If you love your classic 1:1 rig, better read this!

[Unimoger]

Has been posted on several forums, thought you guys better look.

This is the email I got from SEMA.
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Washington lawmakers are drafting a large economic stimulus package to help create jobs and rebuild infrastructure. They want to include a nationwide scrappage program which would give U.S. tax dollars to consumers who turn-in older cars to have them crushed, as a misguided attempt to spur new car sales. The lawmakers need to scrap this idea.

The stimulus package is being drafted right now. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wants to introduce the bill on January 6 and have it approved by Congress by January 20, so that President Obama can sign it into law after he is inaugurated.

Contact House Speaker Nancy Pelosi IMMEDIATELY To Oppose Cash for Clunkers!
Call: 202-225-0100
Click here to send an electronic message: http://speaker.house.gov/contact/
Talking Points
Feel free to use any of the statements below as a starting point for your message to Speaker Pelosi.

I am [calling/writing] to urge lawmakers not to include a “Cash for Clunkers” provision in the economic stimulus bill. Owners who turn in vehicles for crushing would receive a "minimal" payment to purchase a new car. This is a misguided attempt to spur car sales and claim that the country’s air quality or fleet fuel mileage is being improved.


I work for [company name] located in [city and state]. My company is part of the specialty automotive industry, an industry which enables consumers to enhance their vehicle’s appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and safety. “Cash for Clunkers” programs deny our small businesses the availability of older cars necessary to develop and market their products and services. The programs will hurt my company and our customers.


“Cash for Clunkers” programs threaten enthusiasts nationwide with the loss of valuable parts and parts-cars for repair, restoration, and customization projects. The programs also risk destroying classic, historic and special-interest vehicles, our American heritage.


Cars turned in for scrappage often barely run, or are rarely-driven second or third vehicles that have a minimal impact on overall fuel economy or emissions.


“Cash for Clunkers” programs will reduce the availability of affordable transportation and repair parts used by low-income drivers. It will also compete with the Salvation Army, the Purple Heart and other charities that rely on vehicle donations to raise money.


“Cash for Clunkers” ignores better policy options. If Congress wants to act, support for repair and upgrade is a better choice and a win-win for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and repair shops. Significant emissions and fuel economy improvements can be achieved in older vehicles through relatively simple and inexpensive means: repaired/replaced exhaust systems, tune-ups, etc.


We hope we can count on you to reject “Cash for Clunkers.” Thank you for your consideration on this very important matter.
If you choose to send a message to Speaker Pelosi, please send a copy of your message to SEMA also:
E-mail: briand@sema.org
Fax: 202/783-6024

[pantablo]

old doesnt mean classic.

[flatfender]

so does this mean I can scrap my perfect condition '86 Dodge that I get 30mpg for $100, just so I can go $30,000 into debt for a vehicle that will lose 50% of its value when I drive it off the lot, and get 23mpg (assuming they would want us to buy american).
let's see, higher insurance, higher repair costs, higher taxes, nope I won't be getting a new car.
heres an economic stimulus package, stop sending boatloads of money in foreign aid to countries who bomb us, fight us or can't give anything in return. then tax the hell out of companys who send jobs overseas just for the cheap labor then use that money in our school systems so our next generation isn't a bunch of retards.
I have always had american vehicles, but I have no desire to own any of the new ones that are being produced because the gas mileage in new cars hasn't got any better since the early 80's (my first car was an 85 Escort that got 32 mpg), the complexity of the new cars have got so crazy that you need a degree of some sort to work on them (my 81 CJ7 that I had was actually fun to work on) the amount of crap in new cars is stupid (I don't need GPS cause I know where I'm going and I know how to use a map, I don't need an in car entertainment system cause I just listen to the radio and I don't feel the need to entertain anybody else, I don't need a computer to tell me that there might be a problem with the car becouse I pay attension while I drive, I don't need A/C becouse there's a window right next to me and on and on and on) and the last thing I will say about new cars is style, or lack there of, when the wind tunnel has more to say about a cars design than the designer all cars are going to end up looking like a sausage, while a sausage is a visually inspiring shape to some members of sociaty it is not to me.
We have the capabilities to design a visually enticing, performance capable and economically supperior vehicle that would blow the doors off of the present crap that we are being force fed today.
My car is fine I'll keep it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
forgive the spelling, it's a rant.

putting on flame suit

[HndsWthtShdws]

This guy I know has never spent more than $800 bucks for a car and does all his own repair work (possible because older cars are simpler). In the last 30 years of driving he's spent like $15,000 on vehicles. Doesnt seem like such a bad idea......

