At Home Mechanic

California is the nation's most populous state and we own the greatest number of automobiles here. We also have lots of sunshine, large cities nearly entirely dependent upon private vehicles for mass transit and nearby mountain ranges. To add this up: Lots of cars, pouring out lots of emissions. The emissions get trapped by the mountains and heated by the sun. The result is California's world famous air pollution, called smog. In the bad old days, California got lots of smog.

Starting back in the late 1950's California had led the nation in requiring automobile engines to reduce their emissions. And with California being such an important market for cars, most of the world's manufacturers have spent billion of dollars searching for innovative ways to meet the ever more stringent California emission requirements. The stuff coming out of the tail pipe of a modern car that is legal for sale in California is nearly as clean as the air that goes in the engine in the first place. This technology has been shared with the rest of the world and we all enjoy cleaner air because California pioneered emission requirements. California is still perceived as the air pollution capitol of the Untied States, but thanks to our emission laws, we have surrendered that distinction to Texas and their concentration of oil refineries. Stationary sources like oil refineries are now the major source of air pollution in the US.

To insure that cars registered in California stay clean, California State Certified test stations must retest them periodically before the DMV will issue a new registration tag. Newer cars only need to be tested less frequently; older cars like my CRX get tested every two years. Really old cars, 25 years old and older, do not need to be tested at all.

The old car exemption is the result of clever and determined lobbying by the Hot Rod crowd and the companies that supply parts for their American Muscle Cars. The argument is that these are "hobby" cars that get only limited use; their contribution to air pollution is negligible when compared to the total fleet of cars in California. And this is great for the Muscle Car/Hot Rod crowd.

But for those of us whose hobby car is less than 25 years old, we have to meet the emission requirements set for the year of manufacture of our car. Simple enough if you have not modified your car's engine for greater efficiency and power. And if you use parts that are tested and approved by the California Air Resource Board (CARB), the DMV will allow them. But regardless of the purity of your tail pipe, if the emission tester sees a part that does not have the all-important CARB tag of approval, your car will be instantly failed and no registration will be issued.

In a sense, this policy creates two classes of automobile enthusiasts in California. The old car fans get the benefit of benevolence from the DMV; the newer car fans are the targets of suspicion and roadside inspections. And not that I am a conspiracy fan... But I find it curious that the old car crowd tends to be older, wealthier and whiter. And the newer car crowd is younger, poorer and ethnic. A coincidence? I think not.

In an ideal world, the state of California would recognize that auto enthusiasts and their cars span a broad range and that an emission exemption for hobby cars that are driven a restricted number of miles per year (Less than 2,000) would not make much impact on air quality. But alas, the collective we of the state of California are not so progressive and the newer hobby cars need to pass the emission and visual inspection test.

And that means my 1987 Honda CRX will need some tweaking to insure passing the emissions test. A tune up, a new O2 sensor and a fresh catalytic converter is generally all that is required. But I know some people who essentially rebuild their cars' engine every two years just to pass the visual test.

I am resigned to jumping through hoops to make sure my older hobby car conforms to California's strict emission laws. I guess it is the price we pay for cleaner air.