Buying a California model

Hi,

As the years have progressed, I'm not too certain as to whether a "California Emissions" package still exists in production vehicles...at least in Toyotas. I assume that somewhere along the way, vehicles started becoming clean enough right from production to please all 50 states, perhaps sometime early in the fuel injection era. I'm looking at a '93 4Runner with the 3.0L and was wondering if there is anything "extra" on the CA models.

Thanks, Dave.

Reply to
A57Redfish
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Tundra didn't have a "50-state" version until 2003. Ken

Reply to
Ken Shelton

I bought my '98 Tacoma in Oregon. It passes CA emissions fine. I came back in 2000, when they nixed the "smog impact fee" from that lawsuit they started in '78 (I think). I wonder if they would have tried to charge me the $300 because my truck was from out of state, even though it would have passed CA smog. The smog industry in this state is really idiotic and corrupt.

Reply to
zach

There's truth in that, but to be honest about it if California hadn't clamped down really hard on emissions the air here would be even more unbreathable than it was in the 1950s when I was a kid. Unless you lived here then, you can't imagine how bad it was.

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

I bought my '88 pickup new, here in San Diego County. A year later, I moved to the Denver area. In 1996, I moved back to San Diego County. When I went in to register my truck, they tried to charge me the $300, "even-the-playing-field-so-you-out-of-staters-don't-think-you're- getting-away-with-anything" fee. I pointed to the form where it said the fee didn't apply to cars that had the "CA" designation for the smog device. I asked to have one of the inspectors meet me in the parking lot where I showed him the "CA" on the sticker. I then told him I originally bought the truck new in Escondido, and as far as I knew, at the time it was still in California...

A while before they started hitting out-of-state move-ins with the fee, they started allowing trucks from Mexico to come into California to deliver freight and other goods. Many of the trucks from Mexico were of the flatbed variety, not too many double axle rigs, and many of them were gasoline powered. There wasn't any kind of smog control requirement sout of the border, and a lot of these trucks would belch out clouds of smoke and noxious fumes. These trucks may see a maintenance shop once or twice in their lifetime. It really burns me to be stuck in traffic behind one of these trucks, especially when I have to pay to have a smog test every other year and if it fails, it gets branded as a "gross polluter" and has to be repaired if it doesn't exceed a certain amount. If I spend the money on it and it still fails, I have to take it off the road. Where's the justice in that???

Oh, well, time for a cold shower... :>))

Tom - Vista, CA

Reply to
TOM

After reading all these horror stories about California..... I feel all of you need to come to British Columbia... where we have AirCare!

The system seems much better than down there... and ours works.. apparently.

I dunno perhaps California should just adopt our way of doing things!

Then again... it might be hard considering that CA has more people than Canada or something like that.

Reply to
saeros

Tom- I feel your pain... CA's smog inspection rules are kind of wonky if you ask me, they honestly do not catch the worst polluters. We managed to wind up with both our vehicles due for smog in the same year, just a few months apart. We sweat it out hoping they'll both pass so we won't spend a mint getting them up to par right before the holidays. So far, the Toy passed with flying colors. It's the Merc I'm worried about, even though it's a 99. eek!

Of course, being military, we pay less than $40 to renew the registration on both, which is certainly a welcome break.

And what is up with California not doing general inspections? I can't get used to that. In Texas, they check out everything from headlights and windshield wipers to brakes and tire tread depth. They also do smog check in certain areas now. Weird state we live in now... Dee

Reply to
Pookerz

To be fair, yes. I have seen photos of how bad the LA Basin used to be. As for Nor-Cal, I guess we just put up with all of the pollution when they burn off the rice fields every year... My main beef is the mom-and-pop smog certifications. I was really impressed with how well it seemed to me that Oregon had done with the state-run drive through system. I can imagine it saves both money (also in terms of bureaucracy!) and eliminates corruption. I guess it seems to obvious to benchmark against a system that is more efficient when one can keep throwing away taxpayer money.

Reply to
zach

If I were a politician, I would think that ultimately, the more stringent the smog check, the better for the economy. More cars crushed means that people have to buy vehicles more often. This increases the durable goods index, increases tax revenue (the initial sales tax and the recurring higher registration taxes), keeps more people employed (so they can pay more taxes), the financial institutions reap more profit by extending all of that extra credit, etc. and so on....

Reply to
zach

And you'd be tossed out the first time you came up for re-election with that kind of thinking

Reply to
MDT Tech®

They want the money. Everything else is too much effort.

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

Back in the 70's they used to do safety checks on the roadside. I had to go through one with a rental car once. LOL The only time you get a safety check now is if you have a salvage title. (been there, done that)

max-income

Reply to
max-income

Back in the 70's they used to do safety checks on the roadside. I had to go through one with a rental car once. LOL The only time you get a safety check now is if you have a salvage title. (been there, done that)

max-income

Reply to
max-income

Anyone have any ideas about the original question? Was there a California model

4Runner in '93? Thanks again.
Reply to
A57Redfish

They did the inspections in the late 60's - early 70's era. I think it was costing too much money, at least the way they did it probably did. They never did have inspection stations, what they did was have the CHP (California Highway Patrol) set up roadside checkpoints and randomly pull cars over. When you rounded a curve, there they'd be! All you could do was slow down and hope the officer motioned you on by. If you got stopped, it could take up to 20 minutes to inspect your car, and all they did was look at the smog equipment, check your lights and horn, and have you apply the emergency brake and try to pull ahead to see if the brake worked. If you passed, you got a sticker on your windshield that was good for a year.

I always felt violated by the inspections, you know, a lot of "lovin'" but no kissin'... :>))

Tom - Vista, CA

Reply to
TOM

I think the question would be better stated as: Were there separate CA and 49-State versions in 93?

Or were the ones headed for the USA all made as CA versions to simplify the supply chain?

I'll bet it's the latter (all cars built to meet the most stringent requirements so they could be sold anywhere) because that would simplify things for Toyota, but that's only a guess.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

After a job offer I couldn't pass and almost 5 yrs of living in British Columbia, I could tell you a lot of reasons why you are wrong. But I don't have a week for conversation this long. Yes, I'm from LA. Who said "Beautiful British Columbia" obviously knows CA from the web only, like you. One word to explain it: BORING. (BC = Boring Country) But, like most canadians, you speak without having a clue what are you talking about. Smog Check or AirCare is same BS! Only diff is SC is much faster. You can pass it at many gas station shops licensed for it, no waiting in line at drive through. Don't bother to answer, I found the info 'z looking for. No reason to be back, just had to vent this.

CB

snipped-for-privacy@telus.net wrote:

YIKES!!!

Reply to
Becker

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