Senator Pushes for Federal Historic Vehicle Registry

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Is your car truly rare or unique? Does it represent a small but significant piece of American history? (We’re not talking about a 1983 Mercedes-Benz 380SL once owned by Gary Busey.)

If so, your ride could one day be immortalized — in a bureaucratic sense. Yesterday, Michigan Senator Gary Peters (D) introduced a bill that, if passed, would create a federal registry for historic vehicles.

Peters’ bill (the National Historic Vehicle Register Act) would allow the Department of Interior to treat some cars, trucks and motorcycles in the same manner as historically significant ships, bridges and roads. Those are already cataloged in the department’s Historic American Engineering Record.

“Few engineering innovations have had the same impact on American society as the automobile, and it is important for us to preserve the stories of vehicles that have played a critical role in American history,” Peters said in a statement.

Peters, a life-long motorcycle enthusiast who recently engaged Michigan residents during a five-day state tour, has the backing of the Historic Vehicle Association and American Motorcyclist Association.

Any vehicle significant enough to find its way onto the register would have its records archived in the Library of Congress. It’s a high bar to meet. According to Peters’ bill, “Vehicles must be connected to a significant person or event in American history, or have a unique design or rarity, to be eligible for the register. Each vehicle’s record will include a narrative describing the vehicle and its historical significance, a photographic record, and line drawings or engineering drawings of the historic vehicle.”

[Image: Adam Singer/ Flickr]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • La834 La834 on Sep 25, 2016

    How would a car like race car driver Hans Stuck's rare 1057 BMW 507 be handled? It's one of only 252 built, and he raced it successfully for a few years before selling it...... to an American soldier stationed in Germany named Elvis Presley. Elvis often returned to his white BMW only to find it covered with notes from his fans written in lipstick, so he decided to paint the car red to discourage that. That's how the car was recently found. So should it be restored to its original color or to how it looked when Elvis owned it? BMW decided to repaint it the original white rather than Elvis red. Should the '60s Batmobile be restored to its original Lincoln Futura show condition? Some cars are better remembered in their non-original state.

    • Thattruthguy Thattruthguy on Sep 25, 2016

      Simple celebrity ownership doesn't apply. Also, the 507 is a very beautiful car, but it wasn't a significant technical advance and it wasn't significant in US history.

  • Jhughes Jhughes on Sep 26, 2016

    So, like, every remaining Tucker?

  • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Sep 26, 2016

    Well, if my first car, a 1963 Rambler Classic 770 unibody with the aluminum block six and Borg Warner auto with OD doesn't qualify, forget it. The historical registers now in place don't have any teeth anyway. The Francis Scott Key bridge in Washington DC honors the guy whose home was torn down for an approach ramp in 1923. The government wouldn't contribute to the cost of moving it, and volunteers were unable to collect enough donations. The national register was applied to the Boston home of architect Charles Bulfinch, who created the first American style of architecture the Federal Style, primarily with his own home, built in 1795. The Bulfinch family still owned it in 1965 when the City of Boston tore it down for a government building, without even trying to save it. If an auto museum goes broke and the collection is scattered, this registry will do nothing to prevent some of those cars being used in demolition derbys, or even worse, being modified for some Hollywood movie and then wrecked/blown up in the final scene.

  • Chan Chan on Sep 26, 2016

    Ugh. How about something like relaxed smog requirements for cars older than X years and production volume of less than Y units. Especially in CA. They don't make OEM cats for my car anymore and I'm tired of satisfying useless regulations that don't even help me pollute less.

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