Cars are such an easy target for politicians looking to bolster their green image. The latest is Oregon Governor Theodore Kulongoski, who has had the Speaker of the House introduce a bill that could make many aftermarket parts unavailable.

Tires are the main aim of the bill, which seeks to prohibit parts availability if there are choices that decrease greenhouse gas emissions. It amounts to a back-door fuel economy standard, which is the jurisdiction of the federal government unless you're California –and even they need a waiver. The prospect of fitting Pilot Sports to your Geo Metro will be out the window if H.B. 2186 finds traction, and it could stick you with zero alternatives based on some myopic metric like rolling resistance. Putting our legislators in charge of what equipment should be fitted to our cars doesn't strike us as the brightest idea. Hit the linked article for contact information, so you know who to call and excoriate. Thanks, Charlie!

 

This sounds really stupid.

 

wow it will also close many businesses....and to have to chose tires with lower rolling resistance?...to increase a few mpg?...I am glad I am not in Oregon and I thought California has strict laws

 

Interesting. They are going after the parts just like anti-gun politicians are going after ammunition now. It seems like they are learning from each other.

 

moron...look at how much businesses the state will lose. Not the right time to impose BS laws what with all these economic disorder

 

I agree that it is potentially a dumb law, especially for older cars, but, in most cases, it's best to stick to factory parts to start with. In fact, with newer cars still under warranty, alterations, in many cases, can void the warranty....especially with computer chips and wheel/chassis revisions.

And there are reasons why wheel/tire revisions can void the warranty. If they are not stock sizes, or have the same outside rolling diameter, they can give false speedometer and odometer readings. They can also mess up factory (and Federally-mandated ) tire-pressure warning systems.

 

Very scary, and it is just not some junior repersentive introducing it, but the governor. I think it is beyond stupid, they were also proposing some kind of crazy gas taxes awhile back to. This will hurt thier economy, Oregon is a beutiful state and has many nice parks, nature area etc. many people want to get to these areas, and use suvs and trucks fitted with big tires and high suspensions to reach these areas. Big/diffrent tires are the only way to go in these cases, but if they are banned, off roaders/campers will go to other states like Wyoming and Montana.That is the biggest effect, but others include old muscle cars that need big rear tires for traction, track day cars(Portland raceway and other tracks), need big tires for tracking, heck even commercial vehicles sometimes need bigger tires then stock for heavy loads, and pickups for towing, they are not seeing the big picture. So they are shooting themselfs in the foot to be 'green', what fools. If this passes oregon will be the number one anti car state.

 

its a dumb law period. especially with a economy like this? wtf. It just freaking irritates me when they coming up with new laws every damn day. It's our rights to do what we like we aren't hurting anyone. ****a warrenty. we know it avoids it but we do it anyways. smoking causes cancer but we do it any ways. next thing you know we be in a box and wonder wtf happen and how we got here.

 

Yes and no. You are partly correct. The "rights" you speak are on the borderline. Yes, owning a car is indeed a right, if you have clear title to it...that is considered private property. But DRIVING it is another matter. In all 50 states, driving ls legally considered a priviledge, not a right....and subject to State and Federal laws.

 

I cant believe that you wouldnt be able to mod freely. BS

 

Of course you can, within state laws, (if you will accept maybe a loss of warranty coverage on a newer car). But, even in states that don't prohibit aftermarket parts like Oregon may (?) be doing, there are limits to what you can legally do, like the degree of tint you can have in windows, or the types (and noise levels) of exhaust systems.

 

the red car in that first post should be banned, anyway.

 

I can agree with that.

Its dumb, period.

It's my issue if I choose to void my warranty. Most people who mod their car have long accepted this fact anyway, and most cars that are modded are well out of warranty.

Secondly, some of the parts, especially tyres, are harldy the best option for performance (not just speed and grip, but noise and fuel economy) that is available.

Thirdly, do they not realize that the world is going through an economic crisis? How much business would this absolutely destroy? The ratio of people who mod to people who don't is incredibly small.

Not only is this law senseless, it is utterly useless. Why do people pay taxes to have these morons make decisions for them again?

 

I consider it Al Gore run amok. I fired off an email to the Oregon State Representatives urging them to vote against it. Conservatives are a real minority in the Willamete Valley from Portland down to Eugene. Unfortunately, while it's a small geographic area it's also 70%+/- of the population.

 

This will never pass. Hawaii State Legislature tried to do this exact same thing about 8 or so years ago. The public outcry as well as outcry from nearly every single automotive parts store (Like Napa, Autozone, and others not just performance parts stores) was enough to kill the bill very quickly.