awalker@topaz.ARPA (*Hobbit*) (03/06/85)
Hey, can one of you West Coast types answer a simple question: If California has such strict laws about what can and can't be on your car [extra equipment, emissions, etc] then how come it's such a showplace for hot cars in general? What's the *real* story? ... which translates to ''How are the owners getting around the law?''. _H* [still trying to make my 4x4 pass inspection]
knight@nmtvax.UUCP (03/08/85)
As an ex-inhabitant of CA (and EXTREMELY happy to be so), I think I might
be able to answer this question. Until recently, it was possible to
register a car without any sort of emissions systems verification. However,
in 1983, a law went into effect requiring emissions certification upon
reregistration, with some rather stringent requirements about how things
got tested (such requirements included specifications for the testing
equipment).
So, before 1983, LOTS of people (myself included) went out and found
someone to sign off on their transfer of ownership on vehicles that
didn't comply to standards ("Oh, yes, there's a smog pump. Say, where's
the belt? Ah yes, not having a pump, you don't need a belt.")
So, high performance cars in CA exist simply by circumventing the
system. Me, I think it's damned hard to find a place in CA to really
pump things up to a reasonable speed, unless you're talking the desert
areas in the Eastern part of the state. Give me good old New Mexico
straightaways anytime, with cops that'll wave at 70.
Bob