Marcos Maniacs

We jumped on him good this time.  Every year someone introduces a 
bill like this and every year we have to take pencil in hand and 
straighten them out.

You'd think they might do something about diesel schoolbuses 
poisoning our children but no.........that might upset the bus 
manufacturers. 

Don Lattimer
#3m5759
Willits, CA, USA


--- In MarcosManiacs@yahoogroups.com, ronald.mcleod@a... wrote:
> Maniacs . . .
> 
> Looks like the California Maniacs won't have to sell their 
cherished cars
> just yet!
> 
> Regards . . . Ron McLeod
> 1970 Marcos Mantis P8/5858
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rfeibusch1@e... [mailto:rfeibusch1@e...]
> Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2003 3:58 PM
> To: morris@a...; riley@a...;
> british-cars@a...; british-cars-pre-war@a...;
> chapman-era@a...; mg-t@a...
> Cc: MorrisMinors@s...
> Subject: Good Work Enthusiasts on your S.B. 708 Victory!
> 
> 
> Dear British Car Folks;
> 
> This just in from the people at Hagerty Insurance about that 
Senate Bill
> that we have all been writing in about. I know that I seem to 
pester you
> folks about this stuff from time to time, but this proves that our 
united
> voice CAN be heard and does some good.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Rick Feibusch
> The California British Car Meets
> ---------------------------------------------------
> From: "Hagerty Insurance News" <news@h...>
> Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 11:20:48 -0400
> 
> LEGISLATIVE ALERT UPDATE
> 
> Congratulations everyone on your hard work and commitment to 
stopping
> Senator Florez from pursuing his repeal in S.B. 708 of the current
> emissions exemption for collector vehicles. Following is an 
article we
> thought you would enjoy reading since it reports your tremendous
> legislative efforts and victory. Keep up the good fight.
> 
> McKeel Hagerty
> President, Hagerty Protection Network
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
---------
> ----
> 
> FLOREZ REVERSES ON CLASSIC CAR SMOG RULES
> By VIC POLLARD, Californian Sacramento Bureau
> 
> SACRAMENTO -- With Jay Leno and the rest of California's classic 
car buffs
> on his case, State Sen. Dean Florez has dropped his proposal to 
require
> smog checks for cars as old as 1958 models. Leno, "The Tonight 
Show" host
> who has a large collection of vintage autos, personally called 
Florez's
> office to lobby against the plan. The lawmaker was also inundated 
with
> letters, e-mails and phone calls from many other members of the 
highly
> organized hobby car community.
> 
> One of their tools was a cartoon depicting Florez in his state-
leased SUV
> chasing classic cars out of California. Florez was forced to back 
down on
> the bill, one in a package of 10 bills aimed at cleaning up the 
air in the
> Central Valley, before it even got its first legislative hearing.
> 
> The bill, SB 708, isn't dead, but it has been amended to crack 
down on cars
> that emit visible smoke. Originally, it called for requiring 
regular smog
> checks and repairs for cars up to 45 model years old. If in effect 
this
> year, it would apply to cars made in 1958 or later. That would have
> replaced the state's existing exemption for cars older than 30 
model years,
> which this year is 1973. "Given all the fights we have on all the 
other air
> pollution bills," Florez said, "it wasn't going to help to push 
that one."
> 
> He said classic car fans made a convincing argument that most of 
the oldest
> cars on the road, while they may be some of the worst polluters, 
aren't
> usually driven to and from work daily. "We told the classic car 
folks that
> we're going to continue to talk to them," Florez continued, "but 
that was
> just too much of a detailed type of proposal."
> 
> Florez's legislative aide, Michael Rubio, said Leno called after 
reading a
> newspaper article about the smog bills.  "He said he wanted to 
know what
> the deal was with (SB) 708," Rubio said. "Several days later, he 
called
> back and said, 'You've got me thinking now.' And I said 'Can I 
start at the
> beginning?'"
> 
> He said Leno listened carefully and discussed his thoughts on the 
smog
> problem and the bill at some length, urging Florez to carefully 
distinguish
> between older cars that are driven for basic transportation and 
those that
> are merely exhibited most of the time.
> 
> Other problems, he said, are the difficulty of getting repair 
parts for
> older cars and the fact that emission controls were not mandated 
on cars
> until the late 1960s.  The same arguments were made by the classic 
car
> community's chief lobbyist, Steve McDonald of the Special Equipment
> Marketing Association, a trade group of manufacturers, retailers,
> publishers and restorers. "Obviously we're thrilled that the 
senator has
> agreed to modify the legislation and refocus the target on what we 
believe
> is a more effective one, that being smoking vehicles," McDonald 
said.
> 
> So are hobbyists like Jan VanderPool of Bakersfield, who, with his 
fiancie,
> owns three vintage Ford Mustangs."That's definitely a big relief 
to me," he
> said.  VanderPool said it took years and a lot of effort to get 
the rolling
> exemption from smog checks for cars that are more than 30 years 
old enacted
> in 1997.
> 
> Florez and his staff appeared surprised, if not shellshocked, at 
the size
> and aggressiveness of the lobbying campaign against the smog check
> proposal. But it was no surprise to VanderPool, who has been 
through
> similar drills before when legislation was proposed that helped or 
hurt car
> hobbyists. "A lot of us have had to get pretty political," he 
said. "We've
> had to get active and kind of watch our backs."
> 
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