Avant = Delivery van?

[Per Lindgren]

ccohen5 wrote:

>Someone on the list mentioned that in Norway the Avant can be registered as
>a commercial vehicle presumably for a tax break.
>
The key word here is *could* be. About 17 months ago, the regulations
were tightened. The reason for this was because we have hefty taxes
here, many people bought delivery vans even though they didn't use it to
fill it up with goods or stuff, just as a regular daily driver. Now, the
people that control taxes and stuff in this country felt quite clever
one day. They thought that if they altered the specs to have a car
registered as a delivery, they could get more money because these people
would have to buy a new wagon or sedan instead of a cheaper delivery.
And a carpenter or plumber didn't need to drive a round in an A6 Avant
delivery or 528i delivery etc. So with a quick stroke with a pen, the
specs were altered.

A new car can pretty easy cost some 300%  or more here, compared to what
they do in Germany or USA. A little example: Audi A4 3.0q costs 35180
Euro in Germany. In Norway, the same car costs 80000 Euro (approx.). A
Chevy Corvette starts at $42350 in USA. In Norway, the same car costs
(hold on to your hair!) $170000. All prices are MSRP or ISRP.

Before the change, the cars needed to fit an imaginary crate inside the
cargo room. However, there was a footnote that stated that if the car
had a total gross weight of more than 2200 kgs, it would also be allowed
as a delivery van. This made it possible to sell many cars as delivery
vans with only two seats. If the A4 3.0q Avant could be sold as a
delivery, it could have ended with a price of possibly around
55000-60000 Euro instead of 80000 Many single people, or couples without
children bought deliveries because they didn't need the back seat. This
is not possible any more.

As Tom mentioned, there are some weird conversions that allows some cars
to fit the imaginary crate that is still used. One example is this
picture of a Honda CRV:
http://pics.no.autodb.com/146748-bilde1-pic00317.jpg This CRV has been
modified by the Norwegian importer to ft the imaginary crate in the
back. This was needed after the changes in the specs.

The end result is of course not what was expected. Fewer cars in the big
wagon class are sold or imported now than before.

And to Taka:

Yes, there are a lot of Chevy trucks here, some Fords and Chrysler
trucks as well. Once again, there is a reason for this. These cars are
heavy loaders, and when they had a total gross weight of 3501 kgs or
more, they are registered as trucks, not cars. Trucks hardly have any
taxes other than the 24% sales tax, which makes a Suburban a bargain
compared with what you get in size and power. Still, they have to be
registered as deliveries (3 seats) or Kombis (6 seats) and you need to
have a license to drive a truck. A license to drive trucks up to 7500
kgs costs a few hundred dollars.

It is no rare sight to see a Suburban, a Tahoe or (shrug) an Excursion.
What is rare is to hear one of these with a gas engine. Contrary to
Belgium, LPG is not commonly available here, so they are mostly diesels.

So, why do I drive a 1987 Coupe worth $6k? Partly passion, partly money.
I wouldn't mind driving an Audi S3, but at more than $50000, that's a
bit too much for me.

PerL
87 Cq