Jay Leno isn’t just a very rich celebrity. He is also a car guy who happens to be a very rich celebrity. That is good news for those of us who are neither rich nor celebrities but are also car guys.
Leno has made it his personal business to see to it that antique vehicles are no longer subject to the “emissions check” rigmarole that California – Leno’s home state – requires owners of non-antique vehicles to go through as an ongoing condition of getting/renewing their vehicle’s registration.
The whole business is ridiculous – as regards both antique and non-antique vehicles – if the object isn’t the rigmarole, itself.
Why?
Well, let’s start with the non-antique vehicles. All vehicles made since – roughly – the mid-late 1980s have fuel-injected, computer controlled engines. That means the air-fuel ratio – critical as regards exhaust emissions – is always optimized, because the computer adjusts the air-fuel ratio continuously. That means no routine adjustments are necessary or even possible. These cars also have oxygen sensors and catalytic converters and the combination of that plus the EFI is that exhaust emissions have been “clean” – to use the verbiage of the people pushing the rigmarole – for going on 40 years now. Put another way, the meaningfully harmful combustion byproducts that once led to the formation of smog and which constituted an actual threat to people’s health have been almost entirely cleaned up since about 40 years ago.
Vehicles made since about 20 years ago are even “cleaner.” Many new vehicle made since then qualify as Partial Zero Emissions (PZEV) vehicles, or nearly as “clean” at the tailpipe as electric vehicles are given credit for being.
They do not even need regular tuneups. Spark plugs last 100,000 miles. Many late-model vehicles haven’t even got spark plug wires to misfire or distributors/rotors and parts like that. They run as “cleanly” after ten years as they did when they were new.
Therefore, subjecting these vehicles – subjecting the owners of these vehicles – to expensive, time-sucking rigmarole is just exactly that; i.e., it serves no legitimate purpose. It is a punitive, revenue-collection scheme designed to hassle vehicle owners as a class.
Some will say it does have a legitimate purpose – in that there are people who “tamper” with their vehicle’s emissions systems. This is true, but it is also a non-sequitur, in terms of meaningfully harmful pollution because how many people actually “tamper” with their late-model vehicles? It is not 1975 anymore. A modern vehicle’s emissions controls are not crudely grafted on, ad hoc components that the vehicle’s engine works better with when they are “tampered” with. Examples of the former include sealed mixture screw carburetors that were jetted lean to reduce exhaust emissions for compliance purposes, as well as primitive catalytic converters that choked the exhaust flow.
People “tampered” with those vehicles because it made sense to “tamper” with them.
Modern vehicle engines have integrated emissions controls and – more to the point – their engines were designed with the emissions control system in mind, rather than added after the fact to engines that were not designed with emissions controls in mind.
Modern engines run great as they come and often run worse if the factory stuff is “tampered” with. That’s part of the reason why few owners “tamper” with them. The other reason they don’t is that far fewer people today are the sort who would, regardless. The culture is not what it was in ’75. Most people just drive their vehicles – and don’t touch anything under the hood except perhaps the oil dipstick. Modern vehicles are serviced – when they need service, which is rarely – by trained technicians.
The few do do touch them – who “tamper” with them – are a tiny subset of the population and thus an irrelevance – if this is actually about “clean” air. The near-wholesale replacement of the pre-modern vehicle fleet with modern vehicles has, all by itself, cleaned up the air.
But how about those older – those antique – vehicles that do need to be regularly serviced? That do have mechanical fuel delivery (carburetors) that cannot continuously adjust the air-fuel ratio for ideal combustion (and lowest emissions)? That did come from the factory with primitive, ad hoc emissions controls that many owners “tampered” with, because doing so resulted in a better-running vehicle?
Well, so what?
Less than 1 percent of the vehicles in CA or any other state that remain in operable condition are more than 35 years old and in regular use. It is nothing other than punitive to harass the owners of these ancient machines, the majority of which are well-taken-care-of things treasured by owners like Leno, who only drive them occasionally and then just for fun.
That gets us to the beating – and dark – heart of this emissions testing rigmarole:
California – and other states that hassle owners of ancient machines – are hassling them precisely because they do not like it that there are people having fun with antique machinery. They want to make it such a hassle (and such an expense) to keep an ancient machine as to make it no longer worth keeping it.
As a car guy, Leno understands this. He owns at least 181 ancient machines, defined as antique cars and motorcycles that are 35 years old or older, which defines the exemption from the rigmarole he supports. His proposal (SB 1392) would . . . exempt cars that old and older from the rigmarole. He knows that each of them is driven less than a few hundred miles each year, if that many – as is typical for machines in that age bracket. For that reason, even if the vehicle in question is an old muscle car with a huge V8 sucking air through a big four barrel carburetor and exhaling through a dual exhaust system with no catalytic converters, it does not matter – if the issue is “air quality.”
