288GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo Down Under | FerrariChat

288GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo Down Under

Discussion in '288GTO/F40/F50/Enzo/LaFerrari/F80' started by ferrarifixer, May 27, 2006.

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  1. ferrarifixer

    ferrarifixer F1 Veteran
    BANNED

    Jul 22, 2003
    8,520
    Melbourne
    Full Name:
    Phil Hughes
    LH drive cars are not registerable in Australia. Some states seem to have more loop holes in their laws, but basically it's a no no. Which is ridiculous.

    A case is being put to Canberra to argue the point, based on the UK rules allowing such use, the blatant hypocrasy of allowing 30 year old imported Mustangs (and such like) to be registered despite their LHD status, and of course, the lost revenue the Gov't are missing out on by restricting sales and usage of these potentially million dollar cars.

    If there are any adults out there who think they could support the case, speak up.
     
  2. alin13

    alin13 Karting

    Jan 1, 2006
    230
    I agree, i don't see why they won't allow LHD cars here. In UK it's perfectly fine. Not to mention that the australian car design rule books are pretty tight, no central mounted speedo i think is one of them.
     
  3. Jimbo49

    Jimbo49 Formula 3

    Aug 5, 2004
    1,889
    Geelong, Australia
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    James
    Correct, the centeral mounted speedo, is not allowed on cars being registerd in Australia. I remember this because BMW Australia were not allowed to import the Z8 for that exact reason.
     
  4. allanb888

    allanb888 Karting
    BANNED

    Jan 29, 2004
    106
    Melbourne, Australia
    The only argument that the Australian government can have against LHD is safety issues. In theory they could argue that it is less safe to drive LHD cars on the left side of the road, but only if actual studies back up the theory, is it proven. The government authorities can not back up their attitude with any actual studies.

    In UK, LHD cars are allowed in recent years, and there is no increased accident rate, even though there are many visitors from the rest of Europe, who may not be used to driving on the left side of the road. Also many UK RHD cars drive in continental Europe, without an increase in the accident rate. There are also a huge number of LHD and RHD trucks, including large semi trailers, criss crossing all over Europe every day.

    Japan also allows both LHD and RHD cars, without any increased accident rate. For some reason, Japanese prefer to order luxury and sporty European cars as LHD, even though they drive on the left.

    Do Australian government authorities care about car enthusiasts? Probably not. So the other way to persuade is to show how much the Government loses by not allowing people to import these highly taxed luxury and exotic cars. With all the taxes, Australians are forced to pay about 50% more than the world price on all but the cheapest cars.
     
  5. ashsimmonds

    ashsimmonds F1 World Champ

    Feb 14, 2004
    14,385
    adelaide, australia
    Full Name:
    Humble Narrator
    huh? :confused: i was in a toyota echo a few years ago and that had the speedo in the centre... in fact it was something that was actually highlighted as a 'feature' in the ads iirc.
     
  6. Jimbo49

    Jimbo49 Formula 3

    Aug 5, 2004
    1,889
    Geelong, Australia
    Full Name:
    James
    Thats odd hey? Maybe the rules have changed since then, but i specifically remember at the time they were not allowed to be imported because the speedo was in the ceter of the dash.. but maybe the ADR rules have changed since then.. Either way, i saw a nissan x-trail thingo and the speedo wasnt in the center.. so i dunnow whats going on
     
  7. ferrarifixer

    ferrarifixer F1 Veteran
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    Jul 22, 2003
    8,520
    Melbourne
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    Phil Hughes
    Well, not really... because a 30 year old Mustang is perfectly fine to drive around.... so either LHD is dangerous in their eyes or it isn't. Age of the car shouldn't have any bearing on the decision.
     
  8. allanb888

    allanb888 Karting
    BANNED

    Jan 29, 2004
    106
    Melbourne, Australia
    I agree with you that the 30 year rule is another reason why the current restrictions are so ludicrous.
     
  9. alin13

    alin13 Karting

    Jan 1, 2006
    230
    This is just off the top of my memory so i might be wrong, but i remeber that the new Mini had to be redesigned for down under. In the oversea version, the tacho is in front of driver and the speedo on the centre console. For the australian version, the tacho and the speedo is swapped around to meet the design rules
     

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