The primary aim is to, of course, help clean up the air in a smog-infested hell-hole. Granted, not ALL of California is LA, but LA pretty much IS California (I know I'll catch hell, but go with me here…). As a result, the CARB laws were created and passed, quite unanimously if I recall. Net effect: good for the immediate environment. At it's core, CARB regulations actually do good and mean well. Despite what the modifying community feels, the CARB board isn't out to convert everyone into driving the rough equivalent of a beige box. What they are out to do is encourage people to be more responsible with what they have.

The problem comes in via law enforcement's approach to CARB. CARB is now a tool used to generate additional revenue in some (read: VERY few) police jurisdictions. So, of course, it gets reviled. The notion that something like CARB will suddenly be used across the nation and destroy car ownership/love as we know and understand it is unfounded. Enforcing it would be all-but-impossible and cost more than anyone would be willing to add their votes to in a budget committee. The idea here is to create a uniform, national standard that attempts to better everyone together. Given that several after-market manufacturers are able to get their parts CARB-approved shows that CARB actually does want you to love the hell out of your car, they just want you to at least hug the environment. Seriously, that's it.

As far as “penalization” goes. This is a non-issue. If you buy a car that's INCREDIBLY cheap, it's not because the owner suddenly feels like being nice. They're getting rid of it because they themselves either can't afford the repairs, or don't want to invest the time/money into it. So that “great deal” is rarely anything but. Yes, you can blame the exorbitant cost of car repair on “shady” mechanics, but this just devolves into a strawman. Owning a car requires work and money. Period.

I'm certainly not against car modification. On the contrary, I'm quite for it. And, much like your statement, I'm for responsible modification. Keeping a careful eye on how a modification will affect a car is a critical part of being responsible. You understand this as does CARB. So instead of using a small segment of the population (pissed off street-racers primarily), look at this as an opportunity to further the science (and art) of vehicle modification. Frankly, the idea of a national adoption of CARB standards actually makes me excited for what could come in the future.

And remember. Torque isn't a right, it's a hard-won privilege.

Oh you folks who are all “don't you mean 'horsepower' lolol!?” can kindly die. Thanks!

/I keed. don't die. go comatose, I want to laugh at you for a while.