I can find no practical use for it. I racked my brain. I even ran my plate and found the smog test barely an hour ago was showing (passed with flying colors…8 years later, over 100K and still meets is LEV numbers with flying colors).

No information like a vin, owner or address is included in what pops up so one is relatively safe from identity theft.

For an auto thief with some time or a good hacker I can see the location information being used to break in and find garaging location of a really high end car. I don’t put much past a tech savvy thief but I suspect that would be a lot of work and risk of being caught to deter a theft by working backwards from a smog check.

It might be enlightening if you were considering buying a used car. Make sure it really passed and when. That’s my only thought.

The location listed is the location of the last smog test. I’m not sure how that could lead to the garaging location of a vehicle unless a thief happened to shop up at a shop while a vehicle was stored overnight for repair at the same shop where it failed the smog. Since, a lot of people get their cars smogged during their lunch breaks, the location information wouldn’t necessarily even narrow the search down to the right city.

As far as a practical use, the information is primarily useful for those looking to purchase a used vehicle. You might not want to buy a POS that typically fails emissions testing as that is usually an indicator of a whole host of other problems.

hachronn two ways a thief could get garaging info. Break into the garge and rifle files or hack their database as many now are ‘puterized. I said it was a long shot but I’ve seen more bizarre ways to steal high end cars over the years that took a lot more effort and deception.

I suppose anything is possible, but wouldn’t it take a whole lot less risk, time, and effort to follow the car home?

Neighbors? Heck, I know their cars haven’t passed. What I find more interesting is looking up all the personalized license plates that I can think of.

For instance, with this program I can find out “What Would Jesus Drive.” Answer: He has driven mostly vans since 1977 when personalized plates began. He likes to drive Accords, Chevy pickups, Jeep Cherokees, Ford LTDs, Mustangs, Tauruses, and Chrysler LeBarons. (I think with a name like Jesus, he should stick with the Chrysler brand. But then again who am I to tell the lord what to do.) Notable, Jesus only passed 16 of the 22 times. How sinful.

Also, Angelyne’s pink corvette hasn’t passed since 1995. Either she keeps getting a new one, or that pink vette that we see going up and down Sunset Boulevard is giving us more than just an eye-full.

It’s too Big Brother for me.
Although you could use it to find out if the paparazzi following you is polluting more than the airwaves.