Chapter 2. General Provisions And Definitions of California Vehicle Code >> Division 14.9. >> Chapter 2.

As used in this division, "passenger vehicle" means any motor vehicle defined in Section 465, except any of the following motor vehicles:
  (a) Motorcycles.
  (b) Housecars.
  (c) Specially constructed vehicles.
  (d) Motor vehicles equipped with four-wheel drive.
  (e) Motor vehicles constructed on a truck chassis.
  (f) Motor vehicles operated for hire, compensation, or profit.
  (g) Makes of motor vehicles of a model year manufactured or sold in California in quantities of less than 2,000 units for each such model year.
  (h) Motor vehicles designed and constructed by the manufacturer of such vehicles, for off-highway use, as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

No new passenger vehicle, except a passenger vehicle certified by its manufacturer as having been manufactured prior to September 1, 1973, shall be sold or registered on and after September 1, 1973, unless it has a manufacturer's warranty that it is equipped with an appropriate energy-absorption system that meets the requirement for energy absorption systems set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.