Now that my car is 25 years old I don't need to get it smog tested. They test all these cars under 10 years old that probably pass at a rate of 99.99% and skip the older cars that pollute the world...

 

 

Not stupid.

The government deals in millions of cars. 99.999% of the cars on the road are 15 years old or less, and not exempt from being tested in those places that have emissions testing

the vintage and antique cars that are still around make up such an insignificant percentage that in the big scheme of things they can be terrible polluters and still not add up to much, statistically speaking.

Z

 

Just be grateful ...here in UK we get a full very detailed annual test up to 40 years

 

One of the very few car related things that is good about li'l ol' South Oz - no such thing as annual emissions or roadworthy tests, regardless of the age of the car.
All we have is a roadworthy check if you bring a car in from OS or interstate, and that is just a quick and dirty visual inspection. Had this done on all three of my Jags as I bought them from interstate. The downside is I had to pay horrendous amounts of stamp duty on each one, one of the most ridiculous and cynical government taxes ever invented.

 

Only five counties in the Atlanta area require emission tests. In addition, drivers over 70 with cars 10 yeas old or more and less than 5000 mi/yr are exempt.

 

I recently took my V10, 7litre, 15,500lb motorhome for it's annual inspection... no emissions because it's over 25 yrs old and the "Safety-Only" Inspection consisted of a walk around to check the lights all worked and the windscreen wipers were ok... not brakes, tires etc

I once had a car in the UK fail the annual MOT for a slight fray/tear in a backseat-belt... not only that, the inspector cut the whole belt out before letting me take the car away just to be absolutely sure I couldn't threaten anyone with my death machine...!

To paraphrase Ben Franklin - 'Put safety before freedom and you'll lose both'

 

I just did a quick search it said ~30 million cars are over 25 years old. We have all been behind that old piece of **** that is burning oil and stinking up the road. Seems like those are the ones you want off the highway. 30 million is a small percent of the total, but it ain't nothing either.

 

Well off you go to your local member of parliament (or whatever you call them where you are) to suggest a change to the law to have those vehicles inspected every year. If they aren't interested, I guess you'll just have to run for parliament yourself with that as your campaign platform.

 

"Smack me harder daddy" comes to mind.

 

If I know anything about classic car owners it is that they don’t drive them much, most of them never get more than a few miles from their garage, ever. People that daily drive a
classic are very rare.

according to the god Google there are 282,000,000 cars in the USA (2022).

if every one of the classic cars was being driven every day , that’s still only 11%. I’d bet only 0.1% of classics are even roadworthy enough to make it outside the city limits.

but whatever the number is, the big Uncle Sam doesn’t care.

Z

 

In Norway all cars produced from 1960 onwards must be tested for traffic security and emissions every second year. And I think it is a very good thing.

 

Most of the cars that are over 25 years old are just old not classic, for the real classics I agree with you.

 

I can’t remember the last time a saw a 1950’s-1970’s car on the road that wasn’t a desirable car for a collector. Now with the 1980’s-‘90’s, yes, a lot of stinkers still puffin’ along.

Z

 

That is because everything built in the 50-70's, if not well cared for, rusted away to dust. By the 80s the Japanese steel and other competitive forces took care of that problem.

 

They needed to.

the Datsun 240z - 260z - 280z’s were rust buckets after a very few years. I had a couple of them turn to dust in short order. I had a low VIN (#882) 1970 240z that was a real joy to drive except for the stock hubcaps that would pop off if you took a curve too fast.

I had just gotten sick of chasing the hubcaps and had bought a set of mag wheels when the rust appeared in full force in the sills and the rear quarters.

After The 240z I tried the 260z and then the 280z. I kept them off the salted roads but to no avail.

Z

 

My beloved 1974 Datsun 260Z was my first new car. I purchased it during my senior year in college (I still remember that I paid exactly $6,280 for it) and kept it for 160,000 miles over the next 13 years before I reluctantly sold it for $1,000 in 1987 to a friend's hot-rodding kid who wanted to take a shot at restoring it. Yes indeed, rust was by far the biggest issue even though I took care of that car as if it was the top-of-the-line Rolls Royce. To this day I do not know if that kid was ever able to get my Z back into top shape. I doubt it. I still miss that car and if I could have it back in brand-new condition again, I would grab it. But you really had to live in the desert to keep those things alive for more than just a few years....

 

Yeah, I remember those days. When you bought a new car the very first stop was at the Ziebart dealer to have the car undercoated and every hidden nook and cranny sprayed with their sealant. It tended to work pretty well, and held the rust at bay longer than untreated cars. But they all eventually rusted.