Leno’s Law

By Jeff Shively

Originally published in the May-June 2025 Lincoln and Continental Comments magazine (Issue # 384)

Photos courtesy of the author.

Sometimes, it helps to have friends in high places. Most Americans have a high opinion of Jay Leno. As the host of The Tonight Show, he tended to poke fun at the foibles of both sides of the aisle, much like Johnny Carson before him. His point was to entertain without alienating a large portion of the audience. In recent years, he has been known more as a car guy’s car guy. Through his television and YouTube programs, he has introduced many more people to the world of the collectible automobile than any one of us ever could, and for that we owe him a debt of gratitude.

Now, he is helping out again. Member Dean Forbes sent in a clipping from a recent issue of Old Cars magazine regarding California Senate Bill 712, dubbed “Leno’s Law.” California has the most stringent emissions standards of the 50 states. This might have made sense 50 years ago, when cars generally polluted more, and there were simply more of them in greater concentrations in California’s urban areas. Even as cars have gotten cleaner, the Golden State has had standards far in excess of other states, at least ones that haven’t adopted California standards.

A car must pass rigid emissions standards to be licensed in the state. To a certain extent, this makes sense for vehicles driven 10,000 or 20,000 miles annually on California’s crowded freeways. Applying those same standards to vintage cars that are seldom used makes less sense. As a result, there has been, for many years, an exemption in place for such cars. But this raises the question of how old a vehicle must be to be considered vintage. I recall reading about this debate as a high school junior and novice car guy in 1990 in the pages of Classic Auto Restorer, Cars & Parts, and Collectible Automobile. At the time, it was a question of deciding between a hard date that never changes or a rolling exemption. I think 1975 might have been the cutoff in those days, a mere 15 years before the current date.

Today, collector cars built prior to 1976 are exempt from California’s biennial smog checks. The current cutoff is fine for people who like 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s cars. Nothing will change for them. What has changed is the scope of collectability within our hobby. Compare the show field at last fall’s Eastern National Meet with the lineup in 1995. Where Gregorie’s gorgeous 1940-1948 Continentals, silky Continental Mark IIs, and Elwood Engel’s masterworks once dominated, Bill Blass Mark Vs, 1980s Town Cars, and sleek Mark VIIIs rule the day. The same is true in almost every corner of the hobby. 1970s and newer cars have grown exponentially in popularity over the past 20 years.

The sponsor of S.B. 712, Sen. Shannon Grove (R. Bakersfield), says that it targets “unnecessary and burdensome smog check requirements for classic vehicles, ensuring they remain a celebrated part of California’s culture and economy.” Currently, vehicles that are at least 35 years old can be exempted from the smog check, provided that they are insured as collector automobiles, comply with the emissions regulations of the year they were built, pass a functional test of the gas cap, and have no visible fuel leaks. Leno’s Law simply seeks to replace the fixed date of 1976 for total exemption from smog checks to a rolling date of 35 years old. “California’s smog check laws for classic cars need to be updated – they vary too much from state to state, and California’s rules don’t match up with neighboring ones,” said Leno.

This is just common sense. The newest car that would be fully exempted today would be a 1990 model. Some opponents might say that this would open up a loophole allowing people to drive “gross polluters” every day. True, you can drive a 1990 Lincoln every day. There would probably be someone driving a junkyard refugee, but most people who own them wouldn’t do that because they see them as fun cars for occasional use. I am also old enough to remember when some of the same people who will now call a 1990 Mark VII a “gross polluter” wanted folks to surrender their 1975 Mark IVs and replace them with brand-new “clean and efficient” 1990 Lincolns when I was a teenager.

In reality, this regulation doesn’t affect Mr. Leno that much. Most of his collection has been exempt for decades. Like many of us, he understands the importance of expanding the reach of the hobby beyond its current boundaries. Buying a slab side Continental is not in everyone’s budget, but a nice 1990 Town Car (Motor Trend’s Car of the Year) might be the perfect balance of affordability and practicality, with a lot of class. Hopefully, the California Senate will join with Sen. Grove, pass this S.B. 712, and provide some relief for our collector car compatriots in the Golden State.

Jeff Shively, LCOC legislative advocate, lives in
Kokomo, Indiana