USA offers free welcome service for imported classic cars

[Grumpy Northener]

Only in the USA lets hope the Euro prats don't get any more stupid ideas and adopt the same policy

http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/motoring/m ... 3949998677

[TerryG]

They have done it with land rovers too. It's done when the importer lies on the declaration to make a vehicle appear older than it really is to avoid emissions / safety regulations. It's a shame but it's not a new policy and the person doing it knew the risks.

[Oldcarnut]

Thats a flippin shame to see a perfectly good car go to the crusher for them wacko yanks, and all because of a simple airbag. They really are always OTT when it comes to these things.After all, cars managed for years without them, even their own stuff, so why go to this extent ? the mind boggles.I am not against airbags as such, they are a brilliant safety feature, but to scrap a good car for not having them is ridiculous.

What do they do with all their own classics which don't have them ?

[TerryG]

The problem isn't that the car doesn't have an airbag, the problem is that the importer lied on the declaration about the age of the car to be able to import it at all. if they had put in the age correctly, they would have been refused an import licence so the problem wouldn't have existed in the first place.
Some yanks think it is worth the risk and I would imagine some slip through but in this instance, they lost out.

[mr rusty]

Basically, they're ringers, stolen in the UK, and sold on for export with an I'd from a V5 bought off ebay, its no coincidence that this mainly affects minis and landrovers.
The original ID of these cars is long gone, they'll never be able to trace them back to their original owners, so its a shame, but its probably done to make a point

[3xpendable]

It's sad but as others have said, it has to be done to prove a point. If they didn't punish the importers/owners then thousands of cars here wouldnt be safe if people could steal them then sell them abroad for profit.

[Grumpy Northener]

I fully understand the reason for removing the car form the said parties / thieves / villains / scumbags, I also fully appreciate the reason for proving the point to said individuals but why destroy the car ? Just simply remove / confiscate the vehicle but don't destroy it - there are thousands of educational institutions that would give the vehicles a home and in doing so it provides educational material to the students - (whom we the already classic car converted) would very much like to encourage into classic car ownership - the situation would then become a win - win - bent scumbags don't get any reward for their devious deals and the younger generation get the opportunity to work on / experience / understand classics - remove the title from the car - ensure it can never be registered but don't just destroy something for the sake of proving the point has in this case the point can always be proved in a different and far more ethical way (End of rant - I will crawl back under the floor boards at home and continue to dismember the central heating)

[JPB]

^^^^^^^ Educational establishments already have our dibs on cars that are seized as proceeds of crime, or that are seized because they've been used in criminal activity, for example the Citroen XM that's taking up space in my work just now. That was used for carrying cases of alcoholic beverage over from Luxembourg and this is how most cars in HMRC's warehouses are large Citroens rather than things with steel suspension which would give the game away if the vehicle were loaded with a couple of pallets of snide or otherwise illegal vodka.
And this is why I agree wholeheartedly with Lord Grumpy of the North (you bloody well should be...). Students across the whole of England and Wales are suffering from Oleopneumatic apathy, so term scores are suffering and overall grades are falling. A few seized classics could and should be made available to colleges, IMHO, because this influx of more interesting, older and/or less commonplace motors would renew the level of enthusiasm for the task. OK, so an XM is hardly a dull car and they are rather special once everything's fixed, but they're modern and almost as complex as the stuff in the showrooms with current plates.
But maybe don't bring anything more here before February please; my own project needs its warm bed for the time being.

[Grumpy Northener]

Lord Grumpy of the North (you bloody well should be...).

Why thank you John - I am quite very humbled (well almost) Now I don't mind being both Northern and Grumpy (mates normally address me has this - along with the addition of several expletives and on some occasions several expletives followed by several more expletives then they take the liberty of tacking the Grumpy Northener handle on the end - would you credit it

However I dont wish to be known as Smartarse Grumpy Northner - thing is that myself along with a couple partners in crime (obviously Jowett Car Club members then) BUT we have already done this - done what ? well when the club was requested to find a good home for a Jowett Javelin which was the subject of an abandoned restoration we donated it to Leeds City Collage who run a classic car restoration course, we were then donated another Javelin by the family of a late member this has since gone to the PC team of Neil & Sam and will continue to feature in the mag whilst it is returned to the road - and now we are on the look out for a third car - we have a willing youth education centre in the homeland of Jowetts (Bradford) that is happy to provide hands on learning to the younger generation.

Has a small club we have in return received publicity that we could not buy - the clubs profile has never been higher and we have more interest than ever in the marque. I personally get a huge satisfaction out of getting generations beneath me involved in the classic car scene - and put simply what do we have to loose Apologies again for being Northern, Grumpy and ok at times a Smartarse

[mr rusty]

I'm assuming the whacking with a digger is done to make an example, it would be easier to shove it in a xrusher, but not as dramatic.....'pour encourager les autres', as the French would say.

Our council did something similar at the height of the mini-moto craze, the old bill seized a few being ridden illegally on the roads and paths, and they were mashed with a digger in the town centre......and that was the end of that irritating craze!