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  1. #1 Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    Senior C-Moto Guru MJH's Avatar
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    The Pep Boys -- Manny, Moe & Jack -- aren't smiling. Last week, the Philadelphia-based national automotive aftermarket and service chain agreed to pay $5 million in civil penalties for importing and selling Chinese motorcycles, recreational vehicles and engines that did not comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements.
    Baja Inc., the Phoenix-based supplier of the ATVs and other vehicles, is also settling with the federal government. It has agreed to pay $25,000.
    "Equipment imported into the United States that does not meet our pollution control rules is bad for human health and the environment, and unfair to those companies that play by the rules," the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement released May 10.
    The vehicle- and engine-importation case is the largest ever brought by the government under the Clean Air Act. The complaint alleged that Pep Boys and Baja imported and sold at least 241,000 illegal vehicles and engines between 2004 and 2009 -- sales that resulted in 620 tons of excess hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions and more than 6,520 tons of carbon monoxide emissions, the EPA said.
    Under the settlement the EPA reached with Pep Boys and Baja, the two firms are required to offset the excess emissions from the vehicles and engines sold, and Pep Boys will need to export or destroy more than 1,300 noncompliant vehicles and engines. The firms will also need to reimburse consumers for emissions-related repair expenses and offer free extended emissions warranties on certain vehicles and engines.
    At least 45 models imported and sold by Pep Boys and Baja failed to meet federal emission standards; the vehicles and engines were built by more than 35 manufacturers in China.
    -- LA TIMES
    May 17, 2010 | 11:04 am
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  2. #2 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
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    About time federal agencies starting doing their jobs and checking imports from China. The sad part of this is that it's the greedy American companies that have to pay the bill instead of greedy Chinese companies that created the problem.

    There's a reason the Chinese are winning the global trade war and both sides are to be blamed the problem.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
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  3. #3 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    Senior C-Moto Guru MJH's Avatar
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    The liability begins at the port, vehicles have to meet specification and sidestepping that is the liability of those that do it, Baja did it and then handed it to PEP Boys.
    They did not fine Baja in force because it would have shut them down and then all that bought Baja products would then be what higher and drier, higher and drier then they are already are with those products and with Baja “supporting” them?
    I will go out on a limb here and say that none of the products they sell have any sort of servicing documentation, some do not even have owners manuals or parts books.
    I would say that documentation as well as it not spitting out excessive hydrocarbons is important…before its sold to consumers.
    So once it enters the port its the liability of who imported it, its totally and wholly their responsibility and linked legally through agency. The hammer fell were it should under the law.
    Baja should not have got off lite, they should have gotten the full penalty. The virtual model they are offering is not something that should be favored by anyone. They are avoiding accountability and responsibility.
    The “coming soon” is BS they should all be required to have documentation! Not just EPA conformity but all that is needed to support the products. There are all kinds of people searching for information on the products.
    The whole industry is like an episode of Jerry Springer.
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  4. #4 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    grumpy old sod jape's Avatar
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    Meanwhile fat westerners (I won't just single out the USA) all over the world produce billions of tons of emission gasses in keeping themselves in relative luxury with air-conditioning, heating and surrounded by throw away consumer goods. They rape and destroy the earth and its peoples to ensure they can 'cruise ' in comfort a few more miles, a few more years. And on the other hand a few billion Chinese and Indians race to catch up, doing just the same things and self-indulgent self- satisfied intelligentsia talk about it on the Internet using high-tech, high emission devices and methods and congratulate themselves on a very minor victory that is meaningless compared to what they themselves produce in their own complacent lives.

    Total hypocrisy, nonsense, a farce. Get real. The world is destroyed by evil and greed and stupidity and that is led by the western world at this phase of history. Nothing changes, just the faces of the fools as they clap and the innocent as they suffer and die.
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  5. #5 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jape View Post
    The world is destroyed by evil and greed and stupidity and that is led by the western world at this phase of history. Nothing changes, just the faces of the fools as they clap and the innocent as they suffer and die.
    I'm afraid the Chinese have caught up Jape. The progress of China is far beyond what the average Westerner can imagine. They have more air conditioners, more cars, bigger cities, and far less accountability and awareness when it comes to environmental matters.

    So the EPA did their job and checked emissions, I think that's a small victory. Now the DOT should do their job and get the rest of the junk off the road. I'm sure the world would be "shocked" to find out how much of the safety approvals on these machines are bogus. I'm not trying to advocate for big brother, but we do have agencies in the western world for a reason. Imagine what the greedy corporations would push on us ignorant consumption pigs if these agencies didn't exist.

    We could go on and on for hours citing examples of why the west sucks and why so many Chinese companies make poor products. I just find it a little disappointing that as the west has become more enlightened about sustainable development, countries like India and China have chosen to take the same path that screwed things up for everyone so badly.

    Think I'll go burn some petrol...

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
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  6. #6 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    grumpy old sod jape's Avatar
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    G'day ChinaV, I don't exempt myself from consideration, just that I know what I do, I choose to do it and find my own balances where possible.

    I believe the emissions and gas laws mentioned are a smoke-screen (;-0), not that in an equal and positive world they wouldn't have value but that they hide the root causes which are simple human nature. And they tend to hide the facts of the initial part of these equations, the raw materials - where they come from, by whom and how they are sourced/mined, who is suffering in the processing and manufacturing, the slavery and powerlessness that is the part of life for so may on this planet. The source of most of this is the wants and the simple greed of the plain ordinary self-satisfied citizen too complacent to think and to ready to punish any that are caught out supplying their greed (the greed is NOT that of the Chinese or the USA companies, it is OURS, the consumers), and then to crow about it. These laws started in part in California, one of the richest and most self absorbed societies of anywhere in the world, from an outside viewpoint anyway. They can afford the lies they delude themselves with, they live on the fat of others. Few hunger there, none are murdered in their beds alongside their children, by 'smart' missiles. It is a cruel delusion to think they are helping to save the world from the evils they themselves deal in.

