{"id":43954,"date":"2011-10-31T14:23:15","date_gmt":"2011-10-31T18:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=43954"},"modified":"2011-10-31T14:23:15","modified_gmt":"2011-10-31T18:23:15","slug":"low-volume-makers-could-get-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2011\/10\/low-volume-makers-could-get-break\/","title":{"rendered":"Low-Volume Makers Could Get Break"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The new rules could make it easier for products like the Pagani Huayra to reach U.S. showrooms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Lotus pulled the Elise out of the U.S. market at the end of the 2011 model-year it said it had no choice because it couldn\u2019t meet strict new government safety mandates.<\/p>\n

The British marque isn\u2019t alone.\u00a0 A number of low-volume manufacturers have struggled to keep up with ever-tightening American safety and emissions standards.\u00a0 But they could be in for a break \u2013 along with buyers who\u2019d like to get hold of some of their limited-edition offerings \u2013 thanks to what has been dubbed the \u201cLow Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturer\u2019s Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Be in the Know!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The proposal, introduced by California Congressman John Campbell, is specifically aimed at helping out manufacturers who produce fewer than 1,000 vehicles annually, a figure that includes the likes of Lotus, Sweden\u2019s Koenigsegg and Italy\u2019s Pagani \u2013 whose 700-horsepower Huayra supercar has been at least temporarily delayed because it doesn\u2019t feature the multi-stage airbags mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.<\/p>\n

Campbell, a Republican, has garnered some rare bipartisan support for his measure \u2013 which would take several steps to ease the burden on boutique manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Among other things, if they were using an engine already certified by another manufacturer \u2013 possibly including the Toyota engine in the Lotus Elise \u2013 specialty makers could apply for a waiver from the Environmental Protection Administration exempting them from conducting their own costly certification procedures.<\/p>\n

The sponsors suggest this would be particularly helpful for companies producing replica street rods, customs and sports cars.<\/p>\n

Formally introduced as H.R. 3274, the measure also would toss a bone to environmentalists who might object to that escape clause.\u00a0 The bill would also reduce the burden on start-ups like a Fisker or Tesla or Aptera as they introduce new battery-based powertrain technologies.<\/p>\n

And the National Highway Traffic Administration would be required, along with the EPA, to set up an office specifically aimed at working with low-volume manufacturers seeking to work through federal mandates.<\/p>\n

\u201cRep. Campbell\u2019s bill will allow U.S. companies to produce safe, clean, one-of-a-kind vehicles that are virtually impossible to build under today\u2019s one-size-fits-all regulatory framework,\u201d said Chris Kersting, the President and CEO of the aftermarket trade group SEMA. \u201cThis program will create skilled-labor jobs in the auto<\/a> industry and help meet consumer demand for these niche vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Strict U.S. safety and emissions regulations can be an insurmountable roadblock for low-volume street rod, specialty and sports car manufacturers, but a new Congressional bill would offering them a helping hand, as TheDetroitBureau.com reports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43954"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43954"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=43954"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=43954"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=43954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}