Canada.
I made the mistake of renting a surfboard one year on vacation in Florida and I've had the bug ever since....all vacations MUST be to a place with consistent surf nearby. For what it's worth, Southern California is my favorite place to be....

In Ontario, where I live, if your car is 1988 or newer, it has to be E-tested every 2 years in order to get your license plate renewal. If the car/truck doesn't pass the E-test (with emissions numbers constantly being tightened by the province) then the vehicle cannot be relicensed. However, IF you spend more than $400 to repair the vehicle and it STILL doesn't pass the E-test, you can get a "conditional" pass to renew the plate.

This is how I know the E-tests are money grabs. I believe that if the government was serious about getting polluters off the road then the rules should be simple - if the car doesn't pass the E-test, it shouldn't be licensed. However, as it stands, if you spend $400 or more on "repairs" then it's okay if the vehicle doesn't pass...they'll allow you to renew the plate anyway.

Four years ago, my awesome-running Capri XR-2 convertible wouldn't pass the E-test. I put $400 into it and it still wouldn't pass so they gave me a conditional pass so I could license the car. Two years ago, it wouldn't pass the E-test again, the mechanic did a bunch of work and without my consent, ran up a $784 bill and passed the E-test by FOUR PARTS PER MILLION.

I swore I would never e-test that car again or go back to that mechanic again. So this year, my 37 M.P.G. turbocharged, intercooled, starts every time I turn the key, absolutely beautiful condition XR-2 convertible with ice-cold factory air (much colder than my Crossfire) is getting junked because I refuse to go through this E-test B.S. again. Some of my other cars that wouldn't pass and have been junked were an '89 Nissan 240 SX (great, great looking and running car), '89 Suzuki Samurai (couldn't kill that thing - it's now a year-round 4X4 "farm vehicle") and an '83 Mercury Lynx (35+ M.P.G.). Also had a '99 ? Saturn if I remember correctly that I put out to pasture after a failed e-test.

In theory, the E-test is a good idea but it's sure cost me out the butt !
All the while, my doofus neighbor tools around twice weekly on his smoke-spewing riding lawnmower as eighteen wheelers drive by pouring out black diesel exhaust - but they're exempt from E-tests so it's okay for them !

Sorry ~ I'll get off my creaky soapbox now. This isn't the place for my whining and I'm sure nobody wants to hear it anyway !

I hear you Cali guys have got it pretty bad too -

Dave