REMOTE SMOG SENSOR HAS OPPONENTS FUMING : CRITICS SAY GADGET COULD INVADE DRIVER PRIVACY.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

California's smog police are studying the possibility of equipping cars with special radio devices that would alert state authorities when a vehicle is spewing out too much pollution.

But automotive industry lobbyists warn that the technology could be used to invade the privacy of motorists, in effect giving Big Brother the power to watch you - drive.

For example, these industry representatives say that the California Highway Patrol could some day use the same little boxes to catch speeders electronically, even though the agency denies the claim.

Whether this device - about the size of a pack of cigarettes - ever will make it into a car remains unclear.

But as part of its continuing war on smog, the California Air Resources Board in January initiated a $300,000 study to determine the device's potential cost and whether it is technologically feasible.

The state's action has sounded an alarm at the Speciality Equipment Market Association, which represents more than 3,000 auto parts manufacturers around the world.

``(The State Air Resources Board) wants absolute control,'' said Chuck Blum, the association's president. ``They want zero tolerance when it comes to vehicles in Southern California that may be out of compliance with emissions requirements. I think this is very Orwellian.''

Baloney, says Air Resources Board spokesman Jerry Martin.

If the so-called transponder ever makes it to the market, Martin said the device would be installed in cars only when the motorists ordered it. And it would be used only when the cars passed special monitoring stations, at least every two years, but perhaps more frequently, he said.

Martin said a car producing too much smog would trip the sensor, prompting the state to ask the motorist by mail to come in for an inspection.

``The benefit of all of this to the state is that we feel that we are going to have cleaner air,'' Martin said. ``It allows a driver to have repairs made on the vehicle when the problem is new instead of having to wait until the biennial smog check, when it generates into a bigger problem.''

The transponder is part of the latest phase of California's on-board diagnostics program, which requires all cars built after 1996 to have computers that alert mechanics when a car is polluting.

Blum said he fears the state has plans to make the next generation of electronic devices mandatory in vehicles. Further, he said he is concerned that the police want to use them to catch speeders remotely.

``Would the government also have the ability to shut down your car for not paying a ticket?'' Blum asked. ``Where does it end?''

But CHP Spokesman Steve Kohler dismissed Blum's concerns as baseless.

``The department is not looking at anything like this device,'' Kohler said. ``It doesn't mean we won't at a future date. We are always looking for technology that can make the highways safer for California motorists.''

Even if the CHP wanted to ticket people electronically, the laws would have to be changed, he said. As it stands, police must witness a vehicle speeding before they can issue a traffic ticket, he said.

Car maker representatives said they suspect that people who oppose using the device to check for smog are trying to scare the public in order to push another agenda. He said manufacturers of auto parts believe the devices would hurt their business by making it more difficult to tailor parts to new cars.

Blum denies that the association is engaging in scare tactics, but he asserted that the technology could give automakers a monopoly over what parts can be used in vehicles.

Car manufacturer representatives deny the charge, saying the devices would not make it any more difficult for companies to make replacement parts.