Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:15:43 -0800
Reply-To: Jeff Schwaia <vw.doka@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jeff Schwaia <vw.doka@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Euro Safety and Emission Requirements was Just like a
Vanagon, but modern..
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTikkwn_zEAtAJ85dF1vwro-bm+7LFhxTk5DtsQSb@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Well. I was talking about manufacturers, not individuals. If an individual
wants something odd, they have to go through a Registered Importer.
Jeff
From: Don Hanson [mailto:dhanson928@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 9:23 AM
To: Jeff Schwaia
Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
Subject: Re: Euro Safety and Emission Requirements was Just like a Vanagon,
but modern..
Yeah but when you go to register an unusual vehicle in the US...You get
into it. I considered a Syncro from BC once until I inquired about the
reality of getting it registered in Washington State. It was not on some
'approved' list or something....all of a sudden, regardless of what the laws
actually read, it became an expensive and uncertain process to buy that
vehicle and get a plate on it....Law--Schmaw!...if some little bureaucrat
somewhere is going to 'decide' to make a point of it, because that is what
THEY do for a living, I don't have the funding or the time to fight through
all the obstacles they are capable of inserting into the process...
I like the 'end-run' to deal with jerks in the system...I encountered a
jerk in my local DMV county office....so I went to another county, around
that guy and got my legalities done with no problems..If I could have a
Canadian friend "own" an un-Federalized off-brand vehicle FOR me, then maybe
I could drive what I really liked without spending thousands of extra $ to
get the stickers and exemptions...
Don Hanson
On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 8:53 AM, Jeff Schwaia <vw.doka@gmail.com> wrote:
Actually... the whole "certified" thing is a myth.
While it is true that any vehicle sold by a manufacturer is required to meet
U.S. standards (both safety & emissions), no agency actually certifies the
vehicles. By rule, manufacturers are self-certifying. It is their
responsibility to ensure that their vehicles meet the standards.
Kind of explains a lot of those recalls, eh?
Cheers,
Jeff (Registered Importer with the NHTSA)
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Loren Busch
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 8:04 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Euro Safety and Emission Requirements was Just like a Vanagon, but
modern..
On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 6:52 AM, Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@yahoo.com>wrote:
> "Must be something other than emissions control that kept these from being
> marketed here."
>
> Focus groups probably play a big part, but it's most likely the cost of
> certification (every single driveline configuration to be sold must be
> certified; each gas or diesel engine with each transmission) compared to
the
> projected return. And then there's the safety requirements. Lots of
> gummint agencies involved in gettin' stuff legal for sale here.
>
That prompts a question that I've never seen addressed on these lists: How
do the European emission and crash tests compare to the US? I've seen
references to rather Draconian emission rules in Germany re: what happened
to the Zebra Safari as soon as they drove into Germany but no real
comparisons. We talk all the time about what it takes to be legal in North
America but I haven't seen comparisons to Europe.
>
>