California Targets pre-’76 Cars for Pollution

Frankly, we can’t exactly blame California for having some of the strictest emissions laws in the country—when your major cities are that obscenely overpopulated, you kind of have to. But now, the Golden State is going after cars built prior to 1976, which have historically been exempt from its strict emissions testing, largely because these cars didn’t yet have much in the way of modern emission-control equipment—it wouldn’t make any sense to test them using today’s standards. Polluters though they might be, here’s why even these antiquated hulks don’t spew out as much smog as a modern commuter car: they represent only a tiny sliver of the automotive population, and they’re almost never daily drivers—how many people do you know who drive a ‘59 Cadillac to work, anyway? We’re talking about cars that are more than three decades old, that are largely gas-guzzling V8s, and are likely as not to have personality tics, such as a low tolerance for idling in traffic for extended periods. In other words, no one in their right mind would use them for everyday driving; these are the pampered rides that are saved for car shows and sunny-day cruisin’, and over the course of a year they probably put out less total C02 than a Corolla. The proposed legislation, which would impose emissions tests that pre-’76 cars would be unable to pass, simply amounts to another way to persecute enthusiasts over their infrequently-driven hobby cars. And the Hot Rod Blog makes the point that legislation that first gains traction in California rarely stays in California—you don’t need to look much further back than the national smoking ban to prove that.

Of course this is by no means the first time that Cali has pushed car-unfriendly legislation, and lawmakers probably think that the current climate of anxiety about gas prices and pollution will make the public more prone to scapegoating older cars. Wanna prove ‘em wrong? Express your opposition to S.B. 1549 to the California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee through the SEMA site.

Via TTAC