[TR] Reality check

[Randall]

> While our cars might be "the dirtiest" cars on the road, they are a very
> small number by comparison.  If you don't believe me, stand on an overpass
> and count the number of cars that might be considered "classic" by any
> particular enthusiast.

ANY old car is considered 'classic' by someone ... there is even an Edsel
club.  And at least around here, cars more than 25 years old are easily 1%
of the cars on the road (saw a really nice 60's Nova today plus a 72 Mustang
and others I didn't bother to remember).  According to that LA Times
article, nearly 3% of registered cars in CA are more than 25 years old:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-clunkers13-2009aug13,0,6098269.story

> I see real beaters everyday going down
> the road spewing trails of smoke.  Those are the real problems they could
> address.

Actually, they do.  Here in LA county, it is illegal to emit visible smoke;
you can be ticketed and fined.  I got a "fix it" ticket myself, once
(external oil feed to rockers = bad idea).

But they did give up, at least for the moment, on the idea of installing
road-side exhaust sniffers.  I expect it will come up again, once the
economy improves.

Randall