BMW Z1 - opinions

Ulrich Betz (current Aston Martin CEO) used to keep a Z1 in his living room...
CH

 

I rode in a friends in Florence. They are pretty cool because you can drive them with the doors down. They are pretty peppy but not fast. What do you want to know about them? I can call my friend and ask him about it.

 

I think the reason it was not legal was the doors....they did not meet safety regulations. You would have to modify it heavily if it were even possible. I have never seen one in North America.

 

you're out of luck. Euro cars are NOT admissable into the states until 25 years or older. Canada it's 15 years or older.

4 more years and you're good to go.

I can tell you that 'we' had two for sale and no one bit on them, however with the much larger u.s market you may have better luck.

My boss ended up giving it to his daughter to drive while she went to university in Montreal.

 

I met a guy from Highland Park here in Dallas about 4 years ago and he had 2 and drove them both on the street, not really sure how he had them registerd though.

 

Where there is a will there is a way and possibly his were 'show car' status only although I'm not current on the legalities but here is a listing of the cars that can be legally imported and driven on our highways after being properly registered and made to conform to our regulations.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/elig123109.pdf

 

Ron.......

I think of it as a really early version of the previous and very succesful BMW Z3..................but with goofy doors.

Would I pay a premium over a Z3 for it ? No way........

 

Yeah I think it was probably one of those 2500 miles per year exemptions, I wish I would have talked to him a bit more. It was the only one I have ever seen in person.

 

I've seen a couple here in Cali. I like those cars. I would have thought they would be more desirable, but alas, no.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it I believe I saw one here in Houston years back?

 

was one for sale in newburyport, ma a while back...had plates
for bmw collectors only,i would say

 

I was told once you could register a Matchbox car in Texas.


I know it varies by state, but people get cars on the road without going through the proper channels I believe fairly frequently. There are Skylines, Silvias, hell even a Primera roaming the streets of Boise that are not 25 years or older. I know of guys that just went into the DMV with their car and bill of sale and said "I'd like to register my vehicle". Few minutes later with a DMV inspectors signature they walked out with an Idaho assigned VIN and a registered car.

Totally legal? No. Loopholes? Yes. Risky? I would definitely think so.

 

The expense of legally importing and legally registering although quite expensive would be worth it considering the crap pile one could get into having the car impounded and the fines.