CARS BANNED IN THE US - 2014

There are not many countries on Earth that make a habit out of banning certain vehicles like the United States of America, my homeland. Today, I thought I'd share a few of the more significant bans in the hopes that you too will write your local congressman. Obviously everyone knows about the ban on the Nissan Skyline and the Land Rover Defender, but I'm not sure everyone is aware of why. I know I wasn't, so I did some research today to solve these mysteries.

First, lets start with everyones favourite car to b*tch about, the Nissan Skyline. While I'm sure we have all seen the banned models (R32-R34's made from 1989-1999), be it on the big screen or at a local car meet, they are illegal, and if found, will not be exported to their original nation, but crush, shredded, then incinerated, all while you watch in tears before being sent to jail for breaking one of the stupidest laws. My personal favourite of the banned range is the 95 GT-R (pictured below)

Coming with the 2.6 RB26DETT 6 cyl engine that was only in this and 4 other skyline models, including the less popular Stagea, brembo brakes, which became standard on all skylines after this one, 4WD and a 4-wheel steering system that I really don't understand (assuming it just sends more power to certain wheels while cornering), this is a pretty quick car, but not really much different then other AWD tuners that are available in America. So why is the Skyline illegal here? Many reasons. It doesn't meet our emissions standards, its available only in RHD which the DOT doesn't allow....most of the time, and the DOT has not and WILL not crash test it. There are a couple of ways you can acquire a skyline though. Our Infiniti G series is the new version of the Japanese Skyline, so anyone that owns a G35 or G37 can be happy knowing they actually kinda sorta own a Skyline in a real stupid way. Also, many people import Skylines without the motors, ship the motor separately, and then reinstall the motor once it has arrived, because then it can be registered as a track only, kit car. So there are ways. The late Paul Walker owned a Skyline or two through the second method I just described. Also, there is a law saying you can import a car that is 25 years or older, so technically, you could bring over an 89 R32 if you really wanted to, but I'd just wait a decade and get an R34 if you are that desperate.

Next, lets go with the ever popular off-road favourite, Land Rover's Defender. (land rover defender destroyed by customs) US Customs takes this car pretty seriously. Even though I did find a Land Rover Santana (which were the Defenders made in Spain) for sale at a dealer in Washington DC, (see below), the Defenders have never been sold new here.

They are illegal because the safari style seats in the back do not have seat belts, which seems like an easy enough fix, but whatever. My guess as to why this Santana made its way here safely is because it is not technically called a Defender #loopholes. But if you've just watched, or seen the above video before, you know it is not worth the money just to have it destroyed as soon as it reaches our shores. Also, the big V12 biturbo G63 AMG Mercedes has been banned as of this year due to....EMISSIONS. Big surprise there.

Another one that has been recently added to US Customs shitlist is any Lotus Elise from 1996 to 2001. The earlier models are easier to spot because of the headlights, but the 2001 Elise looks the same going up to 2005 or so, so if I can't tell the difference by sight, the government wont either.

1996 Lotus Elise  Type 49

What's funny though, is that the headlights, and actually the bumper height as well, is what makes the lightweight superhero illegal. Back in 2004, the new style of Elise was also made illegal, but as of 2007, the NHTSA certified the Elise thanks to Lotus paying a hefty $27 million to make it so. 

A rather useless ban is the Exclusive edition of the 1989 Honda CRX which was an extremely popular car in its day due to excellent gas mileage (42 city/51 hwy) and its spritely quickness. This edition was banned due the glass roof not allowing the right type of airbags to help the car pass crash tests. A few have been found on the internet, going for a surprisingly high price, but thats probably due to the government not realizing theres a difference without checking VINs. 

Also, don't bother with any 97-00 Accord or Civic Type R's. They don't pass emissions some how and to be honest, I'm not upset at all.

A couple popular European cars that I wish we got, but unfortunately didn't make it due to emissions are the late 80s BMW M6 and Audi RS2 Avant.

The last car I'm going to talk about today is one that I have always been fascinated by, and have never seen being driven in person, and probably never will. One of the greatest supercars the world has ever seen, even to this day. It is the Porsche 959. Originating from a concept car made by Porsche in 1983. 

Then turning into a Dakar rally car.

The street version of the 959 came into production in 1986. Immediately being refused certification for street use in the US due to Porsche refusing to build four test samples for the DOT to test, they were only made legal for US sales in 1999 when the Boston Museum of Fine Arts wanted to put one on display, as seen here in 2005.

Of course the year being 2014, the Porsche 959 just now meets the 25 or over rule, so import away, if you can find one of the 337, AWD, twin turbo 6 powered examples (including prototypes, race models, and concept models) that aren't already on display in some museum or gallery and have the million or so dollars they're going for nowadays. Personally, I say its more worth it then most of the million dollar hypercars of today, not just for the performance, but also for the sake of automotive history. And considering that like Lexus with the LFA, Porsche never made any money off a single one they made (they sold them for half of what they cost to make), this is a true example of the pure and simple soul of performance cars and the people that make them. An interesting case to look up about the 959 is the Gate's 959, which is the story of Bill Gates Porsche 959 which led him to help get the "Show and Display" law passed. But I won't tell everyone about that. 

Many cars were, are, and probably will be on this banned list. There are dozens other then what I've talked about here, but given time, they will all slowly make their way off the list and possibly into our driveways