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Journal: The United States' Classic Car Community Urgently Needs Your Help

The United States’ Classic Car Community Urgently Needs Your Help

By Petrolicious Productions
June 18, 2018
15 comments

Though we’ve shared a few pieces of modern motorsport and the odd new car review on Petrolicious, we’re not about to expand our scope so far away from the classics that we enter the political sphere. We are here today to talk about some specific pieces of proposed legislature though, only because it seems like it will have direct impacts on our community of car lovers, and those in the United States specifically. As you’re likely aware, there has been much talk about tariffs as of late between the US and others, but we’re here to point out the proposed 25% tax on imported cars, trucks, and all the assorted parts required to restore, maintain, or collect.

The US Department of Commerce is asking for the peoples’ opinion on the matter no later than June 22nd (a few days from now), and you can find out how to voice your opinion on the government site linked here.

This could have disastrous effects on the classic car community (nothing says that this is exclusively related to new cars, so if you’ve been importing pricey stuff from Germany to fix your old Benz for instance, then it might get a 25% increase on top of the costs you’ve been seeing), and it’s already quite expensive to import cars and parts from outside our borders. Please, if you have a stake in this game, get in touch with the people who might be able to make a difference. We’re not asking if you’re red or blue or neither one, we just want to see our classic community continue to flourish. Again, to get in contact with the right people, please visit this site.

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Jayrdee
Jayrdee
5 years ago

So … who wants to go in with me and become the Pablo Escobar(s) of used parts?

0
sambo
sambo
5 years ago

Don t be weak. Trust in trump. The Germans will give in. And it’s not even tariffs because the European s don’t buy any American cars, while we buy cars from all over the world.

-11
726PAV
726PAV
5 years ago

Could the impact be a reduction in the price of Classics that require foreign parts on the US market?
Bit of a win for the non-US collectors?

0
A Dias
A Dias
5 years ago

The US is simply responding to high existing tariffs on imported US products by other countries. Why should US products be penalized and imports to the US not?

2
Enginerrrrrrrrr
Enginerrrrrrrrr
5 years ago
Reply to  A Dias

We already have a 2.5% tariff on foreign cars and a 25% tariff on vans and trucks. The EU has a 10% tariff on our vehicles. Seems pretty even to me, why would we add a 25% tariff on everything coming in? That’s substantially higher than everything else and at this point it’s not retaliatory, it’s nationalistic B.S.

3
Luke
Luke
5 years ago

Although I’m a car enthusiast, I’m sorry I can’t sympathize. The US has currently bigger problems to solve than a potential rise in the cost of maintaining an old car. I’m talking about human rights here. There are more important fights to fight at the moment.

3
carlo rossi
carlo rossi
5 years ago

Blah blah blah, outrage, outrage, outrage, overused trope, oversimplification, hyperbolic statement, wash, wax on, wax off…

Franky Kafka, thanks for verbosely expressed in a few words. “I don’t like the POTUS”. lots of people don’t, and lots of people don’t care.

In an age where sports, movies, and most other things are politicized, it’s WONDERFUL that the classic car community is still largely clean from that partisan nonsense. Sure this article is about trade policy, but lets avoid the bias B.S..

If we wanted to get pelted with narcissistic “I’m right, you’re dumb” political or social commentary we’d turn on ESPN.

Now it’s time to move on to more important car-related matters.

What model car is being unloaded from that ingenious freight train?!?

-11
Andrew
Andrew
5 years ago
Reply to  carlo rossi

Mate I’m not even from the US but how is this partisan? It’s not at all. But hey, I’m actually supportive of this policy because if you Yanks are crowded out of the classic car market, it means I can import stuff to my own free country for much less 😀

0
Jack B
Jack B
5 years ago
Reply to  carlo rossi

Carlo,

Those are Chevrolet Vegas from around 1971.

3
Jon442
Jon442
5 years ago
Reply to  carlo rossi

Chevy Vega.

2
carlo rossi
carlo rossi
5 years ago
Reply to  carlo rossi

@Andrew, the above was in response to this user post:

@Franz Kafka
“Yet one more step in the long line of trying to make America xenophobic and stupid , ignoring the consequences to the masses while appealing to an ignorant insular base by the most xenophobic hateful POTUS in US history . Welcome to the epitome of Kafkaesque And yet ; For me another moment of schadenfreude .”

Jack B and Jon442, thanks for the car confirmation, that was my first thought, but the little vent below the window had me wondering if there was some mid/rear engined old coupe I didn’t know about. Never actually have seen a Vega in the Northeast, salt killed em all off decades ago.

1
Dennis White
Dennis White
5 years ago

Could it be that I may actually agree with a part of something espoused by the Guitar Kafka? God forbid, but as a California Euro car collector, already being hammered by his own party’s “tax reform”, I have to say this tariff/tax is over the top. I’ve commented.

4
Sam N
Sam N
5 years ago
Reply to  Dennis White

Agree with GS?! Help! 😂

-1
Jack B
Jack B
5 years ago

You just couldn’t resist projecting your disdain for those who might disagree with your point of view, could you? You could have made a solid, rational case against the tariff, but you had to personalize it.

It’s really sad that Petrolicious has allowed partisan politics to infect its domain.

1
DAVID VANLUE
DAVID VANLUE
5 years ago

I submitted a comment.

3

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