No more smog check for Hybrids 5 years of age or younger. The law went into effect yesterday. Yay! "HEVs are exempt from emission inspection testing until the model year of the vehicle is six years old. (Reference Nevada Revised Statutes 445B.770 through 445B.825, and Senate Bill 161, 2007"
Yep, there is no smog check in California until at least 2010 for hybrids. That's a savings of $50 -70 every two years.
Georgia had a minor scandal on this note. Everything here gets a 3 year exemption. When the first 2004 Prii reached the end of their 3 year exemption, and therefore became the first of the new model to get inspected, the car and the test computers wouldn't play nicely. The test would not complete, which can't be scored as Pass, so the owners of early '04s were in limbo for a few weeks. I'm not sure if the resolution was to exempt them further or if they got the software issue worked out, but it certainly made the evening news.
