Re: final note about porsche discussion

[John Greenstreet <jgreenst@motown.ge.com>]

> From quattro-owner@swiss.ans.net Thu Oct 13 13:28:57 1994
> From: Andrew Duane USG/PE <duane@zk3.dec.com>
> 
> Hairy green toads from Mars made John Greenstreet say:
> 
> > I saw one of these bad boys when I was in Switzerland, at a business
> > expo in Dietikon, a suburb just outside of Zurich.  A local dealer had
> > a used RS2 as well as a few Porsches and a Ferarri F40.  With the
> > Porsche wheels and brakes, it looks stunning.  The price was
> > SFr. 80,000., which translates to $65,000, but guess what: no airbags!
> > 
> > I'm not sure if the car is available with them, and that alone
> > would prohibit its importation.  But if one could be obtained that has
> > the US-spec airbags, AND is structurally identical to a model sold in
> > the US, it would be possible to bring it into this county.
> 
> Necessary, but not sufficient. The US has sightly different requirements
> for lighting, window glass, windsheilds, and a dozen other little things.  
> It could cost a few thousand $$$ to replace all of that.

Absolutely, but a few thousand dollars for that equipment is less than
the millions that would be required to prove it would pass the crash
tests.  That said, I really doubt the $80,000 price mentioned earlier
in the thread for a new one.  A new one is well over $100K in Germany.

> 
> There is also the emissions certification, which is like the crash
> test. It may be fine, but the EPA wants the car certified, which can
> be difficult and (surprise) expensive.

Interestingly, most any car now sold by the major German producers
is certified to meet what they call "US Norm" emission requirements.

Just wait 'till they send you the bill for the "Gas Guzzler" tax!

p.s. I think it's just great that trucks used as personal vehicles
are totally exempt from this misguided attempt at reducing fuel 
consumption!  What a country!

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John Greenstreet, Senior Engineer           (jgreenst@motown.ge.com)
Martin Marietta Government Electronic Systems    Moorestown NJ 08057
WPI Class of '75, Temple Class of '94

My new car history:
  1975    1978    1982       1986        1989      1992      1995
   VW ->  Audi -> Audi  -> Mercedes -> Mercedes -> Audi -> Mercedes
Scirocco Fox GTI  4000S    190E 2.3    190E 2.6    100CS     S320

POSSLQ's* new car history:
         1978       1981       1985      1988        1990     1993
       Triumph ->  Toyota ->  Toyota  ->  VW    ->   Audi  -> Audi
       Spitfire    Tercel     Corolla   Jetta GL      80      90S

*POSSLQ = Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters
Note: All Audis and Mercedes above were sold to friends or family.
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