[quote=no_such_reality]
Sorry Brian, no cake and eat it too. You can’t buy a car that doesn’t meet California emissions standards and register it here. Cheap labor, IMHO, is the red herring. Whether it’s China manufacturing or Texas. The real goal is to escape regulations, whether environmental or labor.[/quote]
I wouldn’t say that cheap labor is the red herring. I think it is part of the equation, which includes other costs including labor (as mentioned by you – and which actually makes labor more expensive like min wages, Soc Sec), and environmental.
[quote=no_such_reality]
(And I’m well aware that the primary difference between the CARB-compliant catalytic converter and the non-CARB compliant catalytic converter is one paid $20,000 plus testing fees to get the label and one didn’t.)[/quote]
I don’t think it is the ‘testing’ fees, since they test the same. CARB compliant catalytic converters are required to last 50,000 miles. If they fail before 50,000 miles, manufacturer is required to replace them. For the most part, the diff in the price is a ‘warrantee’ that is attached to the cat. If you put a Fed next to a CARB cat, they are the same except for part numbers stamped on the body.
