WASHINGTON (April 29, 2005) — Eight automotive aftermarket associations have written the California Air Resources Board, protesting CARB's regulation that auto makers place emissions warranties of 15 years or 150,000 miles on hybrid and other low-emission vehicles.
The rule could cause some 700 independent garages to close and some 2,500 auto technicians to lose their jobs, the associations claim.
“The state has no business being in the business of mandating emissions warranties,” said Rodney Pierini, president and CEO of the California Automotive Wholesalers Association. “Warranties are marketing tools that should be left up to the marketplace to determine, not state bureaucrats.”
Similarly, the Automotive Service Association (ASA) is concerned about the amendment to the House-passed Energy Policy Act that authorizes $3 billion over 10 years to provide incentives to auto makers and consumers to increase production and sales of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.
The amendment “is indicative of the increasing public policy urging the use of hybrid vehicles at all costs, including vehicle warranties that go beyond the reasonable,” said Robert L. Redding, ASA Washington representative.