Yeah but when you go to register an unusual vehicle in the US...You get
into it.  I considered a Syncro from BC once until I inquired about the
reality of getting it registered in Washington State.   It was not on some
'approved' list or something....all of a sudden, regardless of what the laws
actually read, it became an expensive and uncertain process to buy that
vehicle and get a plate on it....Law--Schmaw!...if some little bureaucrat
somewhere is going to 'decide' to make a point of it, because that is what
THEY do for a living, I don't have the funding or the time to fight through
all the obstacles they are capable of inserting into the process...

  I like the 'end-run' to deal with jerks in the system...I encountered a
jerk in my local DMV county office....so I went to another county, around
that guy and got my legalities done with no problems..If I could have a
Canadian friend "own" an un-Federalized off-brand vehicle FOR me, then maybe
I could drive what I really liked without spending thousands of extra $ to
get the stickers and exemptions...
  Don Hanson

On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 8:53 AM, Jeff Schwaia <vw.doka@gmail.com> wrote:

> Actually... the whole "certified" thing is a myth.
>
> While it is true that any vehicle sold by a manufacturer is required to
> meet U.S. standards (both safety & emissions), no agency actually certifies
> the vehicles.  By rule, manufacturers are self-certifying.  It is their
> responsibility to ensure that their vehicles meet the standards.
>
> Kind of explains a lot of those recalls, eh?
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Jeff (Registered Importer with the NHTSA)
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Loren Busch
> Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 8:04 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Euro Safety and Emission Requirements was Just like a Vanagon, but
> modern..
>
> On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 6:52 AM, Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@yahoo.com
> >wrote:
>
> > "Must be something other than emissions control that kept these from
> being
> > marketed here."
> >
> > Focus groups probably play a big part, but it's most likely the cost of
> > certification (every single driveline configuration to be sold must be
> > certified; each gas or diesel engine with each transmission) compared to
> the
> > projected return.  And then there's the safety requirements.  Lots of
> > gummint agencies involved in gettin' stuff legal for sale here.
> >
>
> That prompts a question that I've never seen addressed on these lists:  How
> do the European emission and crash tests compare to the US?  I've seen
> references to rather Draconian emission rules in Germany re: what happened
> to the Zebra Safari as soon as they drove into Germany but no real
> comparisons.  We talk all the time about what it takes to be legal in North
> America but I haven't seen comparisons to Europe.
>
> >
> >
>