CARB puts off plug-in hybrid conversion warranty, emissions decision

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has decided to take another look at rules it is currently mulling over that would have required PHEV conversion shops to follow the same rules for emissions tests and warranties as the automakers. When word of this decision got out, some voices were raised that it would kill the growing plug-in conversion community. CalCars was one such group and issued a statement Friday that thanked CARB for pushing back the deadline to make a decision on this issues and therefore "keep alive the possibility that an industry of converters of both hybrid and non-hybrid vehicles can grow and flourish, helping to reduce greenhouse gases in cars that are on the road, creating new local jobs, and further motivating the auto industry to mass-produce plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles." Activists were not used to CARB being so attentive to citizen complaints and comments, and CalCars' Felix Kramer said the reprieve will give the automakers and connected parties a few weeks or months to come up with a better solution.

[Source: CalCars]