USA safety regs

[Pottree@domain.elided]

Yes, we have them.  Yes, they can sometimes seem a pain.  So can being 
crushed in a car wreck.  Life is tough.

I do no think there are (or perhaps I am wrong on the timing) safety regs 
covering SUVs, as they are only USED as cars but are legally trucks.  They 
have been exempt from smog rules and I think also from the fleet averaging 
that is required for automakers.  IOW, a cheat, a way around, a way to 
hoodwink fools into buying more gas than they need by appealing to their 
subconscious emotions.  But let's not go THERE...

Over and over, for years, decades?, the cry has been that Alfas (and others) 
aren't sold in the USA because they are being kept out by odious safety laws. 
 This is really not true.  Sometimes, complying with safety regs is mentioned 
as one of the reasons, when in fact it is pretty far down the list, or not on 
the list at all.  

This is a money thing and cultural thing: a sub-marginal seller, like our 
dear Alfa, could not and would not do what was really and truly needed to be 
successful in the USA car selling business, which is, much much more than 
complying with safety regs, spending tens upon tens of millions, year in and 
year out, on TV advertising to support a nationwide network of dealers who 
are making money selling and fixing their products.  This was out of the 
question for our friends from Milano, and any mention of US safety regs, was 
a red herring, IMHO.

There was also the OBDII requirement, which their cars did not meet, and 
which would have been nearly impossibly to comply with, given the fact that 
it called for a tremendous investment in computers and programming, to be 
matched by the dealers... which they didn't have; our wonderful local 
independent shops that keep most Alfas running in the USA are no match for 
Firestone or Mr. Goodwrench, your GM service center, or something like the 
Lexus franchise.  It just wasn't in the cards with a tiny and vanishing unit 
volume selling each year at less than no margin.

This is not rocket science; it doesn't even call for a sharp pencil.

But the safety regs issue, like the smog control issue, makes a fine 
scapegoat.

Charlie
LA, CA, USA
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