FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                  Contact:  Norm Plotkin, CAWA Legislative Advocate
                                                                                                        916-446-5900

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA - January 9, 2008 - CAWA and a coalition of eight state and national aftermarket trade associations filed legal action against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.  The lawsuit challenges anti-competitive regulations promulgated by the CARB that would require car companies to extend emissions warranties for parts found defective by emissions warranty information reporting requirements.

"By CARB extending emissions warranties beyond current standards, where is the improvement in the quality of air, durability of parts and benefits to the consumer," asks Rodney Pierini, President and CEO of CAWA. "We requested CARB to show the aftermarket coalition the data and empirical evidence upon which they based the extension of warranties and they couldn't produce it," Pierini went on to say.

The lawsuit charges that CARB produced no proof that the extended emissions warranties are actually effective in providing incentives to the car companies to build more durable emissions systems.  Further, CARB has no data that indicates whether warranties are as effective in moving the motorist to obtain needed emissions related repairs, according to the coalition.

"California's Health and Safety code clearly states that the emissions warranty is 3 years/50,000 miles on all emissions related components and 7 years/70,000 miles for high priced emissions related repairs," explains Aaron Lowe, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA).  "The state's attempt to extend the warranty to 10 years/120,000 miles for most cars clearly is outside the scope of this statute. The industry is not going to sit idly by while the agency continues to ignore the state's laws and cause financial harm to California small businesses."

Association Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are:

• Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association
• Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association
• Automotive Service Association
• Automotive Service Councils of California
• California Automotive Business Coalition
• California Automotive Wholesalers' Association
• California Autobody Association
• California Service Station and Automotive Repair Association
• Car Care Professionals Network
• Independent Automotive Professionals Association

For more information about CAWA and other industry related alerts, visit www.cawa.org.

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