Skip to main content
search
Tag

air

Sep 12

Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act

By General Posts No Comments

Act Now… Congress Votes Thursday!

The House of Representatives has scheduled a vote Thursday on H.R. 1435, the “Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act.” H.R. 1435 would amend the Clean Air Act to prevent a ban on the sale of internal combustion engines, effectively trumping any state law that outlaws their sale.

Now is the time to have your voice heard! Let Congress know you support the right to choose the type of engine you buy.

Click here to contact your Member of the House of Representatives and ask them to vote for H.R. 1435.

* * * *

Ride Free Forever

May 19

ABATE call to action

By General Posts

The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) just released their proposed changes to On-Road emissions standards and test procedures. These regulations and standards amendments are aimed at motorcycles and motorcycle engines manufactured on or after January 1, 1978 through 2025. This points to a desire to force the adoption of electric motorcycles beginning in 2026 which is seven years ahead of the EPA’s new emission standards for motor vehicles model-years 2027 to 2032. Below are highlights and commentary on these proposed changes…

The US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new federal emissions standards for motor vehicles model-years ’27 to ’32, intended to dramatically increase sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in the coming years. While these rules are not yet finalized and subject to approval, the agency’s target is clear: two-thirds of new passenger vehicles sold in the United States should be EVs by 2032.

California is already pursuing stricter greenhouse gas standards with a goal that 70% of new vehicles sold in the state will be zero-emissions vehicles by 2030. The Golden State is also seeking to completely ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. This is significant, as 17 other states have followed all or part of California’s previous clean-car rules.

It has also eliminated an exemption provided to low-volume car manufacturers (those that produce fewer than 5,000 vehicles a year).

– The proposal, as drafted, is essentially the knock-out punch to the internal combustion engine (ICE) technologies the specialty automotive aftermarket has built its industry around.

– The Biden Administration estimates this proposal will result in two out of three new vehicles sold in the United States being electric by 2032. The proposal is not technology neutral, as the EPA and White House suggest.

– Ultimately, if these regulations are implemented, it will likely lead to more government subsidies to large automakers to manufacture EVs and for consumers to purchase them.

– We have already witnessed massive government subsidies to implement the infrastructure to support EVs:

1. The Infrastructure Bill that became law in 2022 funded 500,000 EV charging stations nationally.

2. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 financially incentivized Americans to purchase EVs.

– Government policies should support the work of small-business innovators that employ millions of Americans by letting the market and innovation drive solutions to the environmental challenges we all seek to solve.

– The unintended consequences of these regulations will be extremely far-reaching, adversely impacting rural and urban vehicle owners and reducing consumer choice

We at ABATE highly recommend our members review CARB’s proposed amendments and submit comments to them by the June 2 deadline. Without such public input, the agency may assume a general “unchallenged” acceptance of their proposal. As a reminder, it is easier to stop such changes BEFORE they go into effect. Once they take effect, it is extremely difficult to change them.

Written Comments – MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE JUNE 2, 2023

Written comments on the draft regulation can be submitted via e-mail to – jason.mcphee@arb.ca.gov

or mailed to:

California Air Resources Board
1927 13th Street: Sacramento, CA 95811
Attention: Jason McPhee

There will be a Public Workshop to discuss these proposed On-Road Motorcycle (ONMC) regulatory amendments on June 7th. Again, this is our opportunity to express our concerns and push back on these proposed changes. If we fail to do this, then it is on us when these changes go into effect. I’m just being real here. The government only gives us a sliver of a window to challenge them, so we must take that opportunity en mass if we want to keep our beloved internal combustion engines for future generations.

Date: June 7, 2023 – Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (PST): Location: Zoom Virtual Meeting

We at ABATE can’t stress the importance of getting engaged in the above activity. PLEASE… invest your time to saving our beloved motorcycles, hobby, and way of life BEFORE it is too late.

Also please share this information with everyone you know who rides, whether they are ABATE members or not. It going to take all of us to slow these government programs.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Sep 17

Proposed California Fee Increases Threatens Motorcycle Industry

By General Posts

September 17, 2020

For Immediate Release

“Proposed California Fee Increases Threatens Motorcycle Industry”

Empowered by changes to state law, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has begun the process of increasing certification fees for original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket manufacturers. The CARB certification is required to sell motorcycles and parts in the state of California and has ripple effects throughout the nation. The stated goal of the increases is to help offset the cost to California for enforcement and operations of its clean air policies.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) is concerned that grossly inflated certification fees will further hamper the aftermarket parts industry’s ability to remain viable. In these trying economic times, increasing fees on the manufacturing industry will no doubt have wide ranging effects.

MRF President Kirk “Hardtail” Willard stated, “Putting additional financial strain on aftermarket parts manufacturers will without question impact the average consumer. Motorcycle shops, dealers, manufacturers and distributors are all key components of the motorcycle ecosystem. Anything that impacts the motorcycle industry eventually impacts the motorcycle consumer. The state of California should not destroy the motorcycle industry in an attempt to balance its budget.”

Sep 15

U.S. judge approves revised EPA Harley-Davidson emissions settlement

By General Posts

by David Shepardson from https://www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge late on Monday approved a revised settlement with Harley-Davidson Inc over excess emissions that dropped a requirement that it spend $3 million to reduce air pollution.

In August 2016, the Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer agreed to pay a $12 million civil fine and stop selling illegal after-market devices that caused its vehicles to emit too much pollution.

It also agreed to spend about $3 million to retrofit or replace wood-burning appliances with cleaner stoves to offset excess emissions.

The Justice Department in July 2017 cited a new policy by then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and an ongoing review of the penalty by a government auditor in proposing to drop the $3 million mitigation project.

More than four years after the settlement was announced, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan approved the settlement over the objections of environmental groups and a group of 10 states, including New York, Illinois, Maryland, Vermont, Washington and Massachusetts.

While the earlier agreement “containing the mitigation project might have been the ‘best’ resolution of

Harley-Davidson’s alleged violations, the court cannot say that the decree lodged before the Court is not within ‘the reaches of the public interest,’” Sullivan wrote in approving the consent decree.

Harley-Davidson and the EPA did not immediately comment Tuesday.

The settlement resolved allegations that Harley sold about 340,000 “super tuners” enabling motorcycles since 2008 to pollute the air at levels greater than what the company certified.

Harley-Davidson did not admit liability and has said it disagreed with the government, arguing that the tuners were designed and sold to be used in “competition only.”

Even though the settlement had not yet taken effect, Harley-Davidson has said that since August 2016, it sold only tuners certified by the California Air Resources Board and halted sale of the tuners in question and destroyed tuners returned by dealers.