As one of the proposed exemption’s sponsor, state senator Dave Cortese, put it: “These vehicles are driven sparingly, carefully maintained, and celebrated as part of California’s automotive heritage. This bill strikes a thoughtful balance between protecting our environment and supporting a $40.44-billion small business economy.”
If, on the other hand, the issue is hassling owners of ancient machinery . . . well, then we see what time it is, don’t we?
Leno has backed similar legislation before. It failed because opponents of fun successfully made it appear that Leno was advocating used motor oil be poured down storm sewers and babies be left in hot cars with the windows rolled up. It was all nonsense, of course – used to foment hysteria, as is true of so many things today.
“We drove the movie industry out of Hollywood. Let’s not do the same with car culture,” Leno says.
Maybe this time, something reasonable will happen. Maybe as regards late model vehicles as well as the ancient ones.
We’ll soon see.
. . .
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I would like to add that it was California that started the now infamous “clunker” schemes as a way for oil companies to offset their emissions. They bought up thousands of 1970 and older vehicles, crushed them (saving no parts by the way), and collected the credits while enthusiasts suffered. The Car Craft “Crusher Camaro” was saved from one of these turn-ins and became a legendary magazine project car. But many others were scrapped long before their time was finished.
California sucks…in more ways than one…right, homos?
It’s not just that keeping these relatively FEW remaining old rides alive and road-worthy is “fun”, though you’re damn-tootin’ it is…it’s also about SELF-SUFFICIENCY. Some old coot (like ME) keeping what was a very ordinary ride like a ’66 Plymouth Fury with a 318 Poly engine and “three on the tree” going, because that’s the way I likes it absolutely gives these CONTROL FREAKS a pink fit of rage. I don’t need THEM, I don’t need depend on the multinational cancer that Stellantis has become (“Oh where, oh where, has my MOPAR gone?”), and I especially don’t need CARB nor the EPA (Region IX, in my case). It’s really no different than, not too long ago, the FBI identified PREPPERS as a “Domestic Terror” THREAT. Yes…wanting to be self-sufficient, able to ride out a period of tumult, and minding one’s own f*****g business THREATENS the Nation. No, it threatens THEM, because THEY aren’t NEEDED nor WANTED!
As with many other things about climate maniacs, they don’t get the idea of decreasing marginal utility. Whether you need to reduce carbon emissions or pollution, beyond like 90 or 95% we enter into the teritory where each additional brings less benefit already than it costs. And this is a good case in point. Covid vaccination, assuming it really worked, is much alike, forcing the last 10% who didn’t want to vaccinate was pointless.
But maniacs won’t stop until it’s 100% even if it’s pointless, or worse, actually making things worse in some other concerning area.
Well-said, Michal –
I’ve been trying to make the same case for many years. It was reasonable to curb exhaust emissions by more than two-thirds, which was accomplished in the late 1980s with EFI and three-way cats. By the ’90s, emissions – the meaningfully harmful emissions – had been cut by more than 90 percent. We are now at 97-ish percent. Further reductions are now about compliance – not “the environment.”
[…] https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2026/04/07/the-return-of-lenos-law/ […]
Here in northwest Indiana (just outside Chicago) we are working to end tail pipe testing in Lake and Porter counties for everyone not just old cars. EPA of course is the biggest roadblock.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
—William Shakespeare
I’ve come to the conclusion that the anti-fun brigade are masochists, and it’s not enough for them to suffer by themselves, they want to force everyone else to participate in the suffering – which I suppose makes them sadists, too.
Also remember that California is home to that state representative in San Francisco (because of course he is) who keeps trying to pass laws allowing people like himself to legally molest children.
They do not want anyone to have a car, or a motorcycle. They want us forced to use bicycles and mass transit (literally at gun point, if possible), presumably to go stand in the miles-long line at the State-run Calmart for this week’s ever-shrinking ration of goods and food (but no fuel, of course), because this is a hallmark of their ideal Marxist state.
Their idea of fun is anything but. Heavy drug use, odd sexual behavior, etc.
The overwhelming majority of humans reject such things. The few that embrace them used to be outcasts until there was money to be made from them. Now “getting your freak on” is an industry.
I was concerned for the future of western civilization until I met Gen Z. They rejected hedonism and just in time (hopefully).
