I promised my mother I’d ask this here.
It’s my understanding that spending for two different assembly lines or sacrificing the CA market is suicide for car makers, so that every new model is made to pass the strict emissions tests here. Isn’t that right?
I’m fairly certain that they still do make separate California and federal emissions versions.
The main reason I think this is this at the California DMV website (bolding mine):
Now, despite that, it’s my experience that most “non-California” vehicles will still pass smog out here. For example, in 1993 when I moved here from Texas, I brought with me a non-CA 1989 Ford Escort. In order to register it in California, I had to submit it to a smog test; it passed quite easily.
I did have to pay a $300 fee because it was non-CA. In 2001 I got that money back, with interest, after it was found unconstitutional (interstate commerce clause problems, I think).
That car is no longer of this earth, and both of my family’s current vehicles were purchased new in California. If one looks carefully at the emissions label on the radiator support under the hood, there’s some kind of language on each saying that it was made for sale in California.
I am genuinely curious as to just what is different about “California vehicles,” since even out-of-state ones can regularly pass our smog tests. (I know many people who have “imported” cars from other states - none of them had problems passing smog.)
You know, reading your question again, I think I missed the important part:
Maybe all vehicles sold nationwide are “California certified.” I don’t know that they’re not, and that link I quoted does not rule the possibility out (even though it seems to me to imply that they are not).
All we really need is for somebody from out of state to go read the emissions label under his newer car’s hood, to see if California is specifically mentioned or not.
For the most part, all vehicles manufactured for sale in North America are certified for sale in California. There are exceptions though.
Before moving to my current position, I was in a position that involved the manufacture of steel fuel tanks. The tanks destined for California were required to meet a standard called “partially zero emission.”* Of course, it was a company goal for this entire vehicle to be partially zero emission, but tanks destined for California absolutely had to meet this standard.
This isn’t a complicated process to manufacture this vehicle to two different standards. Certified tanks are marked as certified. The inventory systems at the two assembly plants manage which tank is while. The control logic on the assembly line easily specifies which tank goes in which vehicle. In fact, this is a completely routine thing; it’s how option packages are managed in final assembly. Different option packages are not run in batches – the come down the line at any time, and the hourly employees build the proper car per the control systems’ orders.
(This used to be abused at one plant, it is said. Employees would “factory order” a popular sports car from their dealer completely stripped down, and then have their buddies on the line put every option into it).
*Partially zero emission sounds funny, right? Like being partially pregnant? It means that a car has absolutely zero emissions when the engine isn’t running. Thus everything is made to be impermeable to any type of vapor for any chemical that’s in gasoline.
This I can answer.
OK the regulations are different for cars sold new in California than they are for the balance of the nation. This is due to the fact that California had smog controls on cars dating back to 1961 (domestic cars, required PCV valves) Federal cars did not get smog controls until the 1968 model year. When the federal regs were written, California was given the option to set their own tighter regs.
Over the years, car makers have done various things to comply:[ul]
[li]Making a 49 state car and a California car (very common)[/li][li]Not offering certain engine / transmission combos in California (also very common)[/li][li]Making all of their models meet California standards sometime called a 50 state car (used to be not that common, more common now)[/li][/ul]
Anyway, do not confuse the standards that the car maker has to comply with and the smog check standards. brad_d did this in his post. They are completely different. Also back in 1993 a California smog check was only a low idle and high idle test, not very accurate picture of what a car actually emits when being driven under load on the road.
Anyway, I work for a car company and we use a combo of California only cars and 50 state cars for the current model year.
Most of our models are 50 state cars. However two of our models with a particular engine driveline combo are only certified in California, and some northeast states that have adopted California standards. These PZEV cars also carry a much stronger emission warranty than our standard cars. The emission coverage on our PZEV car is 150,000 miles on all emission components. BTW the radiator is listed as an emission component since it has a catalytic coating that reduces ground level ozone.
As Balthisar mentioned building two different versions of the same car is easy in today’s modern car plants. Our assembly line builds 4 different models on the same assembly line. A slightly different driveline combo is child’s play. 
i hope this answers the OPs question
I did? I must not have articulated myself very well, as I was actually trying to point out the difference (and failing, it appears). :o
We’re talking about the same thing, right? Cars with “federal” emissions equipment are not certified for new sale in California, even though they probably would pass a smog check here.