In the mail today..."may we buy your car to reduce air pollution"!

[Dans 68]

Received a letter today. The local air quality management district wants to buy up 1985 and older cars, including my 73SE, to reduce air pollution (see attachment) and then give me $650 for my trouble. I was getting mad until I read the end of the second paragraph. At least someone there understands that these older cars can be classics!   I hope the day never comes when our older cars will be required to be retired.

Dan

[Brock Samson]

 im used to getting them notices now, in case ya didn't know we have stricter standards in the bay area now... used to be $500.oo BTW.

[Silver R/T]

ya its not too bad, theres plenty cars in my town that need to be 'recycled'

[694spdRT]

I got a '84 Aries K and '84 600 K car. I might even let them both go for $650. 

[Wakko]

They can have my 69 hood latch to dismantle...viva environment.

[Recharger]

I was getting mad until I read the end of the second paragraph. At least someone there understands that these older cars can be classics!

You're right, considering the zeal with which most of these tree huggers attack, at least they had the sense to recognize your car might not just be a model number/statistic.  

Still though, I wonder if they've done a cost/benefit analysis of all the paper (read: trees & spotted owls) they're wasting trying to get a few old smoggers off the road.   I read some stats once (which of course I can't remember now to save my life) comparing the amount of pollution put out by passenger cars vs. big rigs vs. trains/ocean liners vs. industrial plants.   The amount contributed by our "gas guzzlers" was laughable.   As was the amount put out by the U.S. vs the rest of the world (ahem, China.)   Stupid tree huggers.     I wonder what would happen if they found out hemp production destroyed the ecosystem.   Their whole universe would implode.  

[FastbackJon]

Seems fishy that they want to scrap '85 and older vehicles because they are big pollutors, but in their criteria the car has to be in good operating condition and has to have passed all required smog checks. Doesn't make sense.

[Wakko]

Many companies have similar offers, ya know.  They get "credits" for creating their OWN pollution.

[Andrew]

Seems fishy that they want to scrap '85 and older vehicles because they are big pollutors, but in their criteria the car has to be in good operating condition and has to have passed all required smog checks. Doesn't make sense.

the idea is that, if it doesnt pass the smog chechs, they can take it off the road anyway, without paying

[Telvis]

Thank God I live in KY. Right now we don't have any kind of smog testing in Lexington. We don't even have car inspections. A car can travell down the road followed by a bank of exhaust produced fog and no one will say a word. Of course we have very few factories and our pollution indexes are always very low.

[70charginglizard]

I don't see anything wrong with that letter.

It's not they there mandating you or anything.

Nothing wrong with protecting the envirement as long as they understand that doesn't include scooping up and destroying a bunch of REAL classic cars. That letter pretty clearly stated that there not trying to do that.

[Lowprofile]

Its only the beginning.....

Big time polluters like Power companies, Steel manufactures, Auto Makers, Chemical companies, etc....... get "credits" for doing/sponsoring programs like this. ie: the more old cars they take off the road, the less money they have to spend on there plants upgrading to meet stricter EPA guidelines. Nice deal, eh?  Our Goverment at work, folks....Pay attention!   

[TeeWJay426]

And how many of these old cars they're getting off the street are actually DRIVEN every day, polluting the air? Damn few, I'm willing to wager. When you consider that the big companies get pollution 'credits' for doing this, and don't have to actually clean up their own acts, what is really reduced in the way of pollution? Zero.... zip..... nada...... just more of the political bureaucratic bungling so predominant in our system today.

[ph23vo]

i would hit the auctions and get every 50.00 runner i could and sell it to em LOL  dan

[BB1]

And where does the $650 come from?? hmmmmmmmmm  

Is there that much money in a scraped 85 and older car? I think they are losing money, so who makes up the difference.

[4402tuff4u]

I wonder how many "classical" mopars will be sent in/sold because owner is out of touch with current value or the owner - the old widow lady is sick of this old hemi Belvedere her husband had since new in the garage and she wants a new car.      I think the person in charge of that program is drooling to see the catch!!!!

