Quote:
Originally Posted by mopho
 I hope you're not serious but I have seen this comment about noxious beaters and antique cars mentioned a couple of times now in this thread. You guys do realize that such cars (and the 72 Cuda) are grandfathered in because they were built before such laws and technology existed right?! Right?
And it is not just the clean air act that the 340r is not legal, but because it doesn't meet crash, airbag, headlight, side impact, seat, etc requirements. |
Morgan,
I am very much aware of the grandfathered nature of classic cars having owned many. When, however, the argument for not allowing an S1 Elise, Europa S or 340R is "EPA and safety standards" and "wanting to clean up the environment" I get confused. It would do much more "for the environment" and for road "safety" to get all of these grandfathered cars with their 1940s brake technology and spewing engines off the US roads than to limit the sale of many of the currently "illegal due to not meeting EPA and safety standards" cars.
That "grandfathering" that you mention is a rolling grandfathering. 25 years from now all of these cars will be US "road legal," again, when their EPA and safety technology are far below the "25 years from now" standard. That makes sense... Just wait until they are considered even more polluting and less safe then we can make them legal. YEAH! My Seven doesn't even have to have the state mandated annual "safety and emissions" inspection. I just had to "attest" that it is safe when I registered it.
You can't honestly tell me that you think that an S1 Elise, a Europa S or even a 340R without airbags and with its Rover motor (illegal here btw because of, yes, the "environment"...) is less safe and clean than a 1962 Morgan +4, can you?
If it really were all about the "environment and safety" then a lot of old cars would be yanked today. I just don't think that is really the case and the "environment and safety" argument just doesn't seem to hold water for me.