Ben,

Is that a truly "legal" way, or one of those gray area imports that slide
by?  Being an RI, I'm pretty cognizant of the rules and regulations
regarding the import of vehicles.  As far as I know, any vehicle LEGALLY
brought into this country for use as a daily driver is required to go
through crash worthiness testing, brake testing, lighting testing, and, of
course, EPA testing.  There are exceptions for vehicles brought in as
show/display, race, for testing, etc.

I can guarantee you one thing, you'll never get it registered in California
without fulfilling all those nifty EPA and CARB requirements.  The
California DMV has really cracked down on gray market vehicles.  Anyone
showing up to register a vehicle with a "ZZZ" VIN number is now required to
have a CARB laboratory certification and referee sign off.

Cheers,

Jeff
www.autostadtwest.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of BenT Syncro
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 7:21 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: FRYDAY: RE-OPEN VANAGON ASSEMBLY

On 5/30/06, Jeffrey Schwaia <jeff@vanagonparts.com> wrote:
>
> Ben,
>
> You better add a zero to that $25K number.  First of all, you'll need to
> bring in about 5 or 6 of these that will be slammed into walls to satisfy
> the DOT crash worthiness tests.  Secondly, you'll need to swap out the
> current drivetrain with one that meets the current EPA standards and is
> OBD-II compliant.  Next, you'll have to add a DOT approved air-bag system.
> Start pony-ing up the dollars boys, we can probably get it done for about
> $500K (not including the price of the final cars that get imported).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeff

Jeff,

There is a legal way to bring them in without the crash testing requirement
or airbags, etc. You will need a engines certified for US consumption. No
funny business with VIN or spouse swapping. No cutting and pasting paperwork
like some used to do with their report cards before coming home.

RHD can be converted as Shaun in SF has done. Or leave it RHD as did my
former Singlecab. You have to think yourself out of the BOX even though you
like driving one.

BenT