
Originally Posted by
AtomJohnny
I'll add my two cents after that rant with some advice I've given before.
It seems to me that everyone state-side is, somewhat selfishly, doing their own thing. IMO there is as they say power in numbers. At the DMV you are an individual that the nastier natured official can afford to dick around. I wonder if, regardless of which state, they would be as keen to do so if the threat of a national recognised body existed that might even come after their arse.
I amazes me, when you know cars like bolus' is 7 years old and there are much larger numbers of owners in the US than anywhere else other than the UK, that you don't even have an official owners organisation. Without one you have no collective body to align with the manufacturer or deal with other organisations, including legislators. Seems some of you, as a group, should do it for the betterment of all current and future owners. A small annual subscription from a number of you along with the gift of donated time WILL bear fruits in the longer term.
I don't know if they are the correct organisation to help your cause but SEMA says on their site:
"SEMA keeps close tabs on legislators in Washington, D.C., and also in each state within the United States, so SEMA members and anyone who loves cars and trucks can protest pending legislation that might harm our hobby, as well as endorse legislation that’s good for car lovers."
Maybe having an American owners organisation that could be affiliated to such a group would help your cause over time.
In NZ I'm lucky that this work has been already done due to the previous efforts of a number of clubs (including hot rodders, off-roaders and kit car builders) who formed a joint organisation to tackle the government legislators. Our LVVTA (Low Volume Vehicle Transport Association) now helps write the specifications and set the certification process that allows cars like the Atom on the road here.
The more you keep tackling this problem by all differing methods without making your successes an official blue print, the more chance you have of coming unstuck. I think in lawyer circles they'd say "you need to set a few similar legal precedences."
IMO being able to say you belong to a +50 strong organisation of national owners, all with legally registered cars, is perhaps going to make the the over officious DMV worker think twice about upsetting all of you.
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