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Don't rule out another Cash for Clunkers. The 2009 program destroyed 1 in 300 cars on the road. The next one could be bigger. Also, 3 in 4 cars on the road toda
by CGMthrowaway 3mo ago
Don't rule out another Cash for Clunkers. The 2009 program destroyed 1 in 300 cars on the road. The next one could be bigger. Also, 3 in 4 cars on the road today are now in states requiring emissions tests for your annual registration, which can pose a significant (and growing, as standards improve) obstacle for older cars.
- Dries007 3mo agoThe emissions tests only test to the level that the car was first registered (or produced) doesn't it?
- hnav 3mo agoYup, a bigger issue for old cars trying to pass emissions is that with prices of precious metals, a worn out catalytic converter (diagnostic code P0420 ) means that most of them are mechanically totaled in California, New York, Colorado since they require either OEM or CARB approved replacements.
- Ar-Curunir 3mo agoThat’s a good thing, yes?
- Scoundreller 3mo agoMust be close to actually worthless if they’re not shipping them out-of-state, no?
- hnav 3mo agoYeah, if it's worth more than 4k registered, it'll either be fixed or shipped. California gives you $1200 to junk it, people will come pick it up for $1500 and a lot of times you'll see it pop back up in state because they illegally resuscitated it with a defouler, a used/EPA cat and put it back into circulation.
- cucumber3732842 3mo ago>because they illegally resuscitated it with a defouler, a used/EPA cat and put it back into circulation. If it passes the sniffer it passes the sniffer, other than the parties who are whiny because they stood to make a buck who cares?
- frollogaston 3mo agoThe article is about the EU, but since you brought up US emissions testing... I live in California, only drive mid 2000s cars, and haven't noticed any of the restrictions getting tighter. It's the usual check every 2 years at the same place. Seems my cars are grandfathered into old emissions standards too. And yeah I enjoy having my car shut the hell up and let me drive.
- trinix912 3mo agoThere are some German cities (Munich) where you can’t enter the city center with a diesel car that doesn’t meet the EURO 4 standards. EURO 4 is a low bar but there’s really nothing stopping them from eventually implementing it more widely and upping the requirement to EURO 5, 6, etc.
- reaperducer 3mo agoI live in California, only drive mid 2000s cars, and haven't noticed any of the restrictions getting tighter. Last year, or the year before, Texas dropped emissions testing, except in its most populous counties.
- hnav 3mo agoFor mid 2000s, the car is self monitoring so an emissions check is just a visual once over to ensure no physical tampering and a computer readout of emission readiness monitors + firmware checksum for digital tampering.
- 3mo ago
- levocardia 3mo agoCash for Clunkers was not mandatory
- ARandomerDude 3mo agoNot being mandatory and not having an effect are different claims.
- Exoristos 3mo agoIf you keep a population poor enough, almost anything can be functionally mandatory.
- crypttales 3mo ago[dead]
- frollogaston 3mo agoWasn't mandatory to sell your car. Was mandatory to pay taxes that were partially used on those buyouts. You also couldn't opt out of used car prices being higher because of it.
- pwg 3mo ago> which can pose a significant (and growing, as standards improve) obstacle for older cars. At least for my state, the emissions test a car has to pass is whatever it was supposed to have passed when it was fresh off the assembly line. So older cars do not have to pass stricter newer standards that newer cars have to pass. Now, granted, wear and tear will eventually result in an older car not passing its original standard, but at least the standard it has to pass is fixed, rather than a moving target.
- darrylb42 3mo agoBC stopped emission testing 10ish years ago because new cars almost never fail so there wasn't much value continuing the program.
- Scoundreller 3mo agoDunno why these programs never took a sampling approach and data-mined which makes/models/years to target the next year/cycle.
- projektfu 3mo agoThe only way to have affordable, ubiquitous testing stations is to make it universal. At least, in states that do not also require safety inspections. If only 10,000 cars were tested each year, nobody would buy the equipment.
- Scoundreller 3mo agoMass (low-value) testing is only more affordable if you value people’s time at $0/hr
- projektfu 3mo agoIt's not going to keep old cars on the road if you mandate expensive tests to do so, when new cars don't need the tests.
- nizbit 3mo agoNah you pay a guy and you get your inspection sticker. This has always been the way.