove off obviously in a huff and glaring daggers back at me. The officer came back and told me she had changed her mind, not to follow her, and to watch those loose items in my car.

This brings me to two points. One is that if someone made a complaint, for any enforcement to be done they must sign a formal complaint. Just anonymously calling should only result in a letter or at most further investigation if there is probable cause. For there to be any kind of enforcement there must be a witness of record.

Next is, if you are going to complain about someone else, especially me, you darn sure better NOT be doing anything illegal yourself.

I had a similar experience with a local school bus driver. The bus was stopping at each child's house going down the main street through our neighborhood and cars were stacking up behind. After several blocks of stopping at almost every other house and not letting anyone go around as soon as the bus started rolling I zoomed around. A few days later I got a letter stating that I had passed a school bus that was stopped. And that if I was reported a second time I would be fined. I replied to the letter stating that the bus was stopping at every house instead of at designated pickup points and was not allowing anyone to pass backing traffic up several cars. That when I passed it was after the bus had started moving, but before it had stopped again two houses down the street. I didn't hear anything back, but the next time I came up on the school bus still making way too many stops, I was waved around. I am all for kid's safety, and would have liked when I was a kid to have the bus pick me up at my house instead of having to walk two blocks, but dang. Have some consideration for those trying to get to work.