Jay Leno’s star power wasn’t enough to persuade a California legislative committee to pass a measure to allow owners of classic cars like him to be exempted from the state’s rigorous smog-check requirements.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday blocked Bakersfield Republican Sen. Shannon Grove’s Senate Bill 712 from advancing for a full vote. Leno had testified in support of the measure in Sacramento earlier this year.

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[–] 41 points 1 year ago (16 children)

Classic cars are rare and they wouldn't really add any measurable pollution to the environment. Making them adhere to modern regulations makes no sense imo.

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  • [–] 30 points 1 year ago (14 children)

    If you have money for a rare classic car you have money for a smog-check. Let's not give exemptions to rich people again

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It's likely gonna fail because old car design usually doesn't account for any of that. Carburetor, lack of catalytic converter, lack of exhaust gas recirculation system, so on and so forth, all those gonna add to the emission and if the strictness is of today standard, it's gonna fail.

    Maybe give them a smog tax based on the emission would make much more sense.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    I'm just curious did anyone actually read the article.

    They have to pass the emission standard for the year of production. It means as long as your vehicle is on relatively good repair you'll probably pass, you're not likely to pass if you've made modifications which is what they're upset about.

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    How is a car designed before any regulations supposed to pass a modern smog test?

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  • [+] -13 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Does it have to? You could probably get by with some tuning, or if that doesnt work refitting some injectors maby? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ Also how many classic cars are still running on their original engine?

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago

    Most of them? These are not custom hot rods, they’re restored stock cars. A careful and attentive restorer is going to try to match every detail to the day the car first rolled off the production line. This means keeping (and rebuilding) the original engine, not installing a modern emission-controlled engine in its place.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago

    Or you just still own your old car because it runs. Its not a rich people thing just because the guy in the article is rich. When I stumble upon classic car shows, the vibe is "long term project cars" and not "affluent collectors".

    My father in law maintains a Triumph Race car with the machine shop in his garage. It'll never legitimately pass smog, but its also driven once or twice a month and he's owned it for like 50+ years.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It's not about the cost of a smog test.

    It's that classic cars will never pass a modern smog test. They are wildly inefficient, and those inefficiencies manifest in a bunch of wasted gas and bad exhaust.

    I think they should probably get a smog tax, like someone else suggested somewhere.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    If you don’t have money for a new car and only have an old beater, let’s not punish them with added cost to exist in this fuck the poor country. It goes both ways.

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