10-12-99
To All Concerned:
Here's a "Newsletter" with a more serious tone, please take a moment to
read it, and to my friends on the "Forward Look Mailing List", let me
add, that though this "Newsletter" is somewhat generic, the topic should
still be of interest to you. Thank You for your time.
Ben Deutschman
BEN?S AUTOMOTIVE
NEWSLETTER, #8
A LITTLE GOOD NEWS, A LITTLE BAD NEWS
Once again I have some good news, and some bad news. First I'll tell
you the good
news, then I'll let you in on the downside of the pleasant news I've
just brought to your
attention.
Okay so what's the good news, well the NJDEP (New Jersey Department Of
Environmental Protection), has just announced that they will be delaying
the
implementation of what they call the "stricter standards" accompanying
the new
"Enhanced Vehicle Emissions Test". Now don't for a minute think that the
dear folks at
the NJDEP have suddenly had an attack of conscience here, they haven't.
The delay is
nothing more than a shuffling of the implementation schedule for the
"stricter standards",
brought about in part by the delay caused by vehicle owner protests over
the "Enhanced
Vehicle Emissions Test Procedure" in its original incarnation, and the
subsequent troubles
the NJDEP experienced when it set about finding a contractor willing to
set up and
oversee their pet monster. But, at least the delay is a minimal reprieve
from the full force
of what both the NJDEP, and the DMV have in store for vehicle owners
here in New
Jersey. The next bit of good news has to do with what will occur, should
one's vehicle
initially fail its tailpipe emissions test. A "second chance mode" has
been added to the test.
In other words, if one's vehicle fails the emissions test the first time
around, you will get
one more shot at it. What will happen, is that Mr/Ms. "friendly" tester
will rev your
vehicle's engine to 2800 rpm for 30 seconds, let it return to idle, and
retest it. If the vehicle
still fails, oh well, you'll have to try again when you can come back
with some proof
you've made repairs to the vehicle.To the aforementioned good news, the
NJDEP has also
added this extra bright spot to your day. The "through put" rate, or
number of vehicles
each lane can process in a given day has been boosted a little. The
original proposal for the
emissions testing segment of the new "Enhanced Test", would have
required a total of 106
seconds for just the tailpipe emissions testing part of the new test
procedure. The NJDEP
has proposed reducing that total time by shortening the "stabilization
period" from 30 to
25 seconds, and the pass/fail test period from 76 seconds to 65 seconds.
So now the
emissions portion of the new test will only take 90 seconds total. Wow!
Last bit of good
news concerns those of you in New Jersey who own what are referred to as
"Low
Utilization Modified Performance Vehicles". In simpler terms, these are
the vehicles that
would be covered under the "Modified Performance Vehicle" registration
category that
COVA/CVAG had been pushing to have implemented. Such vehicles would be
subject to
a biannual mileage limitation of 10,000 miles, would have to pass a
safety inspection, and
have legitimate "Collector Car Insurance" on them. Fairly simple to
comply with I
suppose.
Now for the downsides to all the good news you've just read. First off,
though the
"stricter standards", (a.k.a. "cutpoints") have been delayed, they're
not eliminated. Thus in
2002, the DMV will go to a much more stringent standard for passing the
new enhanced
emissions test. Of course this doesn't mean the NJDEP, or the DMV are
going to try to
change manufactures specifications, they can't, but as I've said in the
past, they are going
to narrow the tolerance for (amount of) wear allowed on a vehicle's
engine to such a
point,THAT ALL BUT A HANDFUL OF VEHICLES WILL FAIL! Essentially one will
have to have a virtually new engine in their vehicle, in order for it to
pass the "stricter
standards" the DMV will be imposing in
2002. When it comes to the "second chance mode" addition to the new
test, well, the only
downside will be when one goes to the centralized inspection lanes.
Unlike a "Private
Garage", you will not always have the best qualified person testing your
vehicle, and
hopefully they will not exceed a 30 second free rev of your vehicle's
engine at 2800 rpm.
An engine operated under no load, at 2800 rpm, for too long a period of
time, could
overheat, or suffer other internal damage, especially on a high mileage
engine. The
reduction in initial pass/fail test time may prove to be a wash, when
one factors in the
"second chance mode" testing provision, along with the time required to
do an underhood
visual anti-tampering inspection, underside anti-tampering inspection,
and gas cap leak
test. Finally we get to the "Low Utilization Modified Performance
Vehicle". The original
proposal from COVA/CVAG, had stated that there would not be a visual
underhood
anti-tampering inspection, but that in addition to the mileage
limitation, safety inspection,
and insurance requirements, the vehicle would have to pass an idle
tailpipe test if it was
built before 1981, and for all vehicles built from 1981 on up, a 2500
rpm high idle tailpipe
test. The good folks at the NJDEP have tried to slip us a mickey on this
one. It seems that
on page 2510 of the "New Jersey Register", dated September 7, 1999, the
NJDEP
inserted the following language into the proposed "Modified Performance
Vehicle"
registration category regulations: "that any such performance
modification shall comply
with ALL of the anti-tampering requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:27-15.7". In
the process the
NJDEP ignores the fact that "aftermarket" parts which may have been
considered "legal"
when installed years ago, will now suddenly be viewed as evidence of
tampering, and
therefore be deemed unacceptable, thus preventing the vehicle from even
having its
tailpipe emissions tested, until those parts are removed, and "approved
parts" installed.
The NJDEP's actions here constitute having gone back on its word. The
mileage
limitation, the safety inspection requirement, and specialty insurance
requirement were all
agreed to by COVA/CVAG, in order to give the "Performance Vehicle
Owners" some
kind of reasonable break, while still making sure that there weren't
filth spewing vehicles
out on the road, and so the "Modified Performance Vehicle's" impact on
our environment,
would be effectively mitigated.
Well take the good news for what it's worth, and then let your State
level
Legislators, and their bureaucratic underlings know how you feel about
the downsides of
their handiwork. As I've so often said, the net effect of what the
NJDEP/DMV have in
store for New Jersey vehicle owners, is that the future of the vehicle
hobby is in serious
jeopardy. So don't sit on your backsides doing nothing. Stand up for
your rights as
vehicle owners, while there's still something left to fight for.
Finally, let remind all of you, that what is happening to New Jersey
vehicle owners,
in whole, or part, can happen in your home state as well, and that even
if your current I/M
vehicle emissions testing procedures/laws, and general vehicle
registration regulations
don't seem so bad now, well just sit back like a contented cow, do
absolutely nothing, and
watch what happens in the years to come to what would have been future
hobby vehicles.
Ben Deutschman
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