Don Sforza wrote me about the Wall Street Journal article:
>I'll send you a copy if you can't find it. It's at my office, and I'm home
>(in my bathrobe, if you must know).
>
>BTW, the article was written by a Washington Post writer, not some one from
>WSJ.
>Don Sforza
Don, et al
I found a copy posted in the nj.politics newsgroup. It is the worst piece
of journalism I've seen from a factula point. This guy is supposed to be a
Washington Post writer, but he has not done his research.
In brief: The article claims that classic cars will only be designated
by a subjective process. Not true - The current Antique Tag is applicable
for anyone that wants it once a car is 25 years of age.
The Antique status exempts the car
from the annual inspection, including the future IM-240 test. What this
bozo has mixed up is that there will ALSO be a
new special exemption from the IM-240 testing for cars that are less than
25 years old...IF they can be viewed as
a classic car. The New Jersey Triumph Association has reviewed the DMV
criteria for classics and we see no reason that any British car that is at
least 15 or more years old would not gain such a designation.
The article also talks about confiscation of cars that aren't inspected.
The logic is supposed to be that the state will denie registration (or
revoke it) for cars that don't pass the IM-240 smog test. The logic is
that
once the car has no registration, it will be confiscated because many
NJ communities don't permit unregistered vehicles in a driveway.
Let me first state that the liklihood that the state will be able to
keep track of who has passed and who hasn't will be a fiasco.
Additionally, even though many communities don't permit unreg vehicles in
driveways, few, if any, make much of it (yes, some do), but that
only means the car should be garaged rather than left out...and, if
you have a classic exemption (or antique) the situation won't
come up anyway.
Frankly, the WSJ should be ashamed of running this article. The only threat
might be to some older vehicles that folks currently use on a daily basis.
The article would also have you think that just the slightest wear and
age of the vehicle will lead to faulure...if that were true, the public
outcry will kill the program ASAP.
My personal concern is from a classic car owner perspective and actually
the NJTA membership, having read the regulations actually believe it
will benefit classic car owners rather than be a threat.
Cheers,
Bill Sohl Budd Lake, NJ billsohl@planet.net
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Visit the Mount Olive Township Republican Party Home page at:
http://www.cns-nj.com/mtolive
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