Japanese Nostalgic Car

California may not have much rust, but it’s got something far, far worse: lawmakers on the constant attack against old cars. The latest culprit is Assemblyman Dave Jones, who has drafted a bill that would require all cars 15 years or older to undergo annual emissions testing (currently state law says pre-1976 cars are exempt).

Even worse, Jones is, as SEMA discovered, trying to sneak this in as an amendment to an unrelated bill!

Do we really have to go over why these laws are… what’s the term… stupid? Apparently so. Here we go again:

1. Old cars make up only a tiny fraction of the total number of cars and trucks on the roads today.
2. The majority of collectors do not use their vintage cars as daily drivers.
3. And most of all, encouraging the disposal of an old car so that a new one can take its place does not account for the manufacturing costs of the new vehicle.

This is merely the latest in a string of attempts to send more old cars to the scrapper. Earlier year this year a similar bill was introduced but defeated thanks in part to those who wrote in expressing their outrage/sound reasoning. However, California and Texas also have buyback programs designed to take old cars off the street.

Come on, legislators, think about it. How much fossil fuel does it take to turn a pile of iron ore buried in a mountain – along with plastics, rubber and assorted chemicals – into a new car? Let us get every mile we can out of these old cars, whose pollution costs generated during manufacture have already been paid for.

The hearing is set for August 28. If you are a California resident – or are simply pretending to be one – please write to your legislator and express your views on the subject. Thank you! Full details and legislator’s email addresses after the jump. Continue reading →