Sign the petition..

..to lower the NHTSA’s minimum requirement of importing a grey market vehicle into the United States from 25 years to 15! Yes you will need to create a login to whitehouse.gov in order to sign, but the process is quick and you are given the option of opting out of email. And besides, if you are a regular to this site, you will agree that it’s for a meaningful cause. How nice would it be, after all, to be able to bring this lovely 2004 Autodelta 156 GTA AM over to the States in 2019 (as opposed to in 2029), a relatively brief seven years away 🙂

Sign now. And spread the word.

Hat tip to FPH for this one!

~ by velofinds on November 15, 2011.

Posted in Announcements

16 Responses to “Sign the petition..”

  1. Is that a modded 159?

    Tamerlane said this on November 14, 2011 at 10:54 pm

  2. I’ll gladly sign any petition that brings Americans a little closer to the standard of living that Canadians enjoy. Do you also have a health care petition going around? 🙂

    Peter Dushenski (@carenvy) said this on November 14, 2011 at 11:43 pm

  3. As Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear ) says, “You can not be considered a true car enthusiast if you’ve never had an Alfa Romeo.”

    dj said this on November 15, 2011 at 12:02 am

  4. I have signed the petition. This is a stupid law that protects neither manufacturers, nor consumers, or the driving public.

    Renato Piereck (@rpiereck74) said this on November 15, 2011 at 1:55 am

  5. U cant import car to USA unless it is 25yo? U joking, right?

    Sztuka said this on November 15, 2011 at 6:32 am

    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_import_vehicles#United_States

      motoringconbrio said this on November 15, 2011 at 7:43 am

    • Nope, not joking. Any car or configuration not commercially available in the US must wait out the 25-year rule (at which time it is deemed exempt from all EPA and NHTSA requirements).

      Larry said this on November 15, 2011 at 9:15 am

      • Of course, you can import anything you want. You just can’t register it, title it or get it inspected, for road use.

        There’s also some risk that the Feds will confiscate the car if it catches their attention (such as by trying to register it, title it or drive it on public roads).

        There is a “show and display” exemption – but then you can’t drive it on public roads…which pretty much defeats the purpose of bringing it over in the first place.

        Larry said this on November 15, 2011 at 9:21 am

        • There are various ways around all this, of course. But they’re mostly illegal, and not worth the risk.

          For example, say you really want a BMW E30 wagon (not sold in the US), and you don’t want to wait a few more years. You could graft the front end from a US E30 sedan (or perhaps just the critical VIN tag and serial number stampings) onto an imported E30 wagon.

          That will probably work in most states, but good luck insuring it for what it’s really worth, and if you do have a serious accident, that’s one more thing the insurance company can use as an excuse not to pay your claim (since you were driving a car that “didn’t meet NHTSA requirements”).

          As I said…unless it’s some kind of exotic car, it’s probably not worth the risk.

          Larry said this on November 15, 2011 at 9:29 am

  6. The government has gotten tough on confiscating grey market cars recently, too. So this is a worthy law to change.

    Automobiliac said this on November 15, 2011 at 12:05 pm

  7. The other way to get around this is for you to import several versions of the model and have them crash tested. I once saw a form for DOT IIRC where you can do this. But you would need to invest a few $hundred k initially before you could even have one to drive.

    Which is what motorex did with the R33 IIRC.

    Brandon: Richmond, VA said this on November 15, 2011 at 12:35 pm

  8. Signed. Such a worthy cause, not only for auto enthusiasts, but proponents of consumer choice. This greatly increases consumer options (for those individuals, who are few, interested in such product) while still allowing the government to uphold strict safety and emission regulations for new vehicle sales.

    Robert said this on November 15, 2011 at 8:37 pm

  9. I can’t believe what I’m reading. USA is a weird country. I am with You all on that, hoping that some day they will change the law and you could drive any of your dream car. America is surely not a driver’s-country.

    Sztuka said this on November 16, 2011 at 1:54 pm

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