SoylentNews

An Anonymous Coward writes:

The Specialty Equipment Marketing Association has sounded an alert on the EPA stealthily inserting regulation [sema.org] that would "prohibit conversion of vehicles originally designed for on-road use into racecars." However, it goes even deeper than that, according to Motor Trend's Chris Evans [motortrend.com]: "...this doesn’t just mean a catalytic converter. It could be applied to every vehicle component which affects emissions, which could include everything from the camshafts to the gas tank. As nearly every race sanctioning body requires a fuel cell, this would make all production-based cars ineligible to be raced. It all depends on how far the EPA wants to take its interpretation of the law." Jalopnik's Patrick George posted a follow-up [jalopnik.com] which contained some additional notes from SEMA's VP of Government Affaris, Steve McDonald: "The effect of this change, McDonald said, is not only the possible banning of racing parts that don’t meet emissions, but also the act of modifying your car in such a way -- although he admitted the government is far more likely to go after parts makers than individuals. (This is why SEMA, which represents the aftermarket business and lobbies on its behalf, is involved with the situation.)"

If this reaches far enough, it could spell the end for aftermarket specialist companies such as Greddy, Cosworth, Edelbrock, etc., as well as entire "grassroots" racing series such as 24 Hours of LeMons, ChumpCar World Series, and events sanctioned by organizations such as the Sports Car Club of America and Sports Car Driving Association. Furthermore, many of the performance innovations in the automotive industry have been driven by enthusiasts who tinker for more power. If SEMA is unable to stop or litigate against this EPA strongarming (which is misguided, considering that emissions due to racers are arguably negligible next to those of old and/or badly maintained cars), this could lead to automotive vendor lock-in by fiat.

Original Submission