Date:         Fri, 18 Jul 2003 17:00:25 -0700
Reply-To:     Jim <jrasite@EONI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim <jrasite@EONI.COM>
Organization: http://wetwesties.org/
Subject:      Re: South Africa Vanagaon
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

We'll edit it so that those with limited government speak can understand...

>Under 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)(A) (formerly section 108(c)(3)(A)(i)(I) of
>the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (the Act)), a motor
>vehicle that was not originally manufactured to conform to all
>applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards shall be refused
>admission into the United States unless NHTSA has decided that the motor
>vehicle is substantially similar to a motor vehicle originally
>manufactured for importation into and sale in the United States,
>certified under 49 U.S.C. § 30115 (formerly section 114 of the Act), and
>of the same model year as the model of the motor vehicle to be compared,
>and is capable of being readily altered to conform to all applicable
>Federal motor vehicle safety standards.
>
>
Translation: If it wasn't manufactured for US sale, you can't import it
unless it's the same as one that was manufactured for US sale or can be
modified to be the same. It must be the same model and YEAR as the one
manufactured for US sale.  You will not be able to import a 2002 Vanagon
simply because 2002 Vanagons were never certified for sale in the US.

> Where there is no substantially
>similar U.S.- certified motor vehicle, 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)(B)
>(formerly section 108(c)(3)(A)(i)(II) of the Act) permits a
>nonconforming motor vehicle to be admitted into the United States if its
>safety features comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply
>with, all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards based on
>destructive test data or such other evidence as the Secretary of
>Transportation decides to be adequate.
>
HOWEVER... you can bring that 2002 Vanagon in IF you can provide
destructive testing data that shows that it complies with applicable
2002 NHTSA standards. (Where you gonna put the airbags?) IIRC, they need
about five of them to crash test and a couple of them for emissions
testing. Of course, you bear the cost of the testing. If you want one
bad enough, I figure about half a mil ought to cover it. Destructive
testing and instrumentation doesn't come cheap. The crash test dummies
don't work for free. They gotta union. Oh yeah... You provide the
samples for testing. If it doesn't pass, you lose. No refunds. And note
that you only have to convince one person. A cabinet secretary. Have
fun. I assume that your Republican Party dues are paid up. A large
enough campaign contribution would probably allow it to happen with no
hurdles at all. See next section for retails.

>Under 49 U.S.C. § 30141(a)(1)
>(formerly section 108(c)(3)(C)(i) of the Act), import eligibility
>decisions may be made "on the initiative of the Secretary of
>Transportation or on petition of a manufacturer or importer registered
>under [49 U.S.C. § 30141(c)]."
>
>
>
This is all well and good. Now we know what the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administreation wants. It *is* do-able. Now off to the
Environmental Protection Agency.

How badly did you want that new Vanagon?  How's your trust fund doing
again?  Probably cheaper to move to South Africa.  Might be cheaper to
move your HOUSE to South Africa.

Jim