Petition to get TVR to export here
Discussion
Hey. HAs anyone started or tried a petition getting TVR to import to the US? If there is one, tell em and I'll vote! If not, I'll start one.
I don't think the problem is TVR so much but the DOT and/or DMV.
Once you buy a car from TVR, you're perfectly capable of doing what you like with it. If that means bringing it to the US then so be it.
However, the Department of Transportation and your state Department of Motor Vehicles are likely to prove the biggest obstacles. Even if the DOT approves the importation of the car (long shot at best), the odds of the DMV giving you a license plate and registration sticker are not good.
Then there is the issue of service once the car arrives. There is no such thing as an authorized TVR service center anywhere in the US - at least as far as I know. If you get one of the Rover V8 cars (Chim, Griff) then you shouldn't have too much trouble but for Cerberas, Tuscans and anything newer with TVR's in-house engines, you'll have to try to find someone willing to take a crack at them.
When I lived in the US, I drove a Delorean and even though it used the same engine as several Volvo models, it was very difficult getting anyone apart from my regular Delorean guru to do any sort of work to it.
If you really want a TVR badly enough, call a lawyer who knows about such things and ask them if the following plan is doable:
Buy a used car, have it partially disassembled (I'm told removing the drivetrain is enough) and shipped to the US as a kit then have someone reassemble it on the other end. Then, you get it registered as a kit car and merrily go about your business. You'll probably end up paying almost as much you would have for a new one but you will have something you can drive to your heart's content. Otherwise you could try importing one as a show car and have it approved for very limited mileage.
Just my $.02
. The "kit car" route looks to be a bit touchy over here at this time, given the Elise/Exige/340r predicament. Any more rumours of a TVR dealer network coming over here?Yeah, well, really we need to petition the NHTSA and our congress men and woman. It's about freedom to import not just TVR but Ginettas G12's, Lotuses, Noble's, WRX s202's etc. etc. for personal use on the road and track! That is what we really need! If we could do that then small shops would start popping up serviceing the vehicles.
In California they passed SB100 for the AC Cobras and other kits now we need a little import freedom.
>> Edited by PiB on Saturday 11th January 22:05
In California they passed SB100 for the AC Cobras and other kits now we need a little import freedom.
>> Edited by PiB on Saturday 11th January 22:05
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