The EPA Is Trying To Ban The Conversion Of Street Cars Into Race Cars.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed regulations to prohibit the conversion of vehicles originally designed for on road, to be used as race cars.
The regulations will also make certain products illegal on such vehicles. The proposal was contained within a non-related proposed regulation entitled ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles—Phase 2.’ or to you and me, ‘we have not really thought this through properly—Phase 2.’

In a statement released by SEMA, they accuse the EPA of hiding the proposal within a long winded, 629 page federal document published last summer.

SEMA has opposed the ruling since last year saying that the regulations ‘would impact all vehicle types, including the sports cars, sedans and hatchbacks commonly converted strictly for use at the track. While the Clean Air Act prohibits certain modifications to motor vehicles, it is clear that vehicles built or modified for racing, and not used on the streets, are not the ‘motor vehicles’ that Congress intended to regulate.’
‘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.’

The main points of the legislation which cause concern –
‘Certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and their emission control devices must remain in their certified configuration even if they are used solely for competition or if they become non-road vehicles or engines; anyone modifying a certified motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine for any reason is subject to the tampering and defeat device prohibitions of paragraph (a)(3) of this section and 42 U.S.C.’

but also –
‘Competition engines/equipment: (i) For uncertified engines/equipment that are excluded or exempted as new engines/equipment from any requirements of this chapter because they are to be used solely for competition, you may not use any of them in a manner that is inconsistent with use solely for competition.’

The EPA has indicated that the final published regulations will be produced by July 2016.

There are so many caveats and contradictions here, but the main point is that many people and businesses could be affected by this regulation, potentially putting many people out of work, along with potentially decimating a part of the car industry.
Not only that, but the obvious common sense viewpoint that any type of race built vehicle is just a microscopic drop in the total amount of world pollution.

An online petition has been set up already, which you can visit here.

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