On-Board Diagnostics III Another way to do remote emissions testing is to rely on a car's on-board computers to report irregularities in the emissions system, something the EPA is requiring all states to use within two years. But a new twist -- still in the future -- would have the car's computers report the findings without having to go to an inspection station. A cellphone-like device would be plugged into a car's computer. If the computer found a problem, it would automatically call the Division of Motor Vehicles and report it. The driver would receive notification that the car needed to be fixed. Unlike on-road testing, if the car were fixed and reported no problems to the DMV afterward, no follow-up inspection would be needed. If no repairs were made, the driver would be required to bring the car into a central inspection station, where presumably the car would fail and repairs would be ordered. "It's a futuristic system that can and perhaps should be explored down the road some," Elston said. "I would love to explore it." Some states are already using the system's precursor, OBD II, to diagnose emissions problems. But OBD III is still on the drawing board. "It's certainly not a design we have accepted, and it raises a lot of questions," the EPA's Zinger said. "We are focused on making sure OBD II works properly and helping states incorporate that into inspection programs." OBD II uses a car's own computer to diagnose emissions problems. During inspection, the state's central computer is plugged into the car and determines if all the emissions components are working. If not, the car will fail. OBD III simply adds, in effect, a cellphone to the system. California, which is researching OBD III, has found the biggest stumbling block so far to be a privacy issue: How do you protect the anonymity of the driver while the car is designed to rat on itself? Officials there think they have found some answers. "It would probably have to be a voluntary program," McCarthy said. "People could choose to opt in or out of the program when they buy a car." McCarthy said it would also have to be a system that doesn't constantly send out a signal, possibly one where the customer presses a button once a year to activate it. "The concept being that the guy with the clean car never brings his car in for inspection," McCarthy said. "Ever." For now, New Jersey is looking to make a smooth transition from treadmill testing to computer testing, and keeping the future on the back burner. "We will see how that goes," Elston said of the upcoming switch. "Who knows after that what is going to come up. " For Elston's money, he would like to see the testing programs made obsolete by electric or hydrogen-powered cars that have no emissions. "What I would really like to see is, ultimately, a clean car that has excellent durability," he said. "That's the ultimate type of emissions test."