California Air Resources Board

SACRAMENTO – The California Air Resources Board (ARB) today announced that it received a settlement of $80,000 from General Motors Corp. (GM) for selling vehicles that did not meet ARB certification standards for sale in the state.

        ARB Chairman John Dunlap said, "The ARB's strict air quality emission standards for motor vehicles prohibit manufacturers from selling vehicles in California that were built to less stringent federal requirements. Vehicles that do not meet ARB standards pollute more over their lifetimes than those built for California."

        According to ARB information, General Motors was aware that the 19 vehicles, all 1995 Pontiac Grand Ams, were not certified for sale in California when they were delivered for sale with the intention of later bringing them into compliance with ARB emissions standards, a violation of Board regulations. GM is required to report the importation of federally certified vehicles in California to avoid their sale for use in the state. In this case, GM did not report the vehicles slated for use by the Mary Kay Cosmetics fleet.

        In an effort to correct the problem, GM recalled the vehicles but were only able to reconfigure 13 to California specifications. Although the California Health and Safety Code allows for a maximum of $5,000 per vehicle civil penalty in this case, the ARB accepted $80,000 as a reasonable settlement.