DeTomaso Mailing List: June 2001, Message #159

Scrappage: Smashing Success . . . We Don’t Think So!

                It seems our friends at the California Bureau of
Automotive Repair (BAR)
are very proud of their efforts as of late.
        In their newsletter, (Smog Check Advisory, March/April 2000
edition), there
is an article on the front page touting the supreme goodness of their
scrappage program. They even go so far as to call it a “smashing
success.”
How clever of them.
        To put what BAR is doing into perspective, 2,778 vehicles were
crushed in
February. Almost 1,600 were crushed the month before that. Who knows how
many future classics and rare parts sources were lost in those 2 months
alone?
        BAR was even gracious enough to provide a picture of them
crushing a 1985
Cadillac Eldorado in a recent Dog and Pony Show they conducted. Driving
Force understands that 1985 Cadillacs aren’t exactly hemi ’Cudas, but
then
again, if we really knew what cars were destined to become classics,
there
wouldn’t be so many stories about guys and gals selling their 428 Cobra
Jet
Mach One ’Stangs because they were tired of tinkering with the
carburetor
all the time.
        Some of you may be wondering why such a late-model car would be
eligible to
be scrapped? It’s actually quite easy to qualify for California’s
program,
and if you do, the BAR will fork over $1,000 for your vehicle. What’s
noteworthy about that figure is that if you participate in BAR’s
Consumer
Assistance Program which is supposed to help cover the cost of repairs
to
bring a vehicle into compliance, the most they will give you is $500,
and
that’s if you even qualify for the program based on your income.
However,
anyone can scrap his or her qualifying car, regardless of economic
status.
This disparity leaves little doubt as to the agency’s ultimate goal.
        BAR says that it is providing a great service to the community
by getting
so many “polluting” vehicles off the road. However, there’s no test
conducted to measure just how much pollution these cars are producing
and no
way to be certain that they are even driven on a regular basis. It’s
quite
possible that vehicles are being scrapped when $50 worth of work could
have
brought them into compliance.
        BAR also touts how scrapped vehicles are recycled and sent off
to
manufacturing facilities to be used in new products. While many folks
not
involved with the hobby might think that this is a great system,
collectors
and restorers know that once you crush a car, you’ve lost a valuable
source
of parts for other vehicles. In fact, the BAR not only prohibits parting
out
cars that have been surrendered to the program; it also sends state
inspectors to audit dismantler sites just to make sure nothing is
salvaged.
So if some unenlightened motorist happens to take Grandpa’s old, black
Buick
in to collect his $1,000, there’s no hope that someone is going to
recognize
that it’s a Grand National and save it from a most unbecoming end. The
car
is going to be reduced to brick-sized pieces before the guy even gets to
the
bank and cashes the check.
        If you’re interested in what the California BAR has to say about
their
program, you can check out their web site at: www.smogcheck.ca.gov. If
you’
re interested in BAR’s Smog Check newsletter, it can be accessed at
www.smogcheck.ca.gov/smogweb/ftp/scapdf/sca0301.pdf.