Jealous Of Certain British Cars ..Morgan Trike, Rocket, XBow

[PaulFontaine]

It's a shame we can't get them in the US the lawsuits and legislation has seen to that! You've got some cool, cool cars

[ChiChoAndy]

I've always wondered why Alfa Romeo isn't in the US. They'd sell an absolute bucketload, I'm sure.

[flemke]

You can bring Rocket into US - Jay Leno did so. You need to bring in rolling chassis, and install engine in the States. I'd guess that Rocket would be approved for Show or Display as well, although that is a bit of a pain.

[PaulFontaine]

swerni said:

XBOW is Austrian.

Well the availability I know KTM is Austrian. Plus it would seem that there are abandoned air bases every 20 miles or so there. I know it's not the case. The smartest idea that I have seen is in San Diego the stadium where the Charger's play is simply wide open on weekends to free racing of any sort to keep it off public roads

[davepoth]

It's fortunately still quite easy to build a road-legal car in a shed from scratch in the UK, although the EU is always trying to change that. Building cool things in sheds is a British tradition - as soon as big industry gets involved it all goes tits up.

[paranoid airbag]

doesn't leno have an atom?

[Oilchange]

Isn't there a great deal of protectionism in the US car industry?
I think it's taken the almost the bankruptcy of Chrysler and the subsequent buying out by Fiat to open the gates. Now Fiat/Alfa should have a foot hold now unless I have all my facts arse about face...

[anonymous-user]

ChiChoAndy said:

I've always wondered why Alfa Romeo isn't in the US. They'd sell an absolute bucketload, I'm sure.

I think you'll find it's because they have a well-deserved reputation as unreliable rustbuckets. See also,

Fiat
Lancia
Renault
Peugeot
Citroen
Rover
MG

Yes, I know the Fiat 500 is being launched in USA, "This vehicle of change is now coming to America. Deeply rooted in Italian culture, values, sentiment and sensibilities, it will, like its ancestors, not just blend in. It will fully liberate your passion for life." But then, are many Europeans rushing down to the Chrysler shop right now?

[davepoth]

5 USA said:

I think you'll find it's because they have a well-deserved reputation as unreliable rustbuckets. See also,

Fiat
Lancia
Renault
Peugeot
Citroen
Rover
MG

Yes, I know the Fiat 500 is being launched in USA, "This vehicle of change is now coming to America. Deeply rooted in Italian culture, values, sentiment and sensibilities, it will, like its ancestors, not just blend in. It will fully liberate your passion for life." But then, are many Europeans rushing down to the Chrysler shop right now?

No, but then they're still Lancias everywhere apart from the UK.

[poo at Paul's]

swerni said:

XBOW is Austrian.

Streuth, Cobber, ya dan't say?

[PaulFontaine]

Oilchange said:

Isn't there a great deal of protectionism in the US car industry?
I think it's taken the almost the bankruptcy of Chrysler and the subsequent buying out by Fiat to open the gates. Now Fiat/Alfa should have a foot hold now unless I have all my facts arse about face...

No but they have a strong lobby to prevent forward innovation or anything that would cut into their profit margins such as abs and airbags etc

[icepop]

flemke said:

You can bring Rocket into US - Jay Leno did so. You need to bring in rolling chassis, and install engine in the States. I'd guess that Rocket would be approved for Show or Display as well, although that is a bit of a pain.

I think, along with the Atom mentioned below, J. Leno also has about 80 trillion pounds, and a high profile personality, which might enable him to bring about alot of things mere mortals cannot.

[flemke]

icepop said:

flemke said:

You can bring Rocket into US - Jay Leno did so. You need to bring in rolling chassis, and install engine in the States. I'd guess that Rocket would be approved for Show or Display as well, although that is a bit of a pain.

I think, along with the Atom mentioned below, J. Leno also has about 80 trillion pounds, and a high profile personality, which might enable him to bring about alot of things mere mortals cannot.

You might think that, but it does not apply in this case.

There is enormous scope to import a "kit-car". A Rocket is a simple thing. You could ship the rolling chassis to US, no probs, then but an FZR engine at a breaker's and you'd be done. It's not that hard.

[icepop]

flemke said:

icepop said:

flemke said:

You can bring Rocket into US - Jay Leno did so. You need to bring in rolling chassis, and install engine in the States. I'd guess that Rocket would be approved for Show or Display as well, although that is a bit of a pain.

I think, along with the Atom mentioned below, J. Leno also has about 80 trillion pounds, and a high profile personality, which might enable him to bring about alot of things mere mortals cannot.

You might think that, but it does not apply in this case.

