> Mandatory VW content: > > The smog standards being enforced are actually good for us. For those who > are skimping by with emissions, it makes them come around to fixing the > "problem". Sure it could be expensive to make the proper repair, but > that's one of the responsibilities we take upon ourselves when we decide > to drive our vehicles. Contrary to popular opinion, driving is not a > right, but a privledge (at least in California ... read the inside cover > of the DMV drivers manual).
Okay, the debate over the EPA could go on forever, but ... while there is good, there is also bad. Yes many smog laws have helped (although you still can catch a clunker going down the road almost daily with a spew of smelly smoke coming from it's exhaust). BUT, there's a point when enough is enough. There are a few states that don't require such silly inspections, and I can't help but think that money is the sole reason why MANY states mandate them. Money generated either directly from the fees or money that could be lost from the feds if they don't do it. Here, Baton Rouge is under the gun yearly with threats from the EPA about having to up car smog laws to California standards because we have too many days of pollution according to their reports. Apparently, the EPA doesn't think that any of those pollution days are caused by the plants up and down the Mississippi (aka cancer alley). They want to blame it all on cars. I know for sure that if this grand state has a choice of money or people's rights, money comes first. Baton Rouge has been able to bargain the EPA into extensions for the last 3 or so years, so they haven't had to choose money yet. (as a very off-content example, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled last year that the drinking age of 21 was unconstitutional as it discriminated against a group of legal adults. For a few months, it was once again legal for 18-20 year olds to drink. They reversed their decision when the legislatures cried about how much money they would lose from the federal government. Obviously, money was more important than the people's constitutional rights.) Now I'm not generally one to post off-content material to the list, but smog laws, freon mumbo jumbo, and other such inspection hoops that we must jump thru are important to vanagon owners, especially as our beloved vehicles gracefully age. I just had to put these 2 cents in, Tonya 87 Vanagon GL Wolfs 74 S. Beetle
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