[Charger_Fan]

Stupid tree huggers.     I wonder what would happen if they found out hemp production destroyed the ecosystem.   Their whole universe would implode.  

Hahaha...that's for sure!

I think the person in charge of that program is drooling to see the catch!!!!

Hey, that's not a bad idea! I should mass-mail a letter with some sort of official looking name slapped on the top & see what kind of yummy stuff rolls in!
I could word it "up to $650". That's more than double the junkyards around here pay for cars they take in.

[Daytona Guy]

I don't see anything wrong with that letter.

It's not they there mandating you or anything.

Nothing wrong with protecting the environment as long as they understand that doesn't include scooping up and destroying a bunch of REAL classic cars. That letter pretty clearly stated that there not trying to do that.

All good, but where are they getting the money to do all this?

Most environmentalist make no sense to me. For example. Every week a Diesel truck pulls up out to pick up some card board, glass and plastic. Nice, pump carbon monoxide into the air just to recycle paper? Then the proses of recycling is not cheep either. The environmentalist here in Oregon are nuts. ODOT here was widening Hwy 22 to four lanes. The brush and trees that got cut down were not able to be burned because the environmentalist fought them on it. So they had to grind it up into sawdust. Sounds good, right? Wrong. They had to bring in a large grinder that was the size of two large dump trucks. It would spin in circles as the diesel engine spewed Carbon Monoxide (poison) into the air. Burning branches is natural. Carbon Dioxide created by burning trees is naturally preplaced with oxygen by trees. So the environmentalist screwed up the air. I would just like a little common sense brought into the equation.

[MichaelRW]

They are probably selling the cars to the junkyards for about $800 per car.

[kikgas01]

Looks like good toilet paper to me!!!!!!!!

[RD]

This is total bullshit.  Does California even read the CARB reports.  Did you know that there are 43 million cars in california and only 2% of those are 1974 and below.  That is 860,000 vehicles. How many of those 1974 and below cars are driven everyday?  Yeah, you guessed it prolly only 1/4 of that.  So now you have 215,000 cars supposedly developing most of the pollution right?

They can kiss my azz.  A fricken honda with an O2 sensor out creates more pollution than a 1971 Charger. The state of Kalifornia is so azz backwards on their approach to removing air pollution that they would need a map to find their pecker.  I dont see them trying to buy up heavy equipment and semi's that pollute like a sonofabeotch and yes, those are driving practically everyday.

I picked 1974 and below because i know the statistics on this.  It can be said for those up to 1985 also.

[Ghoste]

Environmental legislation has absolutely nothing to do with facts or results.  It's about getting good press and keeping an extremely vocal special interest minority group happy.  It's about votes and the maintenance of power.

[RD]

Environmental legislation has absolutely nothing to do with facts or results.   It's about getting good press and keeping an extremely vocal special interest minority group happy.   It's about votes and the maintenance of power.

that maybe true, i am just glad i live in kansas so i dont have to worry about all that bullshit.  damn, hippy, tree huggin, green peace toting bastages.  and yes, this is probably about as conservative as i ever will be.

[Ghoste]

BTW, if someone wants to pm some of those facts on hemp production, I'd love to have them.   I am surrounded by a whole bunch of those idiots at work and it'd be great to throw some of it back at them.   What a coincidence they all smoke dope too.   I'm sure if they didn't think it was a first step to getting dope legalized they wouldn't be as enthused.

[Recharger]

Sorry Ghoste, that thing I said about hemp production destroying the environment was just a joke.   Can't provide you with any ammo there, unfortunately.   It's actually a decent little plant in a lot of ways.   (though the hemp jewelry is some major crap, imo)   Although, if your coworkers get preachy about the benefits of hemp/pot just tell them it's a gateway drug.   That drives them freakin nuts.   They'll stumble all over themselves trying to prove you wrong.   Usually pretty entertaining.  Just keep countering with, "it's a gateway drug" until they go nuts.