There is enormous scope to import a "kit-car". A Rocket is a simple thing. You could ship the rolling chassis to US, no probs, then but an FZR engine at a breaker's and you'd be done. It's not that hard.

Sorry, how do you mean, "you'd be done".

Rolling chassis, then he gets an old FZR engine, doesn't he then have a Rocket ?

Wha's stopping him buying a complete car, and importing it, you are America, right ? No Whitchcraft going on here, it's a car, what's the problem ? You're still running cars over there, that are less environmentaly sound than Chernobyl.

[joncon]

PaulFontaine said:

It's a shame we can't get them in the US the lawsuits and legislation has seen to that! You've got some cool, cool cars

i think the morgan 3 wheeler is coming to the US !

[PaulFontaine]

I am talking about street legal, I can get my car fixed relatively easily, I don't have to wait for parts to be flown in from some exotic locale, and I can drive it as I please car. You cannot freely drive to and fro with the "Show and Display" exemption also I am not talking about some elaborate scheme like non street use only etc. etc. I am a regular guy not Jay Leno for whom they give massive berth in Burbank. I assure you they would not look kindly upon me driving to work in a steam powered car. I am talking about something with at least a skeleton of a dealer support network etc. So stop with the weird solutions if you can tell me you've seen a Atom, Rocket or x-Bow on a public street in the US I'll give you a $100 simple as that. I know that money is going nowhere becuase they are simply not out there. The wildest thing that I think I have seen out there that get around by being exempted as a motorcycle is the T-Rex but it's a little dubious in my opinion.

[Bill]

You want a dealer network? I'm not even sure Morgan has one of those. Certainly Caterham's consists of two dealers and a few independent specialists.

(I realise the scale is different, what with you lot being states, but people go abroad with Caterhams etc and there's nothing in Europe AFAIK.)

[ESOG]

PaulFontaine said:

It's a shame we can't get them in the US the lawsuits and legislation has seen to that! You've got some cool, cool cars

I share the same feeling, but in a way I am sort of happy we dont have all these new sports cars cropping up because then I would be forced to add them to my fantasy list and thus feel overwhelmed with how much work I will have to do to make a few million to be able to get them all LOL

My list is big enough as it is.

[shirt]

PaulFontaine said:

in San Diego the stadium where the Charger's play is simply wide open on weekends to free racing of any sort to keep it off public roads

see, we'd never get away with this in the UK. elf n safety wouldn't allow it

[flemke]

PaulFontaine said:

I am talking about street legal, I can get my car fixed relatively easily, I don't have to wait for parts to be flown in from some exotic locale, and I can drive it as I please car. You cannot freely drive to and fro with the "Show and Display" exemption also I am not talking about some elaborate scheme like non street use only etc. etc. I am a regular guy not Jay Leno for whom they give massive berth in Burbank. I assure you they would not look kindly upon me driving to work in a steam powered car. I am talking about something with at least a skeleton of a dealer support network etc. So stop with the weird solutions if you can tell me you've seen a Atom, Rocket or x-Bow on a public street in the US I'll give you a $100 simple as that. I know that money is going nowhere becuase they are simply not out there. The wildest thing that I think I have seen out there that get around by being exempted as a motorcycle is the T-Rex but it's a little dubious in my opinion.

Please donate the $100 to a charity of your choice. It will be appreciated.

---

You're talking about 2 separate things.
No, in the States there is no local "dealer" for the cars that you mention. That does not mean that one could not own and operate any of these cars in the States. There is no Rocket dealer in Japan, yet there are (relatively) many Rockets there.

US DoT, and EPA, control what comes into the country as motorised transport for public roads. If something enters as a fundamentally incomplete vehicle, normally they do not block it.
It's at the state level that individual regulations relating to roadworthiness apply.

You can live in Iowa, make a car of your own from scratch in your garden shed, with a 12-litre tractor engine, motorbike wheels, steering off the rear axle, triangular steering wheel, 1-speed gearbox. If it has lights, a horn, seatbelts, passes state emissions rega, and a couple of other things, you're good to go. These are called "kit-cars" and there are many, many thousands of such things (although perhaps not many as per my exact description) all over the States. It's not a problem.
What people will do is to import something less than a whole car (that is, a rolling chassis), which counts as car "parts", and is thus not subject to DoT or EPA barrier. Once those car parts have come into the States, the owner is free to do with them what he wishes.

With Show or Display, you may most certainly drive freely as regards when and where you travel. The limit is 2,500 mi per year. AFAIK, there has never been a S&D vehicle that was checked for mileage post-entry.
Some persons, if they were seriously worried about that, might find a way to update their odometers - in order to ensure that they were running correctly. With the limited electronics of the cars that you've mentioned, it wouldn't be too difficult.