4 ms·

The difficulties inherent in this and the simplicity of the product itself make me wonder if there's some car equivalent of the "80% lower" of the weapons indus

The difficulties inherent in this and the simplicity of the product itself make me wonder if there's some car equivalent of the "80% lower" of the weapons industry. Some kind of partially assembled new Kei truck that counts as "car parts" during import, and can then be assembled to create a "kit car". The kit car process is almost equally onerous, but at least you could get a new car on the other end.

rootusrootus 3y ago
The difficulty is that this idea is not new and the regulations are written with that in mind.
- koolba 3y ago
  Chicken tax trucks have entered the chat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
  - rootusrootus 3y ago
    There's still a huge amount of regulation before those trucks get onto the road. Just trying to import a bag of parts and then reassembling in the US while claiming it's a kit car is the oldest trick in the book. It's an instant trip to the crusher every time.
  - walrus01 3y ago
    For a while Ford was importing Turkey manufactured small vans with seats in the back as passenger vehicles, immediately un-bolting and shredding the seats after they'd arrived at the US port, and selling them for their real intended purpose (small electrical/telecom/plumbing/other trades services vans).
sidewndr46 3y ago
If assembling your own car in the US was as easy as assembling a gun, we'd all be assembling cars on our sixteenth birthday. We have the right to own a gun, but in most of the US owning a car is a necessity. There is some route available in most states but it's incredibly cumbersome compared to something like making your own gun.
- bdowling 3y ago
  If cars had been as popular as guns when the U.S. Bill of Rights was written, then such a right might have been included. Hypothetically, "Motorized transportation, being necessary to the mobility of a free State, the right of the people to keep and drive automobiles shall not be infringed." Imagine the vehicles we would have. For one thing, the impossible-to-meet CAFE standards, which make it economically infeasible to sell compact pickup trucks in the U.S., would probably have been declared unconstitutional. On the other hand, laws requiring seatbelts and airbags probably would have also been unconstitutional.
  - sb057 3y ago
    It's worth noting that freedom of transit and use of public ways (literally the original "right of way") is such an ancient and obvious part of common law that the Framers didn't deign it necessary to include it as an explicit right, instead relegating it with "the rest of them" in the Ninth Amendment.
    - sidewndr46 3y ago
      While that sounds good, I don't really see how it is relevant? You can be detained in the US just for being near the border. Which by the way includes the entire state of Florida, despite it not sharing a land border with any other nations.
      - sb057 3y ago
        Your example is quit fitting given that it's another clear abrogation of ancient rights, specifically the right not to be arbitrarily detained.
jdietrich 3y ago
US restrictions on vehicle imports seem very odd from a British perspective. Over here, we can freely import pretty much anything. If it's more than 10 years old, you just register it. If it's less than 10 years old, you can still bring it in as a personal import, but it'll need to pass a slightly enhanced version of the normal annual inspection. It's a point of principle that any vehicle that passes inspection should be road legal, hence oddities like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paIGBOlkQr0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paIGBOlkQr0 Because we're a right-hand-drive country, Japanese imports are commonplace. If you want a Kei car or a JDM-only luxury minivan, you can just have one. That taken-for-granted freedom gives me a certain degree of empathy for the 2nd amendment lobby.
- Auracle 3y ago
  A quick Google shows that only 15 states have vehicle inspections. The concept seems completely foreign (and a waste of time?) to me.
  - eyegor 3y ago
    Living in Ohio (no inspection "rust belt" state), I saw a minivan's axle pop loose ahead of me on the highway, which sent it into the concrete barrier pretty much instantly. Perhaps you don't have rust issues where you live, but requiring some minimum mechanical function to register a car should be everywhere in my opinion. Generally inspections are either mechanical/safety or emissions. Emissions are based on the car model in every state I've lived in, so as long as you don't modify your car to blow smoke it'll pass. Mechanical inspections are to make sure there's no major rust, the brakes work, the lights work, tires aren't bald, etc.
  - fomine3 3y ago
    Exported used car from Japan is considered to good quality, that's partially thanks to vehicle inspection system per 1/2 year.
  - zirgs 3y ago
    Unfortunately - that's the only way to force some drivers to get their car brakes fixed.
mowse_winded 3y ago
You have the kind of opposite due to the "Chicken tax". There is a 25% tariffs on light duty trucks and vans. SO, they are shipped to the US configured as passenger vehicles and then stripped after arriving in the US to a cargo configuration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax#Circumventing_the_tariff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax#Circumventing_the_...