    I resent no-one who wants what I have.

    The world is still and always was and will be one complex organism, not easy to redress the wrongs or balance the diverse wishes of the populations, but certainly not dealt with by fining a paltry few companies a paltry few million while the 'powers' and 'leaders' are so obviously corrupt and evil over generations.

    I do like a rant on a grey saturday morning. As you say, lets go for a ride and forget about it all, cruise along while Rome burns!
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  7. #7 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    Senior C-Moto Guru culcune's Avatar
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    I find it interesting that the L.A. Times reported this. If I am not mistaken, the corporate headquarters of the "big 4" are somewhere in the greater L.A. metropolitan area. If not all 4, then at least Honda is. Honda has had it in for the Chinese bikes since they started coming here. Lifan is still not California certified, coincidentally as they used to pose the biggest threat to Honda when they started coming en masse to the US a few years back (Honda is part of my anti-Chinabike conspiracy theories, especially for California ).
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  8. #8 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
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    Let me now throw a spanner into this little discussion.

    I just heard today that Shanghai authorities have decreed that from 1 July 2010, all motorcycles registered in the city will have to meet China's Level 3 emissions standard, which is actually more stringent than whatever the Level 3 European standard is called -- EC3? More to the point, of the seven or eight models in the H-D shop, only 3 meet this standard.

    I'm hoping that for the JH600, it will be a simple step of refining the algorithm in the Bosch ECU. I suppose this is something Jialing will have to pay for...

    Is Shanghai alone in this, or are other cities making similar moves?
    jkp
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    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
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  9. #9 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    Life Is Good! ChinaV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by euphonius View Post
    Is Shanghai alone in this, or are other cities making similar moves?
    I think this regulation is for the whole country, but I'm not sure if it's just for newly registered motorcycles or all registered vehicles.

    Pretty sure Europe is following EURO 3 currently for bikes, with EURO 4 going into effect by 2012.

    Cheers!
    ChinaV
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  10. #10 Re: Pep Boys and Baja imports 
    Senior C-Moto Guru MJH's Avatar
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    I think it would be NHSTA that could expand the requirements, but ideally they would offer it as a value adding service. Data as in the requirement to propagate data tables with defined fields, the fields would be the specifications. That’s all the needed documentation, the information has to exist because a product cannot exist without it. Seriously if a component failure is life threatening then identifying it is necessary. It goes beyond emissions but include that and also assemblies and components.
    When I read so many inquires as to who made my bike, its disturbing.
    The underlying issues are not flattering, it may not be just the design that is copied, sometimes its actually the associated paper work as well. So being able to sell into this market should be a matter of documentation and that propagated in the source manufacturer. The designs the tests, the components all entered into data tables at the inception. The specification can be approved and if found later to be false then they get sent back or destroyed. But not just for emissions, it all should be exactly what it says it is and offer complete documentation. Having that and it being open to public view keeps it all in the market and actually free to compete, if a part or assembly of specific part are unique the rights are granted for exclusivity and set for a duration.
    How difficult is that? I can assure you its not and those against it are against it because they are out side the rule of existing laws. Each unit getting a bar code and then collectively they ship and collectively tracked not only for that but for all other matters, like titling and registration as well as servicing and parts consumption.
    It’s a common shared data system and would streamline the process and would be totally open and accountable.
    To get access to the information it all would be primary on an assigned Vehicle Identification number and that associates it with all other associated data.
    So advertising has to align on that, citing claims have to be based on that verified and confirmed data.
    LOL it would be illegal to make false claims.
    If it has to have emission test then can the VIN and related bar code be scanned and then propagate the data tables for that VIN? How about a Dyno test and related results?
    I personally would like to see metrics on a WMI, like average labor rate or how about EPA sheets on them?
    How about hyperlink to sites? You could really get advanced and map capital exchanges and associations.
    I’ll go out on a limb….the future is all about efficiency and that’s a breakeven and mathematically profit and losses are equally as inefficient in the use of capital. That will be difficult to ever change, but looses are often walked away from or written off, but never profits those are always directed to a certain group. Those are who have you in fear of big brother they are gamming the system and brainwashing is part of that. But even they are brainwashed its all generational socialization and its ingrained. But in reality the future is all about diminishing resources and that’s ruled by supply and demand, its optimization is the break even. The competition is on that point and if not totally open and transparent its unattainable.
    Doing it better for less meets demand at a better place on the line, if all open then the opportunity to be innovative exists.
    But it is all really about the costs of living meeting the income at a break even or above and how high above is another issue and that’s about accountability to real and actual ability. In other words are you really worth that much or are you actually worth more?
    Its all related to efficiency, we are just misguided and misdirected, thats all, its not growth that is ideal thats inflation, deflation is when you go to far it's the market trying to adjust. We need real metrics we need ratios and values it all has to be day lighted, no more secrets.
    I have no issues with wealth and in a more perfect world that path to wealth would be a valid and verifiable one and likely highly admirable path. But I would say that in a more open society, a more fair society, maintaining that wealth through generations may be more challenging, I suspect that trust fund babies would not be that efficient to carry in a more efficient society. They would have to have an active role or they would be a burden to maintaining the wealth. LOL
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