Emissions, California, the whole bit

[Will Owen <nashwill912@domain.elided>]

When I got the heads-up on CA State Senator Lopez's bill proposing changes to the rolling exemption for older vehicles, I thought it was another one of those Web rumors, like the one about killing NPR, but I guess it's for real. This is another one of those useless gestures politicians make when they want to look
like they're Doing Something without actually addressing any real problem, like demanding more jail time for drug users - they target some group that has neither major clout nor popular appeal, blame them for some percentage of whatever we're all pissed about, and then levy penalties: there, *that'll* show those
shameless bikers (or car nuts or peanut vendors or whatever)! And please be advised that this has nothing to do with party affiliation or left/right orientation, either. They all do it; if the sponsor of this latest folly is a Democrat, that's only the odds working, since there are more of those in the state
legislature. OTOH, my own personal orientation is well to the left of Hillary, but ain't nobody madder about Lopez's bill than I am.

Alfa content? I'll give you Alfa content: that rolling exemption is probably to be thanked (or blamed, if you're with Lopez) for keeping a lot of the less popular old Alfas alive and in good running order. I'm sure that ratty '72 Berlina I used to have would've been recycled long ago if it had to report for smoggage
every two years. While serious collectors will not be deterred from registering and certifying their nice museum pieces, all those more prosaic or less sexy specimens, the Berlinas (and the Toyota Starlets and VW 1500s and Fiat 124 sedans etc.), the ones whose continued existence can currently be justified partly on
economic grounds, will lose that layer of protection. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who would hate that.

So, if you're a California voter, by all means drop Senator Lopez a line expressing your objections, and of course send something to your own senator as well. Keep away from any name-calling - "Dear Senator Smog Nazi" would not be a good way to get anyone's ear - and stress such useful things as the relatively small
number of such cars actually on the road, the fact that we old-car nuts are so fanatical about keeping them in really good condition (as well as keeping a straight face when we say things like that), and how heavily this will burden a lot of harmless hobbyists, many of whom are operating on a shoestring as it is.

Will Owen
Pasadena, CA

ps - Stacy Faught said: "I'd think that our time and money would be better spent on making our public transportation less polluting (been behind a bus lately???)" - to California's credit, they are addressing that. Most or all of the public buses in LA County now are running on CNG instead of diesel fuel. They still
SOUND like buses, but there's virtually no smell at all. Most welcome on a hot day in heavy traffic...
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided