for all the crap we give California about the SMOG checks and emissions controls...

[lowsodium]

I'll try to post a few pics from a trip to India last month. It's no Beijing, but Bombay is pretty bad. I think more of the issue is stuff like you cannot turbo your car, even if it pollutes no more than stock. That's what I really don't like. They check much more than emissions, and even if they allowed any enthusiast who wanted to cut out their cats and slap on a turbo, there'd be an insignificant amount of more pollution imply because of how few people would actually do that.

Move here, no inspections at all!

Anything keep you from swapping in a normal engine once a year for inspection? (although thats a lot of work I know..)

[Vivek]

Anything keep you from swapping in a normal engine once a year for inspection? (although thats a lot of work I know..)

Not really, no. And thankfully it's only every two years. It's just the fact that you'd have to do that which, as you said, is a lot of work. And if a cop notices that something's off, you can get a ticket and you'll need it to be back to stock within like a week or two.

[slammin.e28]

India has strict auto laws?

With the things I've seen on TV running around there I really didn't think they had much of any laws regarding cars, much less emissions.

[Mlarsen]

That's absolutely disgusting. I was upset about the amount smog we deal with around here but, that's unacceptable. Shame on China and your right we really don't have anything to complain about.

[decay]

I'll try to post a few pics from a trip to India last month. It's no Beijing, but Bombay is pretty bad. I think more of the issue is stuff like you cannot turbo your car, even if it pollutes no more than stock. That's what I really don't like. They check much more than emissions, and even if they allowed any enthusiast who wanted to cut out their cats and slap on a turbo, there'd be an insignificant amount of more pollution imply because of how few people would actually do that.

so basically, it's like here? i think i'm okay with that, because "it shouldn't be illegal to decat because nobody would do it anyway" is not a good argument to make when discussing a country that has more than a billion people in it.

my car is faster than stock and produces ~10% of allowable emissions on the sniffer. yeah, i get to sweat through visual every two years... but here in california, we want fast cars and clean air. this is the game we get as a result. play it or stick to maintenance/visual :)

[tjts1]

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/smogfaq.htm

Does my vehicle qualify for a smog exemption?

Smog inspections are required unless your vehicle is:

Hybrid
Gasoline powered 1975 year model or older
Diesel powered 1997 year model and older or with a Gross Vehicle Weight rating (GVWR) of more than 14,000 lbs
Electric
Natural gas powered with a GVWR rating of more than 14,000 lbs.
Motorcycle

Instead of fighting smog inspection I switched to one of the exempt categories.

Man, Beijing must be a nightmare for those with Asthma. Smogged up air is noticeable when breathing it feels thick.

Heres a decent pic of the smog in the Bay;

Most of the visible smog in CA is from exempted truck diesel engines which are regulated by federal law. CA tried to regulate truck diesel emissions and lost in court. You can thank a strict interpretation of the interstate commerce clause.

[Vivek]

India has strict auto laws?

With the things I've seen on TV running around there I really didn't think they had much of any laws regarding cars, much less emissions.

so basically, it's like here? i think i'm okay with that, because "it shouldn't be illegal to decat because nobody would do it anyway" is not a good argument to make when discussing a country that has more than a billion people in it.

my car is faster than stock and produces ~10% of allowable emissions on the sniffer. yeah, i get to sweat through visual every two years... but here in california, we want fast cars and clean air. this is the game we get as a result. play it or stick to maintenance/visual :)

I'm not sure how I worded that so badly, but I meant that India's pollution is fucked beyond belief, there are no laws, half the vehicles are two-strokes, and you can see the smog in your headlights.

Oh and everything about turbo's and such was referring to california.

[JinormusJ]

I was reading the entire thing thinking "Yes, Cali isnt the most polluted place in the world"
Then I saw the baby getting a IV drip and thought "Holy Crap"

Vivid hospital ER moments bdro...

[kung fu jesus]

Been to China, lived in SOCAL for a few years. In China it was amazing to see tepid ponds of chemical waste near the factories. The air would burn my throat and eyes on still, humid days. It reminded me of visiting LA back in the 80's.

For SOCAL, when it would rain, or get windy, you could see the San Gabriel mountains from OC. It was surprising because you forgot they were there. If you wear polarized sunglasses, you can see the pollution hanging about the city like a yellowish-brown fog.

Still, it is hard to be critical of China when everyone of us promotes this behavior buying most of our consumer products from there. Not meant as a political or social statement, just an observation.

[Isostar13]

To be fair, I think all major cities in developing countries have good days and bad days. Below is the day I arrived in Beijing (December 2010):

https://picasaweb.google.com/113825990425981457374/BeijingChinaChristmasEve2010#5564557581378388546

https://picasaweb.google.com/113825990425981457374/BeijingChinaChristmasEve2010#5564557798620424146

However, the next day, and over the next few days, it was all clear, blue skies:

https://picasaweb.google.com/113825990425981457374/BeijingChinaChristmasEve2010#5564557911041952866

https://picasaweb.google.com/113825990425981457374/BeijingChinaChristmasEve2010#5564558260884523394

https://picasaweb.google.com/113825990425981457374/BeijingChinaChristmasEve2010#5564559078794974722

https://picasaweb.google.com/113825990425981457374/BeijingChinaChristmasEve2010#5564559179206265666

https://picasaweb.google.com/113825990425981457374/BeijingChinaChristmasEve2010#5564559515579575346

https://picasaweb.google.com/113825990425981457374/BeijingChinaChristmasEve2010#5564559365025162930

[Roysneon]

Isn't it legal to swap an N/A engine into your car so long as the engine was from a newer car and retains whatever emmisions equipment that engine came with, so long as it passes whatever sniffer test it has to? Really doesn't seem that bad, except that you can't turbo an N/A engine.

[mrsleeve]

looks a lot like the average late summer day where I live when there is a million or so acres of forest burring somewhere in the grater Northern US / southern Canadian Rockies. Ours just smells like camp fire not Honda fire and diesel

[F34R]

East coast is gorgeous, I plan on staying over here...

[flyboyx]

those photos are awesome from an artistic point of view. i was in bejing in the mid nineties. at that time, there was definitely smog, but nothing like those pics. i think there hasn't been change yet in places like china and india because big business is so heavily involved in government and the culture in those places makes the people less likely to revolt when the get ass screwed like this. change will happen there eventually.

if you think about it, this is kind of like our food industry here in the usa today with government subsidized corn and the hormones injected into our meats. that isn't good for us either, but its cheap and the people that run those businesses hold serious ties to our government. (not trying to make a political statement either)

[VinniE30]

I know it's pollution but in all these pics it looks the same as if it was just foggy. I guess the pictures don't do it justice.

And why all the focus on cars when it's the factories that's contributing to this problem the most? Leave car enthusiasts alone and focus on the factories pumping out massive amounts of this crap. I'd like to know what emissions regulations they have...

I'm glad I don't live too close to a city or industrial area. or cali lol.