Car Club Council of Central Virginia

"The Relay" Online Newsletter
July 2009 Issue

This is the monthly online newsletter for the car club council. All car hobbyist events are listed on this site under "Calendar." Just click on the link to the left to view the list of car shows and other activities.

President's Message

If you are one of the many people on the council's mailing list you will be getting an email in mid-July with instructions on how to report violators of the antique vehicle registration law. In order to protect our hobby we need to enforce the rules. The email will have all the details on enforcement.

The tough economy is having an impact on the hobby. I've noticed that many shows have lower participation and attendance than last year. Prices of vehicles have fallen greatly. It's just about impossible to sell a vehicle unless you have lowered the price to give away status. We need to hang in there. I recall the recession that hit in the mid to late 70s. It took about 10 years to recover - so - keep hanging in there.

~ Fred

Legal on the roads of Virginia?

As a driver you need to prove that you are financially responsible for your liability in case of a car accident, this law, the financial responsibility law is similar in every state. With out any auto insurance, any property you own could be taken from you to satisfy the claim. Just imagine that another driver is the cause of an accident, and you would get seriously injured and your car is totally damaged, in this case you would be compensated by their auto insurance company. Compare car insurances to see if you satisfy the requirement, the risk taken if you are not satisfying the requirement can be a risk of a liability for ten of thousands of dollars.

Performance Plus Tire

If you plan to buy custom tires you may also think about recycling your old tires. Here you’ll find a great selection of custom tires and discount tires. If you keep your tires properly inflated, you can improve your mileage and save on gas at the same time.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be on Monday August 24th at 6:30 PM at Steak, Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, 10456 Midlothian Tpke, Richmond,VA 23235, 804-272-0391. We will eat in their banquet room before the meeting. The tip will be added to the check. If you need driving directions they are at this link: Driving Directions. We will vote on next year's officers at this meeting.

Car Hobbyist News

Just as expected the Cash for Clunkers program has passed both houses of Congress. It awaits the signature of President Obama to become law. It will run from July 1 to November 1; however the Transportation Department will have 30 days to set regulations for it. These regulations will determine how dealers dispose of the “clunker” traded in on the new vehicle. The clunker will have to be owned by the same person for a year before it is traded. The new vehicle cannot exceed $45,000 in price and must get better mileage than the vehicle traded in. Discounts of $3500 to $4500 on the new vehicle are determined by the difference in combined EPA mileage and some other factors. The “clunker” cannot be older than the 1985 year model because that is when the EPA began mileage ratings.

It is possible to own a vehicle that qualifies for this program that is worth more than $4500. In fact surveys have shown that few people will take advantage of the program. If you are driving a vehicle worth only $1500 the odds are you are not in a position to have the cash or credit to buy a new vehicle. And many people may wish to keep their older car because of lower property taxes and other reasons. Dealers and automakers are the ones this program may help.

The clunkers turned in are supposed to be crushed, shredded or somehow disposed of but I suspect that any junkyards that get the older vehicles will want to sell off valuable parts before the vehicle is crushed and sold as scrap.

Cap and trade – as this is being written the cap and trade bill has barely passed the House and is headed for the Senate. Cap and trade is aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to combat climate change.

The “cap” means that companies are limited to the amount of greenhouse (carbon dioxide) gases it emits. This cap would be lowered over time to reduce more of the gases similar to what the EPA has done with ozone standards.

The “trade” is when a company emits less than its cap and can sell extra permits to other companies that are having trouble meeting their caps. The federal government could auction these permits and make money on them. This profit could be used to develop other “green” energies or for any other purpose determined by the government.

The selling of the permits will give the government additional revenue but that money comes from somewhere and that somewhere is us. The additional costs in this program would be passed along to us as higher costs for electricity and other forms of energy. Everyone agrees that we will pay more because of this program. How much more we will pay is unknown. Similar programs are in Europe and it has been found that in Britain cap and trade averages $1300 per year per family. This has led some to call this a tax. In a way it is a tax because the federal government is collecting money from the cap and trade program.

There are many unknowns in the cap and trade program. It is very much like the old clunker programs where vehicles were crushed for pollution credits in the 90s under the Clean Air Act. This did absolutely nothing to make the air cleaner. No one is sure of the results of a cap and trade program.

Antique Plate Info Flyer Online

The council delegates have approved the flyer with information on antique plates and a link to it is online here: flyer opens to a new window. Council members and antique owners may print the flyer for their own reference or distribute it to those who own or are considering registering a vehicle as an antique. It will remain on the site for an undetermined time. Council delegates will review the effectiveness of the flyer at a later date.