Independent car manufacturer regs | FerrariChat

Independent car manufacturer regs

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by Porarri, Aug 24, 2005.

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  1. Porarri

    Porarri Rookie

    Aug 24, 2005
    24
    #1 Porarri, Aug 24, 2005
    I posted this in the Off topic section but maybe this is a better topic area. Sorry for cross posting.

    I was just doing some research on the Lotus Elise and the Noble M12 and their quest for DOT approval for sales of cars in the US. I read that Lotus got a 3 year exemption to import after they made a few changes but Noble imports their cars as 2 units...a chassis and an uninstalled engine and is classified as a "kit car" in order to slip through DOT regs. My question is this...do Fed Motor Vehicle Safety Standards apply to all cars manufactured by independent builders in the U.S. for the general public for highway use whether they build 20 cars or 20,000 cars?

    Another question..... you see guys like Chip Foose and Coddington that build scratch cars and sell to the public...and for that matter kit car companies that sell "turn key" completed cars. How would they be able to manufacture and sell to the general public without having to meet Fed guidlines? Is it because they generally build cars that are representations of older vehicles built before all these laws were put in place?

    These maybe boring questions but I would appreciate some insight....... I will explain why I even care later
     
  2. Fiat Dino 206

    Fiat Dino 206 Karting

    Apr 19, 2004
    144
    Mississippi
    Full Name:
    David
    #2 Fiat Dino 206, Aug 24, 2005
    Contact these folks for information on your concerns:

    http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?ID=/content/SEMAorg/HomePage

    Best wishes
     
  3. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jan 5, 2002
    24,066
    Portland, Oregon
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    Don
    #3 donv, Aug 25, 2005
    I believe the answer to your question is "yes" they do need to comply with DOT and EPA requirements, unless they can get a waiver of some sort. If the custom guys start with a 1967 or earlier chassis, of course, then they would be exempt. They may also build those cars for off road use only, I'm not sure.

    This document has the basic requirements from DOT:

    http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Rulemaking/Articles/Associated%20Files/newmanufacturer.pdf

    The regulations themselves are at:

    http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/standards/

    If you poke around on the NHTSA website, you will find contact information. I suspect you could call the appropriate person up and find out exactly what you need to know straight from the source.

    EPA compliance information can be found on the EPA website. Try searching for "mobile sources." Of course, the easiest way to comply with EPA requirements is to use an engine/transmission combination which is already certified.
     
  4. Porarri

    Porarri Rookie

    Aug 24, 2005
    24
    #4 Porarri, Aug 25, 2005
    So it seems the smog regs are pretty cut and dry..the year engine that is used in the specialty vehicle must meet the regs that are in place the year that engine is produced for example a Cobra replica using a 2005 Mustang powerplant would have to smogout at todays standards.....easy enough. What about airbag and bumper regulations for the turn key cars? I mean they are essentially a new car produced for the general public.

    So I'm curious as to if a small manufacturer who produced 20 or so completely original cars has to meet fed guidelines on airbags and such. Could it be described as a specialty vehicle if it were not a representation of an earlier classic car?

    Thanks for all the help.
     
  5. 285ferrari

    285ferrari Two Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    Sep 11, 2004
    20,845
    Southern Md
    Full Name:
    Robbie
    #5 285ferrari, Aug 25, 2005
    As long as they don't go backwards in ref. to safety features--there OK.
     
  6. SELLER

    SELLER Karting

    Jul 18, 2005
    151
    Chicago
    #6 SELLER, Aug 25, 2005
    I knew a company that tried to buy Nissan Skyline GT-R's over in Japan.. remove the engine.. then ship the car and engine back to the US seperate.. hoping to later install the engine back in the car and claim it as a 'Kit Car'..

    Long story short.. the car nor the engine ever made it past Customs.

    Another company tried to do this with TVR's, had the same problem.. customs wouldnt let the 'Body'(car) into the country without a Special "No Engine" Vin.. which is what Noble's come with.. a manufacturers VIN which signifies a "Chassis/Body Only" Part.

    If one were to set up a company that set up VIN's for vehicles that they aquired, modified, then planned to sell as kit cars, I'm sure you could do this with ANY vehicle in the world.. But the paperwork and what is needed to do something like this is unknown to me.
     

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