Let me just preface this endeavour with a few things just so you know I’m doing this in good faith and have no malicious intent.

My goal is to get this message in front of the EPA and if at all possible the president of the United States.

My quest concerns Section 203(a)(3)(A) of the Clean Air Act which prohibits vehicle tampering when it comes to emissions behaviour and equipment.

My goal is not to create a loophole for people to abuse and circumvent environmental regulations. I am also not here because I endorse people violating sound ordinances and deliberately obnoxious behaviour. I like a good sounding free flowing exhaust and engine system, but we don’t need to shatter windows with a few engine revs.

So! The hobby of taking vehicles, modifying them and making them our own has been going strong in the United States for over a century, this American pastime is so engrained in our culture that we have our own genre of automobile: American Muscle.

People alter the bodies of their vehicles, the interiors and they also alter their performance. But here’s the problem, when it comes to modifying the way the engines in our passion projects function, we open ourselves up to federal fines and penalties.

Whether it’s installing an air intake, a supercharger or just outright removing emissions equipment to improve sound and performance, the way a car’s engine consumes fuel is changed and the way it emits pollutants is changed. Because of this, in the eyes of the EPA any one of those things can yield a maximum $47,357 fine PER violation.

With all that in mind, let’s have a quick theoretical situation putting that information in action. Allow me to introduce you to Rick, he’s a beloved part of your community. He embodies the word philanthropy, he goes out of his way to contribute to society where he can and donates to medical research when he can. But! There’s a flaw with this character. He likes to collect and modify cars. And let’s say someone in his community, someone bitter and jealous (probably an HOA president or something) decides to rat him out to the EPA and tells them he has a modified 2020 Ford Mustang which has a supercharger and no catalytic converters that is only driven on weekends.

The EPA investigates him and his collection and ultimately fines him $45,000 for every non compliant vehicle. This financially cripples him and leaves him absolutely destitute.

The fact that this is even possible is absolutely ridiculous. I believe that if people are engaging in this hobby in good faith, they shouldn’t have to fear the possibility of extortionate fines and jail time.

Now let’s take my dreams into account as a real example since they too could open me up to prosecution should I not do everything absolutely to the letter. I want to build a racecar style street car for the road and swap in a really cool more modern engine into an older vehicle. Am I safe to do that? Sort of. I also (as a unrestricted Class A CDL holder) want to build a customer semi truck to haul my car(s) around to mitigate wear and tear and saving the driving for more scenic and beautiful parts of the country. Ideally, I’d take a modern semi truck and modify that so I can enjoy its modern safety equipment, transmission and comfort technology while still being able to make it sound cool by modifying the exhaust and emissions system, but the regulations/rules/laws surrounding even non commercial semi truck emissions modified are so heavily enforced it terrifies me, so my only option is to use an older pre emissions truck so I can feel safe from penalty.

And I feel I should be allowed to modify my dream vehicles however I want because I’m not altering the safety equipment, I don’t have any intent to daily drive them and I commute to work in a hybrid. My enthusiast vehicles are a minute fraction of the larger emissions equation and do warrant federal pursuit, persecution regulation.

I believe that it is the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturer to build a vehicle that meets our emission standards, not the consumers or aftermarket parts manufacturers. That said, if an exemption were to be made to allow people to modify their cars in this way there of course needs to be checks and balances.

At first I thought an annual mileage limit on the modified vehicle would work but that’s a bit archaic. Instead, what I propose is this.

In order to be able to modify/defeat/remove the emissions equipment of a vehicle for performance/pleasure you must meet these criteria:

-You must have a designated daily driver vehicle with all emmissions equipment intact (keeps people from daily driving their modified vehicle if it turns out it’s their ONLY vehicle)

-The modified vehicle must be registered to an individual to be eligible for federal exemption, not a business, organization or collective

-You must have accrued five years of being legally licensed to drive in the United States.

-The safety equipment is not tampered with (airbags, impact bars and structural crumple points etc)

I have so many dreams I want to pursue. As an American, I had an international upbringing, but it was always my dream as a kid to return to the U.S. (which I did when I was 18) to pursue my dreams of buying and building my dream cars and now even dream semi trucks. The larger American automotive community is a thing of beauty and is the embodiment of one of the key INALIENABLE RIGHTS established in our legendary Declaration of Independence: the right to pursue happiness. You cannot make a common sense argument that my hobby infringes upon the rights of others when enjoyed responsibly, but fining me and my brethren for enjoying a hobby which victimises no one infringes upon our inalienable right.