Its heard all the time on the internet, the Nissan Skyline is illegal in the USA. To the layperson, they may hear this and take it as gospel. It used to be you would hear its illegal because it is right hand drive. You would hear that it is illegal because it was too fast. Neither of which is true. Here is the true reason that the Nissan Skyline is illegal in the US, Mercedes Benz North America.
What does Mercedes Benz have to do with a Nissan Skyline? Picture yourself as Mercedes Benz North America, the official distributor of Mercedes Benz. As the distributor you setup the dealer networks, handle parts and warranty, import the cars, setup pricing, and make money off each Mercedes Benz sold in the US. Enter the “gray market” cars. Gray market cars are cars that are imported, but not though official distributors. The gray market cars don’t have a warranty, they are not supported by a dealer network, but here is what they are……CHEAPER. In the consumer driven dollar and cents market place, the cheaper car, is the one the consumer wants.
In December 1984, Time Magazine published this article about gray market luxury cars. In the article, they mention that the change in the dollars value via the exchange rate, can mean up to a $12,000 savings for a buyer of an imported gray market car, vs a model purchased at a US dealer. They mention that as many as 50,000 automobiles could have been brought into the US in 1985.
Example: a Mercedes 500 SEL, when bought from an authorized dealer in the U.S., is about $52,000. The same model bought in West Germany and imported by a U.S. buyer goes for some $40,000 after the extra charges.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923836,00.html#ixzz1H0r4a8CU
Read the rest of the post at my blog.
Are you looking for over 25 year old, legal vehicles in the USA? Check out importavehicle.com
Well with that you really cant expect it to be legalized in the near future.Best interests at heart.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go with Nissan didn't build it to meet North American emissions and crash regulations, because they didn't want to spend the millions of dollars on the R&D to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteIt's not only the Skyline any car that is 25 years and newer
ReplyDeleteNot true.
DeleteThe rules set forth by the National Highway Traffic Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have segregated the United States from vehicles available to the rest of the world. By adopting the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act the United States further supports the argument that big business controls the world. America has always claimed to be the land of the free. How free is the United States when freedoms the rest of the world enjoys are undermined by the looming shadow of corporations? By continuing to enforce the Import Vehicle Safety Compliance Act we demonstrate that those with money will dictate how we can live our lives. How long will it be before separate standards our placed on other products and services simply because it hurts corporations who operate overseas anyway. Where will America finally draw the line and once again become the land of the free?
ReplyDelete