[MuddyOval]

Driving new cars rocks. You get the good years out of it, then sell it off and let someone else suffer with the squeaks, worn out alternators and water pumps, bald tires and worn brakes. That being said, I wouldn't take an American car at even half price. i'd take one for free or maybe 25% market value, but only a few would be a "deal" at 25%. Let's face it- most American cars suck. The only one that I think is an exception is GM trucks. My beater 96 Silverado has 214K miles on it and still going strong- just simple cheap no-frills transportation and we only use it for running parts around or towing. Well, today I did donuts in my parking lot for about 15 minutes with it since everything else I have is 4WD.

Cash for clunkers- it'll be like the gun buybacks they did in D.C. Mostly people taking advantage and dumping stuff they otherwise would get less $ for, although some classics will slip through the cracks. I saw a Browning hi-power at the $100 gun buy back in D.C. and it made my heart sink. Some classics may go, but for the most part it's all going to be just old beaters that have no business on the road. I'm in the automotive business- parts, accessories, kit cars, customs and restoration- but I don't oppose getting sh*tboxes out of yards and off the streets.

Pelosi is a dangerous chick... she has lots of crazy things up her sleeve though.

[dirk379]

p00losi's idea "cash for clunkers" idea came out July-ish, i remember hearing about it at work around then, but i did get an email from summit racing the other day about this.

Sit at the crushing station and wait for your beauty to arrive, offer the guy cash and drive away a happy man

[champ7times]

i would rather watch my 67 bonneville and 86 Monte Carlo rotte in my yard before selling them for scape. the monte is the first car i bought new. and the bonnie is my first car.drove it all thru high school, got alot of blood,sweat and tears in her.oh and they are still both daily drivers.

i am on the same page as flatfender. give me an old car over a new one any day

[microgoat]

Wait til the Carbon Tax hits. Old cars are killing the planet! It might start off as a voluntary program, but it won't stay that way long.

champ7, if you leave the Monte and Bonnie in the yard, they'll be siezed under "public nuisance" statutes. These people hate old cars; show them a Deusenberg and they'll complain about its carbon footprint. Anyone remember the movie Christine? The scene where Christine is destroyed by vandals is porn to these people.

The irony is that restoring an old car pumps a shit-ton more money into the economy than buying a new poobox. When's the last time you saw a decent-looking car that cost less than a house?

Pablo, old doesn't mean classic, but classic sure means old. Millions of now-priceless old cars were crushed during the WWII steel drive, and the "fight to save the planet" will claim many more. Wait til the activists take up the cause; vandalize an "old clunker (like say a '69 Camaro with a $10,000 paint job) to Save The Earth! If you think I'm kidding, just wait.

[MuddyOval]

I get comments from mad hippies on a regular basis here in VT. My wife and I only drive Land Rovers except for an old pickup we use for hauling/towing stuff. I've had many grungy hippie types tell me I'm killing the planet, and I'm not the type of person to ignore people calling me out- so they usually end up running away. Our trucks are certified LEV (low emission vehicles) while these moron hippies all seem to drive old Volvos with bad rings, polluting more in a day than my V8 truck does in a year.
On the back of my old 67 diesel Rover, I made a decal with the three arrow 'recycling' logo and it says "THIS VEHICLE RUNS ON 100% RECYCLED DINOSAURS"

I know the 'slippery slope' arguement: If they start with this law, it will get worse to take them all away. But I don't think it'll get to that. Honestly, I think the Gov't should be worrying about more important stuff than buying old beaters. Maybe just make mandatory inspections for the whole country for safety/emissions. If an old beater doesn't smoke and it's in good shape enough to be safe, I've got no issue with it- but some smoking POS with bad bearings and tie rod ends needs to hit the crusher or get fixed.

