Do we really need all that safety stuff?

[duncan]

A/C is the exception; that is even pricey per unit for the manufacturer, like maybe $200.

Nahh
Less than $100 and even less than that as an add on to an existing heater system
What extras do you need for AC? - two heat exchangers and a pump
Maybe $30

When you go to automotive volumes the prices drop FAST

[some_other_dave]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

So I guess I give up $5000 cars don't exist...

Oh, please! Nobody is saying that they don't exist, merely that they wouldn't sell in the US even if they were legal! There's just not enough market for them, because they need very large volumes to make economic sense, and they'll never sell those volumes because they're quite horrible cars in the view of 99%+ of the people out there.

Profit margin on a car with a $5K price tag is razor thin, so to be able to make any money you have to sell a gazillion of them. And the manufacturers need to make money, that's how they stay in business!

It's not economically feasible to import them here. That's what we're saying, not that the cars don't exist.

-soD

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by some_other_dave

Oh, please! Nobody is saying that they don't exist, merely that they wouldn't sell in the US even if they were legal! There's just not enough market for them, because they need very large volumes to make economic sense, and they'll never sell those volumes because they're quite horrible cars in the view of 99%+ of the people out there.

Profit margin on a car with a $5K price tag is razor thin, so to be able to make any money you have to sell a gazillion of them. And the manufacturers need to make money, that's how they stay in business!

It's not economically feasible to import them here. That's what we're saying, not that the cars don't exist.

-soD

Not with global shipping nowadays. 6 of them should fit in a standard shipping container and $1200 will move a shipping container from an Indian port to a west coast port. So $200 each in addition to whatever they cost in India.
I'm not talking setting up a dealer network just finding 6 other people who would like one too. That would be possible without government seizing them at the port and even if they slipped by they would be not allowed license plates later to actually be used on the roads.

[IamIan]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I'm not talking setting up a dealer network just finding 6 other people who would like one too. That would be possible without government seizing them at the port and even if they slipped by they would be not allowed license plates later to actually be used on the roads.

Unless you did either of my two previous options from post #269 = Legal ways , to achieve the goal you say you want to do... and methods , others have done.

Good luck .. I look forward to a thread on your successful (multi-year) experience wadding through all the red tape , hassle , and such .. as you persevere and ultimately achieve your goal .. acting as a example for others who share your same vehicle desires.

[jcp123]

Grey market cars were easy til the mid-80s. Guess whose lobby put a stop to that?

[RedDevil]

What lobby killed the $5000 car globally, except for those few countries where they are available and nobody, no matter how poor, dares buy them?

The gobbernment?

Or just plain common sense?

[redpoint5]

I'd like to further derail this thread by bringing up the fact that no small diesel pickups exist in the U.S. Back when I shopped for a diesel truck, I looked for the smallest I could find. That ended up being a Dodge/Cummins Ram 2500 3/4 ton truck; a 7000 lb 5.9L inline 6. Only recently Dodge offered the 1500 as a diesel.

If U.S. regulation permitted it, I believe a diesel Tacoma would be a hit. It certainly would have a place in my fantasy 5-car garage. Do we really need ALL that emission regulation stuff? It seems the unintended consequences of regulation nudged some people that would have happily chosen a smaller vehicle into purchasing a larger one.

[Frank Lee]

In the '80s there were several small diesel pickups available; Chevy LUV, Ford Ranger, and probably more.

[freebeard]

Volkswagen Caddy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The VW Rabbit pickup came with an optional diesel in 1980-82. Canada got a turbo diesel.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by IamIan

Unless you did either of my two previous options from post #269 = Legal ways , to achieve the goal you say you want to do... and methods , others have done.

Good luck .. I look forward to a thread on your successful (multi-year) experience wadding through all the red tape , hassle , and such .. as you persevere and ultimately achieve your goal .. acting as a example for others who share your same vehicle desires.

You have completely missed the point. The first method you describe is not legal as you pointed out, the second method is not buying a car form India, it is assembling a car from India, that may or may not ever be allowed on the road. I don't want to build my own car, I want to buy a new simple cheep car. I don't want miles of red tape put up by the federal government designed to prevent just that, and to protect the big corporations already selling cars here. The "motorcycle" car is really the only option, I just hope India and China get to it as it looks like Elio never will.