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<misc>
I'll try to keep this short: In case you were serious about importing a
car from Yurrup (sorry your name is buried in the 8 million digests I got
while I was on paternity leave) - all that stuff the "importer" told you is
for cars already certified for the roads here in the US of A. It works
both ways, if the only differences are lights, tires, and the color of the
emergency flasher button (yes, that is seriously required for Germany.)
If it ain't already legal here on the roads, you have a problem. If it was
built before 1/1/68, you're in. If you never want to drive it on the road,
you're in. If not, say in your case a Euro M3 or in my case my dreams of a
Lancia Delta Integrale, oh my, you're in trouble.
Yes, I've seen all kinds of clever title tricks for non-emissions certified
or non-crash tested cars, but the bottom line is: the feds can take it
away and crush it, no appeal. If they happen to not catch it, someone who
got mad at you could easily turn you in, same result. If you get away with
it, and ever have an accident, your insurance company refuses to pay. Ouch.
And it might be interesting to sell it, unless the next guy is willing to
take on your same risk, as well as trusting your honesty.
Cars can be crash tested for you, and emissions certified for you, which is
darned expensive. If it works.
For a fine example, ask any of the Microsoft guys on the digest where their
boss's Porsche 959 is. Last I checked, the richest guy on the planet was
still parking it in the oh-so-handy impound lot in San Francisco. If he
can't use smarts or dollars to get around the rules, heaven help us
mortals.
Mike
ps - can somebody who's built their own 2.7/2.8 stroker in an E30 eMail me
with comments? thx.