“Vehicles made since about 20 years ago are even “cleaner.” Many new vehicle made since then qualify as Partial Zero Emissions (PZEV) vehicles, or nearly as “clean” at the tailpipe as electric vehicles are given credit for being”
There are always exceptions. Every once in a while I’m in back of some car that obviously needs some engine work as there is smoke pouring out of the tailpipes.
What are some of the causes? Worn engine components such as piston rings, valve seals, or cylinder walls are common causes of oil burning in modern cars, allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber and burn. Additionally, a malfunctioning PCV valve can also lead to oil being sucked into the engine and burned.
The engine fixes are very expensive so these people would rather drive and burn oil than cough of the money for an expensive valve job.
I use to have a Chevy Vega that burned oil, I’d put a quart of oil in every week r so. Finally I just sold it to an Auto Junk yard for $20. This was about forty years ago.
This is the next trick up the totalitarian’s sleeves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F79NIUokDDw&t=153s
In Oregon my 2000 cars been exempt from the BS emissions rigamarole for 4 years and bicycles are free of stop sign nonsense too.
Go Jay n all but prolly not in Cali. Two gen of soyboys breathing clean air yet brainwashed that cars are evil allegedly “vote”.
The commies want us all to be miserable together, I remember “tampering” with my ‘75 Dodge Dart with the 225 slant six. Disconnect the EGR, set the timing to 6 degrees btc and it actually ran well and was even a little peppy on acceleration. Death to the Puritan mindset!
It doesn’t seem to matter, if people enjoy it or profit by it, democrats/communists/statists want to remove that joy. Life under democracy means everything is subject to a vote and you have no rights.
It is entirely the same with guns, the problem is not a tiny fraction abusing guns to commit actual crimes, the problem is people have fun with them.
It is the same with gardening and horticulture, they want to control it, and not because of any danger, but really because they can.
It is similar with religious practice, they hate it not because of what it is but for the solace it provides to people.
It is the same with boating, fishing, flying, hell it is the same with sex. They upset the natural order of human nature and punished men for having sex, while rewarding women for screwing over men.
Democracy is the worst form of tyranny, everything can be voted for or against, it makes people insane because nothing is sacred or reliable.
A king will be a wicked selfish man, but generally won’t stoop to screwing with your garden.
But a democracy made up of a mob of wicked and selfish men, told that there is no god but they’re doing the lords work, is the ultimate force for chaos.
I would say our founding fathers were fools because they tried an experiment, they recognized we are all god’s sovereign creations and have rights and liberties, and they set up a limited anarchy machine where the government(s) were denied most powers and the people were expressly protected in the ability to control government with the right to demand redress of grievances, practice our beliefs, and fight back with military arms when needed.
But they weren’t fools, Ben Franklin (paraphrasing) said,” of the common man, at least he is armed”. And then there is the quote about this government only being for a moral people. The experiment failed, because the people were lazy, cowardly, and foolish, and handed power to rulers. They bowed to the false god of democracy, then wondered when it demanded blood sacrifice.
No, but he will screw your bride on your wedding night. See prima nocta.
Referring to “A king will be a wicked selfish man, but generally won’t stoop to screwing with your garden.”
Hump or death?Hump or death? It’s GOOD to be the king!
The peasants are revolting!
I love my peasants, my peasants love me…pull!
You said it, they (peasants) stink on ice!
I’m not much of an expert on poetry but Rudyard Kipling’s “THE WRATH OF THE AWAKENED SAXON” is pretty much where we are headed if not there already.
HOAs like all communists hate gardening because if you can grow some of your own food you are harder to control just like someone who can repair his own car or fix stuff.
There is no power in GovCo saying “Yes you can” but there is in “No you can’t until you pay fees, carry out a study, hire an “approved” contractor, etc.
Landru, now you’re getting it…
Hence my nom de guerre….
We’ve gone down this road before, as civilizations for the last 20 or so centuries, and it’s the same (((tribe))) that creates these problems.. .
Everystein.
Singleberg.
Timeowitz…..
Thanks to massive, chronic deficit spending and wartime inflation, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) rose 6.2% compared to March 2025. The March index is up 1.4% month over month.
https://www.coxautoinc.com/insights/manheim-used-vehicle-value-index-march-2026-trends/
It may feel counter-intuitive to pay up for a used vehicle now. But it could get worse … a lot worse.
Say, buddy … can ye spare me ten Trumpbucks for a cup of java?
In a few months, California will have a much larger problem than the tailpipes of a few million antique cars. Which of course means that the media will obsess over the proposed bill instead of what might really matter. The Colorado snow pack is at its lowest measure on record* and we had record setting high temperatures in March. So far this month has been a little cooler than March but still a light jacket in the morning is all that’s needed. I think I shoveled the whole driveway once this year.
