Occupy Aging Foreign Cars: Fight The 25-Year Import-Ban!
Though we owe Jalopnik a few well-deserved raspberries for this week’s inane tease-n-reveal of some wildly overhyped and under-delivering “renderings” of the 2014 C7 Corvette (look it up if you must), we’ve actually got to tip our hats to the Gawker site for finding a truly relevant petition at the White House website. The petition’s goal?
Stop using Homeland Security funds to seize imported vehicles, and change the DOT/EPA exemption to 15 years.
The Department of Homeland Security spends a shockingly disproportionate amount of its budget not on security initiatives, but on customs seizures. In particular, importers of grey-market vehicles have been targeted by monies taxpayers have intended to be used to secure our country against terrorism and terrorist activity. We call upon the Executive Branch to immediately cease this wasteful activity, and furthermore to change the DOT/EPA exemption time on grey-market vehicles from 25 years to 15 years (to match the vehicle regulations of Canada), recognizing that the 25-year rule was enacted due to support from special interests such as Mercedes Benz North America.
This is the kind of cause that we can absolutely get behind. In fact, if TTAC and Jalopnik combined can’t get under 22,000 readers to sign it… well, it will be Jalopnik’s fault. They’re a much bigger site. Seriously though, please sign this. There’s no guarantee that this will change anything, but as long as future generations can grow believing that they too might be able to someday import some awesomely clapped-out foreign jalopy that will demand all of their spare time and money just to stay running, well… the world just might become a better place.
Done signing the petition? Why not tell us what 15 year-old car you would import if you could?
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Lotus Elise, the original S1. 118 hp, 1485 lbs, MMC brakes.
Citroën BX GTI Peugeot 205 Cabriolet MkII VW Polo G40 (but only if pre-facelift and with the wagon body style) MkIII VW Polo 5-door Alfa Romeo 156 BMW Z1 In that order. And I suppose the earliest examples of the French cars are already eligible under the current 25 year rule, and the Alfa doesn't turn 15 until next year. Practically speaking, I imagine that getting parts and service for any of them (with the possible exception of the Germans, which may share some bits with North American market cars) in the US would be a nightmare. More importantly, what logistics are involved in bringing a non-US spec car over, once it's past the 25 year mark? I imagine you have to fix the lights and add side-markers, but do you also have to beef up the bumpers. What about emissions? Are these things exempt from state smog testing?
Audi RS2.
I also like to get a LHD Hongqi.