re: Saw a relatively new Citroen in Chelmsford MA(was:RE: Mystery Audi)

[William.Elliott@mail.mei.com]

> If Audi is still unknown to many of U.S. population, I wonder what
> those owners of Peugeot and Alfa Romeo experience? Was Citroen ever
> officially sold in the U.S.?

<<They probably were in the 60's though back then "officially" was a rather
loose term.>>

Citroens were sold thru the mid 70's.  The problematic SM finally did
them in... as did the emissions standards.

Also remember, you can bring in and license ANYTHING if it was made prior
to
1968.  Hence my '64 Trabant.  (I also recently saw a 1981 Austin Mini...
nicely registered
as a 1965 model.)

<<Incidently, I spotted a relatively new Citroen 4 door in Chelmsford MA
going
into Sun Micro.  It was at least from the early 80's if not newer.  At
first
I couldn't figure out what it was but saw enough of the basic shape to know
it was a Citroen.>>

I've noticed in Hemmings that a company is offering new Citroens for
sale.   don't know if there's some new loophole or if these guys
are really going to the effort to Federalize these things.

<<  There's also someone in Lexington who has a quite new TVR.  How do
people register these things?>>

TVR's have been sporadically offered all along.  You probably saw a
mid-80's
280i.  TVR themselves Federalized those models... and it nearly broke them.
I also heard that they were trying to get the 350i in under a loophole by
using a Range Rover engine.

Also, for years Morgan sold their Plus 8's with a propane conversion to
get around the emissions issues.

Remember, up until the late 80's, there was a grey market loophole for
private
citizens.  You could bring one non-Federalized car in per person per
lifetime.  You
did, however, have to update it to meet DOT safety standards.  The airbags
of the 90's made this nearly impossible. (Diplomats could also bring in
cars
and then sale them to private citizens. Lots of interesting cars in DC
thanks to
this loophole. I understand that this practice has now been severely
restricted
if not eliminated.)

Bill Elliott
Lake Mills, WI