Last night I drove through Glenwood Canyon. There’s a noticeable “bathtub ring” along the banks of the Colorado. I’m sure some of that is the Big Thompson project pumping Colorado’s allotment over to the front range, but we’re nearly to the point where we should be seeing big rapids through the canyon. There are noticeable sandbar “islands” in the Eagle River along Dotsero too.
California isn’t going to get all the water they expect this year. It just isn’t there. They’ll probably get their allotment, but for the last century the northern states haven’t needed all theirs. That’s changing as the Californian invasion of Colorado continues. What will they do? Drain Lake Mead even further? Let Glenn Canyon drop to dead pool? Or will they do the sensible thing and use the state water system’s water instead of flushing it through to save the “Delta Smelt?”
From the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Delta Smelt is a small fish, endemic to California that only occurs in the San Francisco Estuary.
Species Status
Delta Smelt was listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) in 1993. In 2009, CESA status was changed to endangered. The decline of the Delta Smelt population is of great concern to scientists.
Anyone want to run a gene sequence on a Delta Smelt vs every other Smelt in the world? Is this really a unique species or is it more like a Labradoodle vs every other dog in the world? Is it worth destroying the Colorado River?
*records for the entire state having only been kept since 1980, before that who knows? A few of the old timers I know said that skiing was much worse back in ’76.
RMNP needs 6″ rain immediately or that river system inevitably dries up. When that happens LV is a forced evacuation. God help us all.
It’s going to be a rough summer. Even if it rains every day all we’ll hear is gloom and doom. And be ready for a “record fire season,” for some odd reason fires always are worse when Republicans are in office. 2020 was absolutely horrible, all those fires and not one was arson…
They run the fish/water scam here in WA, salmon in our case. Low snowpack in the Cascades, reservoirs low. Yet the Yakima River, fed by those reservoirs was run at near flood stage for weeks. Last summer the same, restricted irrigation feeds while the river ran high right into July. “It’s for the fish! Water temps too high at TriCities!”
Orchards down into Yakima and TriCities suffer, some are giving up due to labor costs now the lack of water. Near me the hay farmers get two cuttings instead of three or four. No plans implemented to store more water. No dredging of the Yakima/Columbia/Snake River confluence areas so there would be deep cool channels and pools for the fish. Nope! Stuck on stupid here in WA.
Smelt are delicious. Here in the upper Midwest, a smelt fry serves up thousands of the little buggers at a time.
The delta smelt is just another tool to get the emotional and illogical to vote, because they think its a democracy. Much like the spotted owl which only nests in old growth forests… or Wal Mart signs.
Be careful we don’t want any more unfortunate smelting accidents.
If the Delta smelt can’t make it, too freaking bad. Some hardier species of fish will take its place. Nature kills off more species than Man could if He TRIED.
‘These vehicles are … celebrated as part of California’s automotive heritage.’ — State Senator Dave Cortese
It’s difficult for normal people to wrap their minds around it — but that’s precisely the problem. California’s objective is destroy ‘heritage,’ whether it’s heritage cars or ‘heritage Americans,’ a euphemism for white people.
In 1970, California was 89% white, and politically pluralistic. Looking back from today’s vantage point, the California of 1970 is as distant, remote, and lost as Atlantis. Five years earlier, the Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965 already had begun systematically undermining and erasing that former homogeneous society with tidal waves of Third World immigration.
While we might look back longingly at those days when California’s car culture was vibrant, others look back and resent it. They label the California of those long-lost days as ‘exclusionary,’ and seek to punish the bitter clingers who seek to keep its vestiges alive.
Who did this to us? You know who.
Erratum: Para 4, ‘look back longingly‘
Well-said, Jim!
Also, erratum fixed!
Thank you, kind sir!
Amen, Jim.
I first visisted SoCal in the 70s — life-changing.
As close to paradise as I could imagine.
Moved there after college in ’81.
It was wonderful.
Then came the ’86 amnesty.
It was all downhill from there.
I was only 6, Disneyland in 1961. Sambos for breakfast. Winchester House. Malibu visiting Dad’s friends. Yep, even at that young age I was really impressed! Beat the he** out of home, rainy cloudy western WA.
“opponents of fun”
That says it all. Commiefornia is puritanism taken to its conclusion. Remember Menken’s quip about puritanism? It’s the “haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy”.
Communists tear down statues from the past epoch. When they run out of statues to destroy they’ll settle for your Hemi Cuda.
Hopefully this goes nationwide as I’m sure California isn’t the only state that hates classic cars.
And when the run out of things to destroy they turn to their first love, destroying people.