EPA wants to outlaw your future racecar conversion, Time sensitive SEMA Press release Options

[okieflyr]

FYI: The EPA wants to eliminate your future street race car conversion option.

This is not new news to some, but the white house petition is time sensitive.


SEMA Press release:
https://www.sema.org/sema-enews/2016/06/epa...s-into-racecars


Whitehouse .gov petition:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petition/...cles-racecars-0

[ChrisFoley]

Much ado about nothing. Read the fine print.

[Dave_Darling]

Much ado about nothing. Read the fine print.

I have read some of it, and I disagree with you. They are "clarifying" an existing rule in a way that contradicts the previous interpretations of it. So they can say, "Well you were breaking the law all along, we just never enforced it before." Much the same way that my home state does not require smog tests for 1975 and earlier cars, but they are all supposed to still meet all of the old requirements. So they can later say, "OK, we are testing again--and since the requirements didn't change, nobody is grandfathered out."

It looks like they are going to use this primarily to keep anyone from modifying any street cars, by going after anyone who makes non-certified parts for cars. So no more of getting "for off-road use only" parts though the mail--or if you do get them, they'll cost a whole lot more!

You might want to worry a bit more, Chris. That's your livelihood they appear to be after.

--DD

[horizontally-opposed]

They are "clarifying" an existing rule in a way that contradicts the previous interpretations of it. So they can say, "Well you were breaking the law all along, we just never enforced it before." Much the same way that my home state does not require smog tests for 1975 and earlier cars, but they are all supposed to still meet all of the old requirements. So they can later say, "OK, we are testing again--and since the requirements didn't change, nobody is grandfathered out."

It looks like they are going to use this primarily to keep anyone from modifying any street cars, by going after anyone who makes non-certified parts for cars.

--DD

I tend to agree. SEMA's press release may or may not have been worded well, but this feels like getting ducks in a row to me, and is slipped into a bill that has nothing to do with light-duty trucks or cars—which always raises a red flag. Better to push back now and send a clear signal than to have no choice but to yield later.

To be honest, I am not against smog controls on track cars or even race cars in theory, but the EPA has far, far better things to focus on than that. Whether modified diesel pickups, escalators and hotel hall lights that run all the time, or... And Dave may be exactly right about going after the supplier side. Look at the fines: $3750 vs $37,500. The EPA representative R&T spoke to suggested that they're not all that interested in track cars, given their enforcement history, but her successor or bosses' successors can change all that if the laws are in the books. And they already are. So why the clarification, then?

[DBCooper]

And Dave may be exactly right about going after the supplier side. Look at the fines: $3750 vs $37,500. The EPA representative R&T spoke to suggested that they're not all that interested in track cars, given their enforcement history, but her successor or bosses' successors can change all that if the laws are in the books. And they already are. So why the clarification, then?

Pure speculation. There's no fine for selling parts, never has been and none proposed here, only for using them in ways that are prohibited. There's a LOT of misinformation and speculation swirling everywhere. Look for the analysis of disinterested parties, you're more likely to get a realistic evaluation, not those with stakes in the game.