Hi, some of you may remember from my posts on the subject the difficulty
I had getting my LS1 swap passed in California. Well, the legislative representative
from my district sent a questionnaire which asked for written comments in addition to
the check-the-boxes questions. I took the opportunity to attach the following note.
On a minor note, I'd like to comment on my recent experience with the Sacramento office
of the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Along with tens of thousands of other californians,
I'm an automotive enthusiast/hobbyist. In my case, I upgraded a 1987 Pontiac Fiero with
an engine swap from a 1998 Pontiac Trans Am. I carefully incorporated ALL the emissions
control components in their stock format to achieve a significant reduction of harmful
emissions. Yet, when I took my vehicle to the CARB referee smog station for its mandatory
check, the referee, who takes his orders directly from the people at the BAR office in
Sacramento, failed the vehicle out of hand without even checking its emissions.
There was no purpose discussing this decision with the BAR bureaucrats; they are rude,
arrogant personifications of the Red Queen from "Alice in Wonderland" who rule by diktat.
This issue was resolved, favorably for me, only after the local office of Senator Roy Ashburn,
at my request, questioned BAR about its handling of my case. They, of course, were unable
to justify their action, and instead completely reversed themselves admitting their error by
approving my vehicle for registration.
I am only one individual, but I know from what I have read on various automotive enthusiast
forums that this silly, purposeless, obstructionist, harassment is daily inflicted on numerous
law abiding, hard working, tax paying, voting california citizens as well as on the manufacturers
and suppliers of after market automotive parts and equipment.
I call the policies of the BAR's Sacramento office silly, purposeless harassment because, in
general, in the majority of cases, these policies have little or nothing at all to do with achieving
cleaner air (their argument), but rather everything to do with self aggrandizing, power grabbing,
bureaucratic empire building that goes way beyond their legally mandated functions.
I suggest saving the state budget money and its citizens from this unwarranted harassment by
reviewing and correcting this bureaucracy's policies and by reducing its staffing.
Orville Idema
What do you think? Will I make the BAR list of all-time favorite people?
Orville
