Re: RE: Importing non-us models, reply from congress woman

[George Graves <gmgraves@domain.elided>]

That's pretty much the way I feel about it too.  I think someone has 
already pointed this out, but it bears repeating: Part of the reason 
for many of these laws are protectionism for US auto makes and most of 
the laws are probably a result of some form of collusion between the 
NHSA and Detroit. Mr. Elliott is quite correct here that the specifics 
of the US laws are quite arbitrary in that  its not important that 
European cars pass their very stringent safety laws, what's important 
is that they conform  to the letter of our Government's specific laws. 
It's also a slap in the face, that my neighbor can buy a huge, totally 
non-compliant truck of some type that gets single-digit gas milage, but 
I can't import a much more benign new Alfa and If I bought a new 
Ferrari Enzo or a new Lamborghini  with similar gas milage, I'd have to 
pay a gas guzzler tax.  It smacks of exclusionism and it is repressive.

George Graves
'86 GTV-6


On Thursday, October 10, 2002, at 08:43  PM, alfa-digest wrote:


> Date: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 20:52:23 -0400
> From: Joe Elliott <jee@domain.elided>
> Subject: RE: Importing non-us models, reply from congress woman
>
> At 12:10 AM +0000 10/11/02, alfa-digest wrote:
> > Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 12:49:56 +1300
> > From: White Anthony <anthony.white@domain.elided>
> > Subject: RE: Importing non-us models, reply from congress woman
> >
> > Only it doesn't.  You're quite free to own any car you want, so long
> > as you meet the appropriate safety and emissions regulations.  The
> > only thing that is limiting you is your desire and (presumably
> > financial) ability to undertake to meet those regulations.
>
> That might be an accurate statement if meeting the requirements meant
> spending a few grand to put your car through a dynamic emissions test
> to prove its cleanliness, and faxing a copy of the Euro NCAP's crash
> test data (seemingly much more comprehensive than what we have in the
> USA).  But that's not it--the actual performance of the car isn't the
> issue, it's the inclusion of specific features--they don't want your
> car to be environmentally-friendly, they want it to be
> environmentally-friendly with their (OBD-II) software.  They don't
> want it to withstand a side impact, they want it to withstand a side
> impact with their intrusion beams.  They don't want the headlights
> provide night-time visibility with minimal glare, they want the
> headlights to provide night-time visibility and minimal glare with
> their bulb and their lens design.  Etc, etc.  I believe that this is
> in fact a repressive limitation of freedom, especially considering
> that minivans, pickup trucks, SUVs, kit cars, and homebuilts don't
> have to meet many of these regulations.  George could even go so far
> as to point out that his nextdoor neighbor can pollute more than the
> rest of the state if his vehicle of choice is a '60s American V8, but
> George can't drive his vehicle of choice because of emissions rules.
> Regulating what manufacturers can sell in volume is great, but
> spending regulatory dollars on individuals that will never have an
> impact on anything is a waste, in my humble opinion.
>
> I guess it's all a matter of priorities--in the USA we can buy
> gasoline for less than $2/gallon and own handguns, but in Europe they
> can drive new Alfas and use naughty words on TV.  I guess I should
> just move to Europe or shut up.
>
> Joe Elliott
> '82 GTV6
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