Actually, as I understand it, they don't put stricter standards on a car just because it is older, but as new emmissions standards are released they apply to ALL cars - regardless of age - and not just new cars. As the standards get tougher over time, the older cars that were never built to meet those tougher standards in the first place can't pass and get eliminated. That is what I have read, and been told. It would be interesting if you could ask some of your contacts and see if that part of it is true. If so, then combining that with $4,000 a year in safety inspection fees would certainly minimize the number of cars more than 3 years old (which is a new car in my book) on the road.

BTW, when I said there are "no" old cars on the road, I didn't mean absolutely not a single one. Obviously there are a few - but from what I've always understood there are very few. As you said, the few there are are owned by rich people who can afford to pay the inspection fees and have them brought them up to the new standards or whatever to keep them. What I meant was that they don't have millions of older cars, and they certainly don't outnumber new cars by a large margin - like they do here.

There's no need (or point) to parse every word of every post looking for something to correct someone on or something to argue about, is there?

__________________
1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown