BAC Mono track car revealed

[henk4]

Not universally road legal, but they can be individually registered. Colorado itself has two road legal atoms driving about. Every state is different, and some states will not register an atom. However, if it had been registered once by a state that will register it, it is then able to be registered.

so there are 51 states that each have an authority to register cars? Is one federal authority not a tiny bit cost saving?

[pimento]

Clearly it's about FREEDOM and JUSTICE and THE AMERICAN WAY. You commie Euros wouldn't understand.

[henk4]

Clearly it's about FREEDOM and JUSTICE and THE AMERICAN WAY. You commie Euros wouldn't understand.

yup, we are heading for a European type approval...some time in the future,

[Matra et Alpine]

DIdn't realise that the US state approval system allowed the car to then be used/driven in other states.

Leads to the obvious question .... WHY BOTHER ? Clearly as soon as one state permits it then all a potential owner has to do is buy the car in that state, register it and then take it home and drive ?

Definately "Land of the free" .... as long as you have enough money to be able to work your way around the system. Otherwise it's the "land of the insane"

Europe is now struggling with that and why a desire to move to a single system.
I can drive a kit car in Germany until it needs a TuV test, then I can drive it home, MOT it in the UK and drive it back to use for another 12 moitnhs minus a day Problem of course is getting agreement on what that one tests should be given the UK loves it's kit cars and some other nations seem to love their rusting, smoky dangerous heaps !!

Why don't the US states agree on what is needed ? I mean they've had 100 years of the car and been "one nation" for all of that time. At least I can accept that Europe's really only struggled with this is a "one republic" (!) issue for 20 years . but if they still havne't got it solved in 100 years I'd be wanting to overthrow them !!

[LeonOfTheDead]

Not universally road legal, but they can be individually registered. Colorado itself has two road legal atoms driving about. Every state is different, and some states will not register an atom. However, if it had been registered once by a state that will register it, it is then able to be registered.

Maybe I'm missing something here.
Is it that simple to have a car registered? and then, is it that simple to have the car registered elsewhere?

I ask because I know many European cars and supercars are not road legal over there. I know that in 2000 the late Benni Caiola managed to regularly register his Zonda in the States though, then again the other cars now still present on the US soil aren't registered and they couldn't be registered anyway, according to Pagani itself.

Do you have any idea what could be the reason?

[RacingManiac]

I think the car has to get in to be federalized(passing EPA and NHTSA requirement) first before they can be registered in US. A lot of these cars gets in as a "kit car" in parts, which does not need to be federalized, then you can use the state side of regulation to register the car.

[culver]

FF runs on really crappy tires though....I always wonder how much faster FF might get with decent rubber...

In the US, FF gets great tires but low power motors. We get ~116hp vs ~150hp. On the other hand the US tire rules at the national level are more open. It would be interesting to see which version of FF is faster.

For not much more than an FF car in the US you can get an F1000. That would be fast enough to be very scary. The are pulling laptimes that aren't far off of Formula Atlantic. F1000 cars are ~1000lbs and have 1L stock bike motors.

Basically with track day toys I understand the idea of road and track legal so long as the vehicle is actually road usable. The moment it becomes to specialized to really use on the road and basically needs to be trailered to the track, then I say get a real race car and be done with it.

[culver]

DIdn't realise that the US state approval system allowed the car to then be used/driven in other states.

Leads to the obvious question .... WHY BOTHER ? Clearly as soon as one state permits it then all a potential owner has to do is buy the car in that state, register it and then take it home and drive ?

Definately "Land of the free" .... as long as you have enough money to be able to work your way around the system. Otherwise it's the "land of the insane"

Europe is now struggling with that and why a desire to move to a single system.
I can drive a kit car in Germany until it needs a TuV test, then I can drive it home, MOT it in the UK and drive it back to use for another 12 moitnhs minus a day Problem of course is getting agreement on what that one tests should be given the UK loves it's kit cars and some other nations seem to love their rusting, smoky dangerous heaps !!

Why don't the US states agree on what is needed ? I mean they've had 100 years of the car and been "one nation" for all of that time. At least I can accept that Europe's really only struggled with this is a "one republic" (!) issue for 20 years . but if they still havne't got it solved in 100 years I'd be wanting to overthrow them !!

I like the way England handles kit and small volume cars. I wish the US had more loopholes for that sort of thing. The issue in the US is states are free to make many laws that only affect the state internally. At the founding of the country states wanted/demanded a level of sovereignty from federal control. Not always a bad idea because often things are screwy at the federal level. Anyway, to make things easier for the car companies at the federal level it was decided to have just one set of standards for mass produced cars. This ensured Ford didn't have to build a car to the standards of every state. However, since home built cars don't meet these federal standards each state still has the freedom to approve motor vehicles which are outside the federal guidelines. Net result, some states are home built friendly and others are not. This is something I think about because at some point I would like to build a kit car.

In the US you can't simply register your car in your state of choice. Most states, fearing a loss of tax revenue, have laws that prevent such things. Also, most states have laws that dictate that you must be a resident, own a business etc in said state before you can register a car there.

[henk4]

I like the way England handles kit and small volume cars. I wish the US had more loopholes for that sort of thing. The issue in the US is states are free to make many laws that only affect the state internally. At the founding of the country states wanted/demanded a level of sovereignty from federal control. Not always a bad idea because often things are screwy at the federal level. Anyway, to make things easier for the car companies at the federal level it was decided to have just one set of standards for mass produced cars. This ensured Ford didn't have to build a car to the standards of every state. However, since home built cars don't meet these federal standards each state still has the freedom to approve motor vehicles which are outside the federal guidelines. Net result, some states are home built friendly and others are not. This is something I think about because at some point I would like to build a kit car.

In the US you can't simply register your car in your state of choice. Most states, fearing a loss of tax revenue, have laws that prevent such things. Also, most states have laws that dictate that you must be a resident, own a business etc in said state before you can register a car there.

do I read there that cars approved in one state and not in another cannot cross the statal borders?

[Sledgehammer]

do I read there that cars approved in one state and not in another cannot cross the statal borders?

Not that I am aware of. I know quite a bit about traffic law on the state level and have never came across this issue directly. A vehicle only needs registration and proof of insurance to drive through the lower 48. Driving to the others might prove difficult.

[henk4]

Not that I am aware of. I know quite a bit about traffic law on the state level and have never came across this issue directly. A vehicle only needs registration and proof of insurance to drive through the lower 48. Driving to the others might prove difficult.

that is probably because there are no "border" controls, but what if you are involved in an accident with a vehicle not type approved in the state that you happen to be driving in?

[culver]

do I read there that cars approved in one state and not in another cannot cross the statal borders?

No, you can cross state lines with the vehicle. The issue is you can't register in another state. So I live in say California, I can't register my car in Texas. I can use it there but I will have to go back to CA to renew. There might be a loophole in here somewhere but for the most part it's a non-issue in the US. For a car like the 550 Spyder replica I would like to build I may end up having to register it as a 196x VW bug. That works in some cases but not all. I'm not sure how I would register say a Mazda powered Westfield.

[henk4]

No, you can cross state lines with the vehicle. The issue is you can't register in another state. So I live in say California, I can't register my car in Texas. I can use it there but I will have to go back to CA to renew. There might be a loophole in here somewhere but for the most part it's a non-issue in the US. For a car like the 550 Spyder replica I would like to build I may end up having to register it as a 196x VW bug. That works in some cases but not all. I'm not sure how I would register say a Mazda powered Westfield.

thanks, are there different levels of strictness regarding registration in different states?

[Sledgehammer]

thanks, are there different levels of strictness regarding registration in different states?

States vary by many things. Emmissions, height of the headlights, acceptable lighting colors and distances, minimum stopping distance, tire type/tread depth, even maximum hp figures can vary. The list is quite long and each state has it's say in what it deems acceptable for a motor vehicle. For one example, Wisconsin has a maximum hp rating for cars under 5,000lbs at 800 something hp to be registered as a road vehicle. How they test for it or enforce I have no idea, but thy should give you an idea of the limits that states are able to impose.

[RacingManiac]

Also there are states with no emission law(outside of the Federal ones, which they don't enforce at state level), like in Michigan....

For my old car I was iffy on passing emission(drive clean) in Ontario, I have no issue to that effect when I registered my car in MI....