rootusrootus 3y ago

The difficulty is that this idea is not new and the regulations are written with that in mind.

koolba 3y ago
Chicken tax trucks have entered the chat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
- rootusrootus 3y ago
  There's still a huge amount of regulation before those trucks get onto the road. Just trying to import a bag of parts and then reassembling in the US while claiming it's a kit car is the oldest trick in the book. It's an instant trip to the crusher every time.
- walrus01 3y ago
  For a while Ford was importing Turkey manufactured small vans with seats in the back as passenger vehicles, immediately un-bolting and shredding the seats after they'd arrived at the US port, and selling them for their real intended purpose (small electrical/telecom/plumbing/other trades services vans).

sidewndr46 3y ago

If assembling your own car in the US was as easy as assembling a gun, we'd all be assembling cars on our sixteenth birthday. We have the right to own a gun, but in most of the US owning a car is a necessity. There is some route available in most states but it's incredibly cumbersome compared to something like making your own gun.

bdowling 3y ago
If cars had been as popular as guns when the U.S. Bill of Rights was written, then such a right might have been included. Hypothetically, "Motorized transportation, being necessary to the mobility of a free State, the right of the people to keep and drive automobiles shall not be infringed." Imagine the vehicles we would have. For one thing, the impossible-to-meet CAFE standards, which make it economically infeasible to sell compact pickup trucks in the U.S., would probably have been declared unconstitutional. On the other hand, laws requiring seatbelts and airbags probably would have also been unconstitutional.
- sb057 3y ago
  It's worth noting that freedom of transit and use of public ways (literally the original "right of way") is such an ancient and obvious part of common law that the Framers didn't deign it necessary to include it as an explicit right, instead relegating it with "the rest of them" in the Ninth Amendment.
  - sidewndr46 3y ago
    While that sounds good, I don't really see how it is relevant? You can be detained in the US just for being near the border. Which by the way includes the entire state of Florida, despite it not sharing a land border with any other nations.
    - sb057 3y ago
      Your example is quit fitting given that it's another clear abrogation of ancient rights, specifically the right not to be arbitrarily detained.

jdietrich 3y ago

US restrictions on vehicle imports seem very odd from a British perspective. Over here, we can freely import pretty much anything. If it's more than 10 years old, you just register it. If it's less than 10 years old, you can still bring it in as a personal import, but it'll need to pass a slightly enhanced version of the normal annual inspection. It's a point of principle that any vehicle that passes inspection should be road legal, hence oddities like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paIGBOlkQr0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paIGBOlkQr0 Because we're a right-hand-drive country, Japanese imports are commonplace. If you want a Kei car or a JDM-only luxury minivan, you can just have one. That taken-for-granted freedom gives me a certain degree of empathy for the 2nd amendment lobby.

Auracle 3y ago
A quick Google shows that only 15 states have vehicle inspections. The concept seems completely foreign (and a waste of time?) to me.
- eyegor 3y ago
  Living in Ohio (no inspection "rust belt" state), I saw a minivan's axle pop loose ahead of me on the highway, which sent it into the concrete barrier pretty much instantly. Perhaps you don't have rust issues where you live, but requiring some minimum mechanical function to register a car should be everywhere in my opinion. Generally inspections are either mechanical/safety or emissions. Emissions are based on the car model in every state I've lived in, so as long as you don't modify your car to blow smoke it'll pass. Mechanical inspections are to make sure there's no major rust, the brakes work, the lights work, tires aren't bald, etc.
- fomine3 3y ago
  Exported used car from Japan is considered to good quality, that's partially thanks to vehicle inspection system per 1/2 year.
- zirgs 3y ago
  Unfortunately - that's the only way to force some drivers to get their car brakes fixed.

mowse_winded 3y ago

You have the kind of opposite due to the "Chicken tax". There is a 25% tariffs on light duty trucks and vans. SO, they are shipped to the US configured as passenger vehicles and then stripped after arriving in the US to a cargo configuration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax#Circumventing_the_tariff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax#Circumventing_the_...