Please review and, please, please act

Please review and, please, please act.

Yeah, it ain't war in Iraq. It's just junking cool cars to support the right of big industries to produce more poison. I, however silly it might seem, want my right to produce one classic cars worth of smog, and if that means PG&E or Dupont have to reduce their atmospheric pollution by .000000000000001%, so be it. I'll stop using PCB's and hydrocyanic acid.

I promise.

- danjite

Pass it on....:

"Once again, and despite past successful hobbyist efforts, Sacramento is once again after your collector car. A new California State Senate bill has just been introduced which will require biennial smog tests for cars up to 44 years old beginning January 1, 2005. That means that your 1961 or newer Ford, Facel, Fiat, MG, Morris, Ferrari, Chevy, Simca, Citroen or Saab, (no, there is no exemption for two stroke automobiles!) will need to pass a smog test if this law is enacted. Some say this would also require the retrofit of EGR systems to these cars that were never designed to have one in the first place and to which it may be impossible to fit such a system.

This bill comes to you courtesy of State Senator Dean Florez, Democrat from Shafter (Fresno/Bakersfield area). If you care to read the bill for yourself, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_07010750/sb_708_bill_20030221_introduced.html. The automobile hobbyist community needs to come down very hard and fast on this one to send a message to the California state government that we are sick and tired of their repeated efforts to scapegoat the collector car hobby and the damage they are trying to wreak on hobbyists and the multibillion dollar industry that supports us. I strongly urge you to pass this message along to any friends and to any car clubs or groups with which you may be affiliated. Please contact your own State Senator, and Senator Florez if you like, and demand they defeat this poorly conceived and counterproductive legislation. The link and phone number below will tell you how to contact your State Senator. What follows below is the text of a notification that was provided by the National Motorists Association and SEMA along with some points you may wish to make in your correspondence with your Senator.

Thanks for your help and your interest.

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Senate Bill 708 repeals the current pro-hobbyist exemption for vehicles 30 years and older and replaces it with an exemption for vehicles that are 45 or more model years old.
We urge you to contact your State Senators to oppose SB 708.

** Existing law in California exempts all pre-1974 vehicles from emissions testing until 2003. After 2003, vehicles 30-years old and older are exempt from emissions testing.

** California's current emissions testing exemption recognizes the minimal impact of vehicles 30-years old and older on vehicle emissions and air quality.

** Vehicles 30-years old and older constitute a small portion of the overall vehicle population and are a poor source from which to look for emissions reduction.

** Antique and classic vehicles are overwhelmingly well-maintained and infrequently driven (about one-third the miles each year as a new vehicle).

** Legislators and regulators are feeling the heat from a failed effort to meet air quality goals and are looking for a convenient scapegoat. The old car hobby should not carry the burden of their mistakes!

Please take the time to contact your State Senator on this issue.

To find out who your state senators are, you can visit http://www.sen.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp or contact the California Senate general information line at 916/445-4311.

If you have any questions about this issue, please contact the California Activist Jim Thomas, (Home/work 415/924-2184) or fastestdog@prodigy.net"

Thanks to Art Banks for his e-mail alert on this issue.

Source: http://www.livejournal.com/users/los_angeles/