Here in the United States, we have some pretty absurd laws depending on what state, county, and municipality you happen to be in. But there is one federal law (because it relates to international commerce) in particular that irks us here at Petrolicious. It is the “Show and Display” law that allows private individuals to import a car to the US, which would be too expensive to modify to meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and does not have a federalized counterpart originally built for the United States market. The reason we hate the law is that it basically makes really cool cars unavailable to us. It also limits imported cars’ use to less than 2500 miles per year on public roads. The cutoff for this law is twenty-five years, after which you can import whatever you want. Regardless, we think the law should be changed.
Frankly, it is a foolish law because while there are many car aficionados, how many are realistically going to spend the money to ship and import a car? Furthermore, how much more marginally unsafe do lawmakers think a Porsche 959 is than a 911? Now, don’t get me wrong I’m not an “abolish the federal government” type, it just seems that lawmakers think we need to be protected from ourselves. If I want to drive a car that has six thousand horsepower and no safety belts I should be allowed to as long as I don’t hurt any one else. I have insurance after all, and I pay the premiums.
So here’s the question: the law being what it is, which car more than twenty-five years old (1989 or older) would you import that was never sold in the US? For me, it’s easy: the aforementioned Porsche 959 (can I borrow a couple of dollars, though?).
Images Sources: oldcarmanualproject.com
