I'm not so sure on that. Some of the states that don't test are pretty damn inhospitable to cars and bad emissions is often the first sign of the end of the vehicle.
If they are just sold on and continue to be used when they fail emissions testing, what is the point of emissions testing at all? The vehicles will just end up in countries that don't care, and emissions will rapidly get worse as they will get minimal maintenance and probably lower quality fuel.
That doesn't seem to be the norm here and we're pretty lax on emissions testing requirements. It was a bigger issue in California when I was in the car scene there than anywhere else i've lived. And their emissions are stricter than most places (if not all) in the US.
I've lived in two places that required emissions testing. In both, the vehicles were held to the standard in place at the time it was built, not the current highest standard.
Most states emissions testing requirements are not stringent. Having lived in Washington, Oregon, and California I can say that WA's and OR's tests don't do much.
I've always really hated vehicle emissions testing. It's evil. The government colludes with the auto industry to force perfectly fine but slightly older vehicles off the road. And 90% of the time it's not even related to emissions--- some damn sensor is just faulty. For the middle class it's a costly expense. But if you own a car that costs $1500 but to pass emissions you have to spend $1000 to get it fixed, you're hosed. So you don't have any option but to drive an unregistered vehicle, and so the cycle continues...
Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I see cars on the road in CA that somehow pass emissions but are in extraordinarily bad mechanical shape since there is no safety inspections. As long as the air is clean I guess.
Since I'm no longer in CA I will readily admit that I've had more than one sideways smog done. Their rules on things like an intake needing a CARB EO is ridiculous. This is the same state that said the Elantra N has too loud exhaust, stock, even though it meets federal limits. Their BAR inspector ran it in "sport" mode instead of "normal" which is against their policy.
So your car gets tested against current emissions standards, and not the ones that were in place back when it was manufactured? That sounds harsh. But certainly a boon for the auto makers, anyway.
Reminiscent of the Volkswagen dieselgate situation where emissions are fine during the EPA test drive but horrible otherwise. This sort of thing will probably haunt us forever, in various forms.
There's a penalty for being stolen from though in those areas that do emissions testing, since you can't pass without a working converter, and the state won't replace it for you.
Emissions tests in the US are at the state level, not federal. For instance, the state of Virginia has emissions tests. However, the state of South Carolina does not require a test.
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