As I’m sneaking in this post this afternoon, there are almost 50,000 Google hits for “Obama allows CARB to set laws.” In no way do I aspire to be one of those sites that paraphrases the same news feeds as everyone else, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be posts like this, sharing my take on something in the news. There’s a lot of gear heads out there, like me, talking about this issue today.
I originally read the story on Jalopnik, (linked by @uberingram) and there’s certainly reason to be concerned if you’re a car guy. The California Air Research Board (CARB) is an uncompromising strong arm entity of the government of the People’s Republic of California (jokingly: PRC). They set standards above and beyond those of the rest of the country which often come across as asinine to those of us who actually work on our own vehicles. Their aim of having cleaner air is wonderful, but the way in which they enforce this aim, rather than encourage it, leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many a car enthusiast.
Not every car or truck owner out there necessarily believes in global warming, but the vast, vast majority of us agree that reduced emissions and more MPGs is a good thing. Clean air is something we can all believe in, but our fear is that CARB will soon enact programs which penalize the owners of older cars, leading to a dozen other states following, lock stepping without concern for those of us who responsibly modify our vehicles. These are some of our most prized possessions. What if they tell us they’ll no longer allow vehicles older than 1995 on the road? This is my fear.
Let the new cars to which we have no allegiance be forced to perform more economically for all I care. Just don’t get some crazy idea in your head that I’m going to give up or stop driving anything built the day before these new laws went into effect. This might sound ridiculous, and maybe it’s entirely unwarranted, but if CARB had its way, nobody in America would be driving anything that wasn’t a hybrid (despite hybrids being worse for the environment based on their manufacture).
CARB is an organization which neither understands nor appreciates your having passion for automobiles and they will walk over any and all of us if they get their way. For this reason, I am concerned, but until they start talking about restricting the registration of older vehicles, I’m not entirely worried. Regardless, what is good for CARB is typically bad for car guys.
