Vintage Car

LTO will not get a break. After facing public uproar on the shortage of stickers, plates, and licenses, and just recently the theft of plate sheets, the agency is now hearing it from car collectors and vintage car drivers and owners.

Recently signed and published is Administrative Order No. RPC-2016-033 on “Registration and/or Recording of Vintage Motor Vehicles.”

According to the AO, LTO want to restrict vintage cars, defined as vehicles older than 40 years (from the current year), not a reproduction, and maintained or restored based on manufacture specifications (which we interpret as
kept close to original).

Vintage cars need to be registered to be used on public roads. Fair enough. If the car is for private collection only, the owner still needs to have the vehicle recorded. Reasonable. The kicker though is if vintage cars, even if registered, may only be used on weekends and holidays.

Owners and fans of vintage cars are understandably upset with this provision. If the cars are indeed close to manufacture specs, then they should be running better than many of the dilapidated public transport (jeeps, buses, and even taxis) and trucks that are the real dangers on the road.

One area of concern though is if vintage vehicles will pass emission testing. Well maintained cars should be able to pass this despite having engines and exhaust systems that were not designed with the environment in mind. Then again, emission testing has also been a joke.