Freedom of choice
A list of cars the feds say you can’t have, in the land of the free.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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April 11th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
As I have asked before… I don’t understand how these are illegal to OWN. I totally understand how they may not be street legal, for good (uses a rocket engine) or bad (doesn’t have a CHMSL) reasons. But I don’t understand how simply having one in my garage, or on a private track is illegal and who it is hurting?
April 11th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
I think the diesel Toyota HiLux is also verboten.
April 11th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
I haven’t heard someone say “its a free country” in response to someone asking for permission, in a very long time. ðŸ™
I don’t think people feel free anymore.
April 11th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
GD: They’re illegal to import, not to own.
(The law specifically states that the prohibition is on importation, not possession.
Which is perfectly correct as a Constitutional matter, for once – regulating international trade is actually a valid power, even if this is a waste of effort.
It is naturally hard to own one when they can’t be imported, but that’s another matter – and it’s perfectly legal to kit-car one together in the US, as far as I know.)
April 11th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Sigivald, the .gov disagrees.
http://www.nissanreports.com/blog/1036126_the-nissan-skyline-witch-hunt-begins
That’s just one example.
April 11th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Damn shame, too. The Land Rover Defender has been a mainstay in the British military and other environs. They are great vehicles, but Land Rover gave up several years back on trying to get them imported to the U.S. … no air bags! This isn’t the Land of the Free, it’s the Land of the Regulated.
April 11th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
The nanny-state has gotten way out of control.
April 11th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Sort of related, freedom of choice, apparently your choices can be made `easier` by banning the [politically] incorrect ones –
“I want to create a civic environment that makes the healthier choice the easier choice in people’s lives, whether it’s schools, worksites, or other places in the community,” Menino said in a statement after the ban was announced.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/08/boston-mayor-takes-on-sugary-drinks/#ixzz1JGcRzAqO
April 11th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
It’s for safety, but that is because it goes hand in hand with up-to-date emissions.
If you think this is bad, just wait until muscle cars start getting really rare, and watch the restrictions pile on.
Soon enough we will have taxes like they have in japan. Vintage cars are almost a rich-only idea over there, due to the massive taxation once a car gets on in years. Mix that with massive taxation on imports, and bam, thriving local auto economy, due to nessesity. Enjoy the freedom while it lasts…
April 11th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
actually, the standards for such things are just as good in Europe and Japan, but they use one standard, and the US uses something different. So they have to give the NHTSA a bunch of cars to test, and then change a bunch of specs so it could be sold in stupid-ass California, and that would be why some manufacturers tell the US to suck it and not even go through the hassle. Because we just have to, I guess. You’re not gonna convince me a Japanese or German or British car from the last 15-20 years less safe.
April 12th, 2011 at 1:34 am
No, not the safety checks, they tax older cars. Once it hits a certain year (dont remember which) the taxes increase. The gov’t taxes the owner to encorage new cars. The roadworthyness checks are also more stringent for the same reason.
April 12th, 2011 at 7:49 am
I just want one of those simple Toyota Pickups that they have in Africa and get 44 mpg on diesel.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:50 am
The next time some euroweenie yammers your ear off about evil, greenhouse-gassing, uncaring Uncle Sam, ask him why his car is too polluting and unsafe to be imported into the US.
April 12th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
The 60mpg Ford Focus and 75mpg VW Polo and forbidden fruit because the EPA can’t write emmssions standards that make sense to the rest of the world.
Obama says I should drive an imaginary hybrid van instead of a diesel.
April 12th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Irish: Fair enough, though I don’t know that I trust the DOJ’s letter writing as an accurate reflection of the law. (Because it’s not like they have a great track record of doing what the law actually requires rather than “interpreting” it however they feel like.)
But even then, if they’re “illegal to own” it’s only literally because they were imported illegally, as the DOJ letter there says.
Some Skylines got into the US legally (because the importer crash-tested them!) and those are “legal to possess”, despite being in every meaningful respect identical cars.
FWM: Which truck is that? The cheapest (thus also smallest engine and most efficient) diesel Hilux in South Africa is $28.8k (R193k) and gets 32 mpg combined. Is this some other Toyota in some other market, or what?
(Now, I’ve seen reports of people with eg. LandCruisers getting 40-some mpg … by never exceeding 50 mph. But that sort of “efficiency” isn’t what the rest of us mean when comparing economy numbers, and that works with nearly any vehicle.)
April 14th, 2011 at 12:34 am
The Nissan Patrol was a great 4×4 that you couldn’t get in the US.