On the heels of the defeat of a U.S. Congressional proposal to create a national Cash for Clunkers program, a bill has been introduced in the Washington State Legislature that would implement a vehicle scrappage program for passenger vehicles more than 15 years old that are not emissions compliant.
Under the bill, qualifying vehicles would have to be registered for a 24-month period and be in satisfactory operating condition. Replacement vehicles purchased under the plan would be required to have an EPA highway gasoline mileage rating of at least 30 mpg. Participants in the program would be granted a sales-tax exemption for the first $2,000 of tax paid on the purchase price.
All trade-in vehicles would be destroyed, regardless of their historical value or collector interest. If this effort is successful, hobbyists could be denied the availability of vintage cars and parts for restoration projects.
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For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.