US Import Rules

[Keith Walker <100662.3423@domain.elided>]

>>Here it is the EU that is being protectionist giving market advantage t=
o
their former colonies, i.e. their banana republics.<<

True, and it is dubious whether it is a good idea. The EU certainly does
not benefit from these policies, but I suppose it saves the EU directly
bailing out swamped economies.

>>This is absolutly true.  There were considered quirky, unreliable, and
tended to rust right out from under you.<<

Strange thing is that in the UK, Chrysler try to market the Neon as a
premium
model in the UK, 'designed for the most demanding market in the world',
where
most US opinions I hear on it are along the lines of a cheap and tacky bi=
t
of transport.

>>FIAT/Alfa is a very large corporate entity with vast engineering
resources,
Making the changes necessary to meet US DOE/DOT requirements would be a
minor inconvenience at most. <<

The problem is that small (by designing a new car standards) additional
costs
have to be shared by the purchasers. With low volumes of specialist makes=
,
very
low margins on new car sales and with the possibilty of massive losses fr=
om
a
law suit, it just is not worth while entering the US market for many make=
rs
as the
extra cost per unit becomes excessive. The UK price for a V6 156 works ou=
t
at around
US$36000 and a 3L 166 at about US46000 . How many cars would Alfa sell at=

that
price, or even more once shipping and market customisation is added?

Maserati pulled out because their entire profit margin for a decades
trading was
wipped out in a couple of law suits.

>> BTW, I predict Maserati will also fail. If you want to send that twin
turbo
pelican up against the XK8, lots of luck.<<

Maybe, maybe not. Maserati is working on making a healthy profit on a tin=
y
fraction of the number of cars Jaguar sells, and at the same price as the=

less comfortable and more cramped XK8. BTW, their are rumours that
Maserati may be dropping the twin turbo engine in the near future and
replacing it with a supercharged engine. Whether they still manage to
extract 370bhp from a 3.2L V8 I don't know.

>>No doubt, because the EC regulations on safety and emissions probably
exceed
that of the nations you mentioned, indeed, if they have any standards at
all. <<

The problem with emmision requirements is not how tough they are, but how=

different they are. Some area's are hot on one particular exhaust polluta=
nt
which
another does not worry about (for example, supposedly harsh Californian
emmisions regulations in the early 90's were VERY lax on CO, but harsh on=

hydrocarbons and NOx).

Where the EU does have an advantage for car importers (but for how much
longer
I don't know) is fairly free limited / personal import rules, resulting i=
n
lots of interesting
small scale models on sale (Nissan Skyline, Subaru Impreza WRX, etc). As
limited
imports they are subject to for less stringent (and cheaper) emmisions
rules.

All the best

Keith

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