Fancy importing a TF Anniversary into the USA? Read on...
We get asked this question a lot here at AROnline - can you import an MGR into the USA if it's less than 25 years old...
According to Richard Truett, it's eminently possible - just make sure you do it properly...
Beating the system...
Fancy importing a TF Anniversary into the USA? Read on...
HE 1987-91 Rover 825/827 was the
last car that Rover Group certified for sale in the United States. The facelifted,
airbag-equipped 1992 model was queued up and ready, but because of poor sales
and a recession, Rover killed the Sterling brand, and never again would a new
Rover or MG come Stateside.
That certification means everything if you want to import a car into the USA. The tag on the door jamb gives the date of manufacture and says the car meets all federal safety standards. Without that tag, the US Customs agents won't let a car into the USA, and indeed many cars have been seized at docks and later destroyed because they are not legal in the USA.
But I have learned that is it possible, and indeed legal, to import two MG Rover vehicles even though they may not meet all the US government's crash and emissions standards. Because of multi-billionaire Bill Gates, the 2004 MG TF 80th Anniversary Edition RHD UK market car can come into the USA. So can one of the last 50 old-style Mini Coopers.
Gates, of course, did not have anything to do with legalizing these cars for the USA. Nope. The story starts years earlier when the Microsoft CEO wanted to import a rare high performance Porsche 959, and the Feds said no. Saying no to someone like Gates usually just means a slight delay is in order while new rules are fashioned to make the man happy. And that's exactly what happened when the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration came up with the Show and Display rule for importing vehicles that have great historical importance.
Years of lobbying and arm twisting got the Feds to create a new category for historical vehicles that can be imported for limited use in the USA. The requirements are very strict. Production can total no more than 500. Once in the USA, the vehicle cannot be driven more than 2500 miles per year. It can only be taken to shows and displays. The owner must keep a log book detailing every where the vehicle is driven. The vehicle must be available for inspection by the Feds at any time. And the vehicle can't be sold unless the new owner agrees to the same restrictions.
To get a vehicle on the list, a letter has to be written to the Administrator of the NHTSA laying out the case for why a vehicle should be on the Show and Display List. Someone did that with the final Mini Cooper and 2004 MG TF LE and it gained approval for importation.
Here's a link...
It seems a good case could be made for at least one other Rover vehicle, the final version of the 75.
You need one of these... unless...
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