Posted by Northern Calif Dave on Friday, September 24, 2004 at 11:56AM :
The San Francisco Chronicle today wrote the following article which in part talks about changing the CA smog log which exempts 30 year cars, to any car after 1976. Thankfully, my truck is a 48, because she'd never pass.
The other car bill, authored by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, will end the state's practice of allowing any car that turns 30 to avoid smog checks.
The measure, AB2683, met with angry opposition from many car collectors, who bombarded Lieber's office with what she characterized as "thousands of e- mails, phone calls and letters.''
Lieber spoke Thursday from her Bay Area district office, which remained under CHP protection because of a death threat she received related to the measure.
Most of the criticism came from those who misunderstood the bill and thought it targeted all vintage cars, Lieber said. Her bill continues an exemption for any vehicle built before 1975 and therefore singles out cars that already have been passing smog checks. The Article reads:
As of April 1, when the law takes effect, any car from model year 1976 will have to take the test, for example.
Lieber says cars built in the mid-1970s emit 155 times more hydrocarbons than current models and that the law will lead to the removal of 6 tons of chemicals that cause smog per day.
Car enthusiasts, however, complained that the new law will chase their cars off the road.
"It's a huge hassle and a big expense, and I think their assertions about how it will help the environment are grossly exaggerated,'' said Dan Shockey, president of the MG Owners Club, which has about 250 Bay Area members.
But a spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger's Environmental Protection Agency, Michelle St. Martin, said both bills represent the governor's commitment to reduce air pollution by 50 percent by 2010.
"The idea is to get the cleanest, most fuel efficient cars out on the roads,'' St. Martin said.
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