[Excaliber]

The Hawaii bill wasn't helped along by SEMA in our case. We actually met a fair amount of opposition from the "Hot Rod" crowd. Existing law made it easy to register anything that was older than 1949, even if it was a "kit". The "Hot Rodders" had theirs, why should they tolerate Cobra owners messing with their 'good thing'. The Hot Rodders had 'connections' with local DOT, who adamantly and openly opposed us. The basis of DOT argument was that 'modern' cars needed to meet FEDERAL standards for safty, etc.

So what constitutes a 'modern' car? Looking at the Fed standards (and trying to get along with everyone, SO important in politics) we determined that 1968 was a water shed year for Fed standards. Therefore we took the EXISTING Hawaii 'Hot Rod' law and simply sought to have the YEAR MODEL changed from 1949 to 1967. We had meetings with key 'Hot Rod' players and eventually won their support. The one change DOT got, we accepted, was SEAT BELTS for everybody, including Hot Rodders.

NOW it appears SEMA is more interested in helping than they were even a few years ago when we were passing our 'Cobra' bill. They offered virtually no support at that time.

This might be note worthy: A couple of years BEFORE the Cobra Clan started our campaign the VW Dune Buggy guys tried to get a law passed for their benefit. They used 'hard ball' tactics, pressuring people, arguing, being somewhat mean spirited about it all. They lost BIG TIME and left a very bad taste among politicians, Hot Rodders and the DOT. You MUST find a way to 'get along' and keep the parties happy. Arguing and finger pointing will get you nowhere. "Laws" are passed well before they get to the House or Senate. They get 'passed' on the Golf course, over coffee, at dinner, etc., 'cut a deal', even if its not exactly what you want. As fate would have it, the VW guys, late in the game, also were specifically included in our bill. "We" were not keen on having them 'tag along' with us. So you see, there are some 'car guys' that for various reasons will NOT want to help you.