Congress isn’t totally against collector cars. Maybe.

Yeah, I’ve been busting on Congress hard lately for their various attempts to pass a cash for clunkers program, and I will continue to do so either until it’s defeated or I expire. But a few representatives and senators do seem to understand and appreciate what the owners of classic and collector cars go through.

First, Senator John Tester, a Democratic Senator from Montana, who last month introduced Senate Resolution 97, which would declare June 1, 2009, as Collector Car Appreciation Day. The resolution would recognize “that the collection and restoration of historic and classic cars is an important part of preserving the technological achievements and cultural heritage of the United States” as well as the fact that automotive restoration “provides well-paying, high-skilled jobs for people in all 50 States.” Unfortunately, the resolution will likely die in committee before the proposed date of the event.

Next, while it doesn’t seem as though H.R.2057, the Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act of 2009, should be something collector car enthusiasts should care about, the fate of future collectibles hinges on legislation like this (just as it does with cash for clunkers legislation). It’s something observers already point out - if the computers and sensors and other sophisticated systems that power new cars conks out, and nobody has the equipment or training to repair those systems, then how will they become collectible? How will somebody restore a Corvette ZR1 25 years from now if they don’t have access to the car’s trouble code chart? As Bob Barr and Ralph Nader (I know, I know) wrote in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed piece earlier this week,

While similar legislation has been introduced in previous Congresses but not voted on, it takes on additional urgency in these tough economic times, especially with the closing of many auto dealerships.

This aptly named bill would allow independent repair shops to compete for the business now guaranteed only to dealer-controlled establishments. This is important because car manufacturers now severely limit the number of repair shops that are allowed to have the tools, diagnostic codes and updated repair information essential to being able to repair late-model cars.

It’s easy to say that this won’t affect the ‘67 Corvette in your garage, and so what. And you’d be right. But your son and his son will likely collect significantly different and newer vehicles, vehicles that this legislation would help keep on the road.

Of course, it hasn’t passed yet. Introduced last month, H.R.2057 currently sits in committee. Let’s hope it progresses further.

As for cash for clunkers, the most recent news is that the compromise legislation hammered out a couple weeks ago has now been attached to the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R.2454). Bad news that it’s yet another step toward realization, but at least it’s not on the proposed fast track that some legislators wanted. CNN predicts that the bill will leave committee by the end of the week and head for a vote in either late June or early July. There also comes word that Dianne Feinstein, who doesn’t like the current c4c legislation because it’s not green enough, has proposed her own, more stringent cash for clunkers legislation.

Meanwhile, cash for clunkers continues to attract widespread opposition. The L.A. Times and the New York Times both recently criticized the plan, the United Recyclers Group and the Engine Repower Council joined the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association in issuing statements opposing the legislation, and Mike Bumbeck at Clunkbucket has taken a stance against it:

The throwaways of automotive culture have sparked motoring trends that over time have become part of our cultural fabric and created giant economic engines of their own. Back in the ’40s and ’50s it was kids tearing the fenders off ’30s Fords and hopping up the engines to make gow jobs, or what we now know as hot rods. Affordable Toyota Corollas and talented drivers begat drifting in Japan. The trend has sparked global enthusiasm for precision driving and older rear-drive cars. American drag racers shoehorning high horsepower supercharged engines into all manner of Fiat Topolinos and Willys coupes created the legendary Gassers. Even from the wheezy Volkswagen Beetle sprang industry built up around aftermarket performance and style.
Clunkers and the other castaways of the automotive world are what keeps vintage motoring interesting.

Nobody can tell what direction vintage motoring will take in the future. But I can guarantee you that whatever direction it takes will be severely disrupted and curtailed by a federal cash for clunkers program.

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