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The US Federal government is claiming that! "A motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old can be lawfully imported into the U.S. without regard to whether it
by sickofparadox 3y ago
The US Federal government is claiming that!
"A motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old can be lawfully imported into the U.S. without regard to whether it complies with all applicable [Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards].(1)"
After 25 years, it is assumed to be so safe they don't even need to comply with vehicle safety laws. If the import ban was about safety, it wouldn't ever allow cars previously legally considered 'unsafe' onto the roads, but the 25 year law pretty much gives away it was about people importing Lexuses and BMWs for less than it cost to buy one in the US, which made the manufacturers unhappy.
1: https://www.nhtsa.gov/importing-vehicle/importation-and-certification-faqs#faq-31016 https://www.nhtsa.gov/importing-vehicle/importation-and-cert...
- criddell 3y agoThey aren't saying after 25 years the cars are safe. Right in their statement they acknowledge that the cars may not meet safety standards. I suspect the 25-year cutoff is mostly about allowing enthusiasts to drive classic cars. There's a small number of them. Allowing millions of new unsafe cars to be sold to random consumers would be a terrible idea. I think the rules make sense.