[cuzican]

They'll get my old vehicles....just like they will get my guns.....over my dead body.
I have a 64 chevelle/malibu and a 73 chevy shortbox stepside truck waiting to be restored.
The 73 was my first truck and put in alot of good years for me. My dad and I built the 64 originally when I was about 16.
I also have an 89 chevy truck, an 01 grand am, and an 02 Yukon XL. I always do my own work, even on the new stuff. If you have any common sense you can still work on your own vehicles. This is a good topic...I'll be sending them my input for sure.
If I lost the ability to build classic cars and trucks....I might as well buy a bicycle because you'll not see me driving some piece of crap from overseas anytime soon.

[champ7times]

Originally Posted by microgoat

Wait til the Carbon Tax hits. Old cars are killing the planet! It might start off as a voluntary program, but it won't stay that way long.

remember the movie Christine? The scene where Christine ichamp7, if you leave the Monte and Bonnie in the yard, they'll be siezed under "public nuisance" statutes. These people hate old cars; show them a Deusenberg and they'll complain about its carbon footprint. Anyone s destroyed by vandals is porn to these people.

The irony is that restoring an old car pumps a shit-ton more money into the economy than buying a new poobox. When's the last time you saw a decent-looking car that cost less than a house?

Pablo, old doesn't mean classic, but classic sure means old. Millions of now-priceless old cars were crushed during the WWII steel drive, and the "fight to save the planet" will claim many more. Wait til the activists take up the cause; vandalize an "old clunker (like say a '69 Camaro with a $10,000 paint job) to Save The Earth! If you think I'm kidding, just wait.

in the state i live in if cars are covered up like under a tarp or whatever the state can'nt touch them. i had my brothers 63 vw bug in the yard under a tarp for about three years before he decided to start restoreing it

[cuzican]

Originally Posted by champ7times

in the state i live in if cars are covered up like under a tarp or whatever the state can'nt touch them. i had my brothers 63 vw bug in the yard under a tarp for about three years before he decided to start restoreing it

yeah nobody cares about that stuff here either.
I've had 5 or 6 vehicles sittin on the back part of my mom's property next to the shop for 10 years now...not covered up or behind a fence or anything. But then again....most things that apply to the rest of the country get ignored here....like emmisions laws.
My 89 chevy truck runs a pretty snorty small block that breathes through flowmasters with no converter. I know a guy that does exhaust work that hooks me up. It is illegal for the shops to build a system with no converter...but we have no inspections or anything up here so you're free to build whatever you want on your own.

[binaryterror]

There are good sides to this as well as bad.

It is easier to crush/recycle a vehicle with todays machinery than to produce the same amount of steel/aluminum/plastic/glass that goes into 1 car.

Now if you have a 70 Cuda or something, you obviously love it and likely keep it in good shape. It's not a clunker until it becomes a yard ornament or rotted/rusted out beyond suitable repair. You might have 1 less stock fender, but theres still the aftermarket guys popping repro's all day long.

I'm not an old car fan, they don't do anything as well as new cars, but many people love their looks (ok I do love a classic rock-a-billy style Rat Rod). But in the same light I think its rediculous someone would want or pay over $50,000 for a mint 1970 anything. That same $50,000 could buy quite a nice year round vehicle that would serve more need than want. Spend your money your own way though...

[champ7times]

i maybe mistaken but isn't a classic rock-a billy-rat-rod just junk and mismatch parts that you either have lieing around or looking thru junk yards for. don't get me wrong i like the rat rods. but if we all recycle all the used parts and cars there wont be none to build rat rods. and there is nobody making repo parts of any kind for my bonnie. have to search e bay and junkyards for parts. thats what i like about owning a classic {older} car.and the reason why people charge/pay that much is that the classic's are getting hard to find because of people scapping them instead of finding someone who needs parts or wants to restore it