EDITOR’S NOTE
…OR YOU COULD LOSE YOUR AUTOMOTIVE WAY OF LIFE
THE EPA IS AFTER OUR RACE TRUCKS
Afew years ago, I wrote a column about the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act. I’m including SEMA’S description of the act here in full. Quickly, the RPM Act would “protect Americans’ right to modify street vehicles into dedicated race cars and industry’s right to sell the parts that enable racers to compete.” With so many conflicting local, state, and federal laws out there attempting to regulate what we do to our vehicles, the passage of the RPM Act is crucial to protecting our automotive way of life. Let me explain why.
Today, there are several federal laws that say no emissions modifications are legal. No matter what your local laws are, if you modify the emissions equipment on your vehicle, you’re in violation of federal law. Even if you make improvements, federal law says you’re in the wrong. Now, there are exemption orders (EO) you can obtain as a manufacturer, but, depending on how you interpret the laws, these orders can also be interpreted as illegal, even though the federal government is handing them out.
There are also currently federal laws that state “closed-course racing vehicles” are exempt from the aforementioned emissions modification laws. So, if you want to build a purposebuilt race vehicle out of what once was a street-driven vehicle—or at least one that was designed to be—you’re in the clear, as long as it never sees the street again without returning it to its prior state. This is how even the strictest entity, the California Air Resource Board (CARB), has based its campaigns for years.
One more law exists that contradicts the “closed-course racing vehicle” law. It states that no vehicle destined for the street may ever have its emissions modified, even if it will never see the street again. So, all our sled pullers, drag trucks, mud trucks, etc.—they’re all illegal, whether they’re trailered to an event or not. Shoot, if you race a 1994 Bronco with a Coyote engine in it in the Baja 1000, bringing it back into the U.S. after the race (even on a trailer) is technically illegal.
All these laws are aimed at making race vehicles illegal. While this worries me greatly, I’m looking past this to a bigger issue. There’s yet another law that states any modification of a motor vehicle that alters its performance is illegal. That covers literally every modification. I understand it’s all up for interpretation by a judge, but once one verdict sets a precedent, it could open things up for different future interpretations. I can see this quickly spiraling out of control. Hypothetically, let’s say it starts with emissions equipment and then tuning and vehicle modifications for closed-course use. Then we lose things like lift kits and aftermarket bumpers. After that, we lose LED headlights, exhaust kits, wheels, and big brake kits. Pretty soon, bumper stickers become illegal because they affect aerodynamics. Sure, some of this—the bumper stickers especially— might sound irrational, but we only know what life is like now. We have no idea what will happen in the future to change society. Where will it end?
Us diesel people are the most tuned in to this at the moment. Shops are getting “visited” weekly. Many of the fines make sense, but they are not being handed out consistently. Some shops are being told certain items are OK to sell, while others are being fined for selling those same items. The laws are being interpreted in so many different ways—often by the same public entity.
You might not think this will affect you in the future. “I’ll never let them take my race car,” you say. Well, I’ll share one of my favorite quotes, written in post-war Germany in 1946 by pastor Martin Niemöller. Martin’s comments are looking at the Nazi regime from hindsight, and they fit here perfectly: First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.
So, please diesel fans, write your senators. Many of us already have, and it’ll take thousands more letters to make a change. We can make a difference if we just try.