[200q20v] Re: Big Brother and other stuff

[Phil & Judy Rose]

At 12:10 PM -0400 4/22/01, C1J1Miller at aol.com wrote:
>Read all about it here:
>http://www.obdii.com/background.html

In particular--to answer Derek's question--read the part that says:

>The Environmental Protection Agency has been charged with reducing 
>"mobile emissions" from cars and trucks and given the power to 
>require manufacturers to build cars which meet increasingly stiff 
>emissions standards. The manufacturers must further maintain the 
>emission standards of the cars for the useful life of the vehicle. 
>OBD-II provides a universal inspection and diagnosis method to be 
>sure the car is performing to OEM standards.

Makes good sense to me. Given that there's a national program to 
reduce vehicle emissions and to require vehicles to be kept running 
at high efficiency, there's a clear practical advantage in having 
on-board engine diagnostic codes of _all makes_ readable by a 
readily available, standard device that would be relatively cheap 
(even for non-dealer shops and car-owners). Without the driving force 
provided by this government requirement, there'd be little motivation 
for car manufacturers to change to a standard on-board diagnostic 
system in place of the expensive, proprietary ones that often make a 
car owner the captive of "authorized" dealer service.

Phil
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*  Phil & Judy Rose           Rochester, NY  *
*        mailto:pjrose at frontiernet.net       * 
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