https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pe...-importation-non-conforming-cars-and/PhZ4RMgz
Please sign and share.
Please sign and share.
Petition to repeal the 25 year import rule
- Thread starter Rocky
- Start date
By all means, I'm a huge fan of Defenders. But quite simply, there's a reason this law exists and just because some unfortunate folks spent way too much money on an imported D90 doesn't mean it's the governments fault..
This couldn't get enough traction when it was tried back in 2011.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pe...and-change-dotepa-exemption-15-years/L50BZzwj
Why would it suddenly work now?
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pe...and-change-dotepa-exemption-15-years/L50BZzwj
Why would it suddenly work now?
I always thought the European manufacturers in conjunction with their US dealership network were the ones who raised the loudest cries. Mercedes was sick of all the 500SL, SEL and SEC's coming in through the grey market. BMW wanted to put a halt to the 323i and 745i imports. Porsche was tired of all the 930's coming in to the US through the grey market. Ferrari had had enough with all the Boxers coming in through the back door. There were even grey market Honda Preludes with efi and alb (their version of abs) years before they were available through the US dealers.
I don't recall any GM products that were high on the list of grey market conversions back in the 1980's.
The 1986 model year was the when everything changed. I owned a 1985 grey market Range Rover. Saw plenty that were older but never saw an actual 1986 model year Range Rover here in the US (that's not to say there wasn't one or two). With the simultaneous crack down in the grey market, most of the European manufacturers began offering bigger engined versions of their vehicles. The 560 engine premiered in 1986 in the SL, SEC and SEL. BMW offered the E32 with a larger engine and in 1987 introduced the V12 and the first M3 to counter the old 323i. Porsche reintroduced the Turbo in 1986.
Meanwhile, 1986 saw the shutdown of may grey market importers. The task for certification for these imports became monumental. About the only importer I can think of that remained was Europa Imports an importer of G-Wagens out in New Mexico. He had some help from Mercedes/Steyr in getting the trucks certified but I think his business is a shadow of what it once was.
From an article in 1985.
Nothing new under the sun:
http://articles.latimes.com/1985-03-04/local/me-24260_1_car-dealers
"The dealer, Mark Frederick Segal, owner of Euro International Inc., was arrested on suspicion of violating state laws governing the sale of vehicles."
"If a European Mercedes needs repair, it could take four to six months to order the parts from Germany, and some American dealers do not want to service the cars, Stiegler said."
"DMV officials said not all consumers understand that they are buying a car that differs from the models on the lots of authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers. Sometimes gray market car owners realize what they have bought only when they run into problems at the DMV counter as they attempt to register their cars. Even dealers are sometimes fooled."
Nothing new under the sun:
http://articles.latimes.com/1985-03-04/local/me-24260_1_car-dealers
"The dealer, Mark Frederick Segal, owner of Euro International Inc., was arrested on suspicion of violating state laws governing the sale of vehicles."
"If a European Mercedes needs repair, it could take four to six months to order the parts from Germany, and some American dealers do not want to service the cars, Stiegler said."
"DMV officials said not all consumers understand that they are buying a car that differs from the models on the lots of authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers. Sometimes gray market car owners realize what they have bought only when they run into problems at the DMV counter as they attempt to register their cars. Even dealers are sometimes fooled."
Here are more interesting articles from 1986:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/19...049_1_gray-market-car-gray-market-car-dealers
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-11/news/vw-19912_1_gray-market-cars
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...0290010228_1_gray-market-gray-market-warranty
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/19...049_1_gray-market-car-gray-market-car-dealers
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-11/news/vw-19912_1_gray-market-cars
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...0290010228_1_gray-market-gray-market-warranty
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I guess, my years were off a bit. Memory does get a bit dodgy over the years. I thought the laws restricting importation entered the books in 1986. It seems like the grey market was set reeling in 1986 due to a number of disparate forces ranging from manufacturers introducing product that was better than the grey market was offering (MB 560SL vs. grey market 500SL or 300SL) to the dollar sinking in value and wiping out whatever savings were left in buying grey market vehicles to far stricter enforcement of laws already on the books in various states. The law passed in 1988 was the final stroke that broke an already weakened market.
Petition signed,
Quote from wiki
Financed and organized in large part by MERCEDES !
"the Motor Vehicle Safety Compliance Act was passed in 1988, effectively ending private import of grey-market vehicles to the United States. No evidence was presented that grey-import vehicles' safety performance differed significantly from that of US models, and there have been allegations of improper lobbying, but the issue has never been raised in court."
Quote from wiki
Financed and organized in large part by MERCEDES !
"the Motor Vehicle Safety Compliance Act was passed in 1988, effectively ending private import of grey-market vehicles to the United States. No evidence was presented that grey-import vehicles' safety performance differed significantly from that of US models, and there have been allegations of improper lobbying, but the issue has never been raised in court."