There’s an old story enthusiasts like to tell: motor vehicle racing began as soon as the second vehicle rolled off the assembly line. Motorsports has become engrained deeply into culture of the United States, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to hinder such culture in a major way.
The Speciality Equipment Market Association has since confirmed the EPA’s intent to prohibit conversion of vehicles originally designed for on-road use into race cars. The regulation would also make the sale of certain products for use on such vehicles illegal.
“This proposed regulation represents overreaching by the agency, runs contrary to the law and defies decades of racing activity where EPA has acknowledged and allowed conversion of vehicles,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “Congress did not intend the original Clean Air Act to extend to vehicles modified for racing and has re-enforced that intent on more than one occasion.”
No, this isn’t particularly General Motors related news, but it impacts the community of any automaker, and it’s an incredibly powerful industry the EPA is looking to undermine.
SEMA has submitted its opposition to these regulations, and has recruited numerous hobbyists and racers to strengthen its stance. The EPA stated it expects to publish its final regulations by July of 2016.
Comments
This is such BS. I’m sure the EPA has much bigger fish to fry and really, what is the end result?
This is just as stupid and Anti American everything else this administration has done. the automobile built this economy. If you take all the racing, and cars that race in the US in a year, they use less fuel than One Commercial Airliner, and there are 28,500+flights per day. I don’t hear the EPA whining about them.
Blame the “anti american administration” all you want.
“The United States Environmental Protection Agency[2] (EPA or sometimes USEPA) is an agency of the U.S. federal government which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.”
Get that?? CONGRESS, regardless of who appoints who to be the head of any agency, Congress will have ultimate say. Sooo, this will die as quickly as it’s absurd proposal.
Well it is folks like you that clearly do not understand what is going on for these issues.
If you would look at this Congress does not have the last say here. First they can be over ruled by executive order just as coal was reticently and now stopped by the Supreme Court.
As for this issue is they are reinterpreting the law to fit their needs and out reach of congress. The EPA says the law already is in place and means that you can not modify any vehicle even for limited off road use. Even California CARB has not gone this far with twisting the definition or intent of a law passes.
When you start to reinterpret laws to fit your agenda against the peoples will that is one slippery slope and could lead to many different laws being changes with out the will of the people.
That is what is really scary here. What is next some of our basic freedoms?
As it stands now if the EPA stands firm here SEMA will have to take this to the SCOTUS and let them knock it down 5/4 as this move is a clear abuse of the law and unconstitutional.
I can see that this is working for your agenda but just wait till someone else is in charge you do not agree with and if they change a law like this by reinterpreting it you will not be amused either.
Even races want clean air but they are a so very small part of this. Also when passing laws the SCOTUS has already said things like how it will effect our economy and jobs also needs to be taken into focus.
For a clean environment it will also take a strong functional economy to support it. If you kill of one the other suffers too. A balanced approach to this needs to be taken.
As of now the far left green people are in charge and they are just pushing their agenda in a way our government was never intended to function. They know a ban like this would never pass and that is why they changed the definition of the law as congress yes the congress that just opened the door on low volume kit cars and race cars would never have passed this.
The folks at work here are farther left than any average democrat The Socialist have stormed the Palace and this is what you get. . .
Sooo no this will not die nearly as easy as you propose. I recommend you read up on just what is taking place here and you will soon see the dire level of the changes. it is not just the ban on racing but the fact some people running a part of the government can distort the laws to their needs with out due process is what is dangerous here.
“One Commercial Airliner, and there are 28,500+flights per day. I don’t hear the EPA whining about them.”
Wrong. Here’s more info and there’s even more if you look for it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want any of the BS this article insinuates regarding cars of ANY nature.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/11/business/energy-environment/epa-says-it-will-set-rules-for-airplane-emissions.html?_r=0
And of course there was just this………………..
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/business/energy-environment/un-agency-proposes-limits-on-airlines-carbon-emissions.html
when you vote in a president just because he was black and who said he would bankrupt the coal companies to get the enviorwienes vote what do you expect ???
Racist BS pal. GFY….
I work in the racing performance industry and have seen this going down from the start.
We are dealing with far left people here that have a tough green agenda that will do what ever it takes to force their will on the entire country.
Like the executive order argument this is the same thing here only worse. The folks running the EPA are now taking laws that were written with the intent to only apply to road cars and now apply it to all motored products be it a road vehicle or off road vehicle.
They see it that if you can not pass a law you interpret it the way you see fit and not ask for approval or votes of the representatives of the people to approve it. They knew this would never pass congress or senate.
We have reached a dangerous point to where if we elect the wrong people who do not want to adhere to the rules and the constitutional ways of our country they will begin to enforce the laws as they see fit with out approval of anyone.
Our country was built to hold due process and to have a way that would represent the peoples will but now that is being tossed out the door.
It is time we get back to the basics of how this country is intended to work. It is not easy but it is the right way to run this country and the way the founders intended. Now that those in office today have taken it to this degree Pandora’s box has been open and now we may see this on both sides and it will only get worse.
The Coal Executive order has been ruled out for now by the SCOTUS. I expect they will find like some of the other EPA rulings to not be constitutional and to be damaging to our country.
With that said I expect SEMA to take this all the way to the SCOTUS and win as they have distorted the intent of the law. Hell they could not even enforce this easily or even fairly even if this was the intent.
But I would recommend anyone who has an interest in cars be aware of this and support the fight against this. I also recommend to really start to pay attention to the way agencies of this county and how they operate as rules and decorum no longer apply with many of these people.
Too many socialist know they do not have the support but given the opportunity they will take things and twist them to fit their needs. It will not stop here at the EPA.
It is time we really need to pay attention to who we elect and demand people that will abide by the laws and due process of law for our country.
If you do not respect the standard that have been set then you get this BS.
God help us and out country!
The sad part anyone ethical and smart enough for office is smart enough not to run.
Can you say Government overreach? I knew you could…………
These are the same people who said to pour all those toxins into the Animas river in CO last summer. Maybe they should worry about their own practices before they mess with everyone else.